John Dalrymple, 12th Earl of Stair

John James Hamilton Dalrymple, 12th Earl of Stair, KT, DSO, DL (1 February 1879 – 4 November 1961), styled Viscount Dalrymple between 1903 and 1914, was a Scottish soldier and Conservative Party, later Unionist Party, politician.

Lieutenant Colonel The Right Honourable The Earl of Stair KT DSO DL
Member of Parliament for Wigtownshire
In office January 1906 – 2 December 1914
Preceded by	Sir Herbert Maxwell
Succeeded by	Hew Hamilton Dalrymple
Personal details
Born	1 February 1879
Died	4 November 1961 (aged 82)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative Party Unionist Party
Spouse(s)	Violet Evelyn Harford
Children	Lady Jean Margaret Florence Dalrymple John Aymer Dalrymple, 13th Earl of Stair Captain The Hon. Hew North Dalrymple The Hon. Andrew William Henry Dalrymple Major The Hon. Colin James Dalrymple
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1898-1917
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	Scots Guards
Battles/wars	Second Boer War Battle of Diamond Hill Battle of Bergendal First World War
Awards	Knight of the Order of the Thistle Distinguished Service Order

Military and political career

The son of John Dalrymple, 11th Earl of Stair, Dalrymple was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Scots Guards on 16 February 1898, and promoted to lieutenant on 11 October 1899. He fought in the Second Boer War, where he took part in the march to occupy the Boer capitals Bloemfontein (March 1900) and Pretoria (June 1900), and was present at the successive Battles of Diamond Hill (11-12 June 1900) and Bergendal (21-27 August 1900).[1]

Following the end of hostilities in early June 1902, he left Cape Town on board the SS Orotava,[2] and arrived at Southampton the next month. He later fought in the First World War. He was captured by the Germans during the Great Retreat in 1914 and remained a prisoner until 1917 when he was repatriated for medical reasons, due to degradation in his eyesight.[3] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1919, and retired the same year at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Lord Dalrymple sat as Member of Parliament for Wigtownshire from 1906 to 1914, when he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the House of Lords. Lord Stair was later Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1927 and 1928.[4]

Family

On 20 October 1904, Dalrymple married Violet Evelyn Harford, only daughter of Col. Frederick Henry Harford and Florence Helen Isabella Parsons, granddaughter of Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse, and great-granddaughter and heir of Henry Harford, last proprietary governor of Maryland. [5][6] They had six children:[4]

• Lady Jean Margaret Florence Dalrymple DCVO (15 August 1905 – 3 October 2001); married Lt-Col. Arthur Niall Talbot Rankin, a Scots Guards officer in the Emergency Reserve. She was a Lady in Waiting to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother from 1947–1982.[7]
• John Aymer Dalrymple, 13th Earl of Stair (9 October 1906 – 26 February 1996)
• Lady Marion Violet Dalrymple (1 February 1908 – 18 June 1995)
• Captain The Honourable Hew North Dalrymple (27 April 1910 – 24 May 2012)
• The Honourable Andrew William Henry Dalrymple (10 May 1914 – 25 December 1945), joint founder of Chilton Aircraft, killed in a plane crash
• Major The Honourable Colin James Dalrymple (19 February 1920 – 12 January 2017)

References

1. Hart′s Army list, 1903
2. "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning home". The Times (36804). London. 26 June 1902. p. 10.
3. "Lord Stair in Switzerland". The Times (41388). London. 29 January 1917. p. 9.
4. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 3715. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
5. "Lady Stair's Mother Killed". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 1 July 1931. p. 12.
6. Mosley 2003, p. 3404
7. "Obituaries: Lady Jean Rankin". The Daily Telegraph. 5 October 2001.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Stair