Viscount Chelmsford, of

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

in the County of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, is a title in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

. It was created in 1921 for Frederic Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford, the former

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

. The title of Baron Chelmsford, of Chelmsford in the County of Essex, was created in the

in 1858 for the first Viscount's grandfather, the lawyer and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Sir Frederic Thesiger, who twice served as

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

of Great Britain. Then following was the 2nd Baron, who gained the rank of general and was awarded . the titles are held by the first Viscount's great-grandson, the fourth Viscount, who succeeded his father in 1999. Several other members of the Thesiger family have also gained distinction. Sir Frederic Thesiger (died 1805), uncle of the first baron, was a captain in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and served as Aide-de-Camp to

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. The Hon. Charles Wemyss Thesiger (1831–1903), second son of the first Baron, was a

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

in the Army. His eldest son George Thesiger was a temporary Major-General in the Army and was killed in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. His son Sir Gerald Thesiger was a Judge of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

. The Hon.

Alfred Thesiger Alfred Henry Thesiger (15 July 1838 – 20 October 1880), styled The Hon. Alfred Thesiger from 1858 to 1877 and The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Thesiger from 1877, was a British lawyer and judge. Early life Thesiger was the third son of Lord Chancellor ...

, third son of the first Baron, was a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

. The Hon. Sir Edward Pierson Thesiger (1842–1928), fourth son of the first Baron, was Clerk-Assistant to Parliament from 1890 to 1917. His second son Sir Bertram Sackville Thesiger (1875–1966) was a naval commander and served as Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station between 1927 and 1929 while his third son Ernest Thesiger was an actor. The Hon. Wilfred Gilbert Thesiger (1871–1920), third son of the second Baron, was Consul-General and Minister Plenipotentiary to

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

. His eldest son Sir Wilfred Thesiger was an explorer and travel writer. The Hon. Eric Thesiger, fourth son of the second Baron, was a soldier and courtier.

Barons Chelmsford (1858)

* Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford (1794–1878) * Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford (1827–1905) * Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford (1868–1933) (created Viscount Chelmsford in 1921)

Viscounts Chelmsford (1921)

* Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford (1868–1933) ** Hon. Frederic Ivor Thesiger (1896–1917) * Andrew Charles Gerald Thesiger, 2nd Viscount Chelmsford (1903–1970) * (Frederic) Jan Thesiger, 3rd Viscount Chelmsford (1931–1999) * Frederic Corin Piers Thesiger, 4th Viscount Chelmsford (born 1962)

Arms

Notes

Books

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External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chelmsford Viscountcies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1921