The Hon. Alexander Hardinge Patrick Hore-Ruthven (30 August 1913 – 24 December 1942) was a British soldier and poet. He was born in

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(present-day

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

), the sole surviving child of Alexander Hore-Ruthven and Zara Eileen Pollok.

Personal life

Hore-Ruthven studied at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1931 and met society beauty Pamela Fletcher while he was temporarily rusticated from Cambridge in 1932 for having bitten a policeman's nose.Obituary: Pamela Cooper
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''; retrieved 1 August 2013. After graduating in 1933, he joined the Rifle Brigade, his grandfather's old regiment, and served in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

for three years. Commissioned a second lieutenant in the Territorial Army on 2 July 1933, he received a regular commission on 1 September 1934 (seniority 31 August 1933). He was promoted to lieutenant on 31 August 1936. His father, Alexander Hore-Ruthven, was made Baron Gowrie in 1935 and 1st Earl of Gowrie in 1945. Hore-Ruthven married Pamela Fletcher on 4 January 1939 at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, after their marriage was initially delayed due to a mutual lack of money. Her father, the Reverend Arthur Henry Fletcher officiated. Their first son,

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, was born on 26 November 1939. After Hore-Ruthven's death, his widow was styled Viscountess Ruthven of Canberra. She remarried in 1949, to Major

Derek Cooper Major George Derek Cooper OBE MC (28 May 1912 – 19 May 2007) was a British Army officer, campaigner for refugees, and supporter of the Palestinian people. Early life and career Cooper was born in Bromley in Kent. He was the third of four ch ...

. Hore-Ruthven's father

Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie Brigadier General Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, (; 6 July 1872 – 2 May 1955) was a British Army officer who served as the 10th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1936 to 1945. He was previously Govern ...

died in May 1955, whereupon his elder son

succeeded as the 2nd Earl of Gowrie.

World War II

On the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1939, Hore-Ruthven was posted to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. Pamela left their baby with her parents in Dublin and accompanied Hore-Ruthven to Cairo. There, she became friends with Freya Stark an
Jacqueline Lampson
She also worked in Intelligence with the anti-Nazi Arab Brotherhood of Freedom, while Hore-Ruthven joined the newly formed SAS. He was promoted to captain on 31 August 1941. Pamela returned to Ireland in 1942 to give birth to their second son, Malise, on 14 May 1942. Hore-Ruthven was Temporary Major when he died in Misurata Italian Hospital in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

from wounds he received in a raid on a fuel dump near Tripoli. He died on 24 December 1942, and was buried in the war cemetery in Tripoli. A memorial fountain was constructed at

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

Poetry

Hore-Ruthven wrote several

war poem War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...

s that were published in Australian and English newspapers. A collection of his poems was published posthumously in Australia in 1943 under the title ''The Happy Warrior'', with a preface written by his mother Lady Gowrie. It was subsequently republished in London in 1944 under the title ''Desert Warrior: Poems''. His collected letters were published in London in 1950 under the title ''Joy of Youth''.

References

Sources

Papers of Lord Gowrie, relating to the death of Patrick Hore-Ruthven in 1942
nla.gov.au; accessed 11 June 2017.

External links

Picture
of the memorial fountain from the ACT Heritage Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Hore-Ruthven, Patrick 1913 births 1942 deaths Rifle Brigade officers Special Air Service officers British Army personnel killed in World War II Heirs apparent who never acceded People from Quetta

Patrick Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

20th-century British poets British male poets 20th-century British male writers British people in colonial India Military personnel of British India