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

Military and political career

The son of John Dalrymple, 11th Earl of Stair, Dalrymple was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Scots Guards on 16 February 1898, and promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 11 October 1899. He fought in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, where he took part in the march to occupy the Boer capitals

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape Tow ...

(March 1900) and

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the footh ...

(June 1900), and was present at the successive Battles of

Diamond Hill Diamond Hill is a hill in the east of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The name also refers to the area on or adjacent to the hill. It is surrounded by Ngau Chi Wan, San Po Kong, Wong Tai Sin and Tsz Wan Shan. Its northeast is limited by the ridge. It is p ...

(11-12 June 1900) and Bergendal (21-27 August 1900). Following the end of hostilities in early June 1902, he left Cape Town on board the ''SS Orotava'', and arrived at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

the next month. He later fought in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighti ...

. He was captured by the Germans during the

Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western F ...

in 1914 and remained a prisoner until 1917 when he was repatriated for medical reasons, due to degradation in his eyesight. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

in 1919, and retired the same year at the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. Lord Dalrymple sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members ofte ...

for

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has ...

from 1906 to 1914, when he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in ...

. Lord Stair was later Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1927 and 1928. From 1931 to 1932 he served as president of the influential conservationist organisation the

Cockburn Association The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh's Civic Trust) is one of the world's oldest architectural conservation and urban planning monitoring organisations, founded in 1875. The Scottish judge Henry Cockburn (1779–1854) was a prominent campaigner t ...

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 Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse (21 May 1758 – 24 February 1841), known as Sir Lawrence Parsons, Bt, from 1791 to 1807, was an Irish peer. Parsons was the son of Sir William Parsons, 4th Baronet and Mary Clere. He succeeded his father ...

, and great-granddaughter and heir of

Henry Harford Henry Harford (5 April 1758 – 8 December 1834), 5th Proprietor of Maryland, was the last proprietary owner of the British colony of Maryland. He was born in 1758 the eldest — but illegitimate — son of Frederick Calvert 6th Baron Balt ...

, last proprietary governor of Maryland. They had six children: * Lady Jean Margaret Florence Dalrymple (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 Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

from 1947 to 1982. * 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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stair, John Dalrymple, 12th Earl of 1879 births 1961 deaths Earls of Stair Knights of the Thistle Dalrymple, John Dalrymple, Viscount Dalrymple, John Dalrymple, Viscount Dalrymple, John Dalrymple, Viscount Dalrymple, John Dalrymple, Viscount UK MPs who inherited peerages Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Place of birth missing Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Scots Guards officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army personnel of the Second Boer War