Henry David Erskine Vanity Fair 12 April 1894

Capt. Sir Henry David Erskine of Cardross (5 January 1838 – 7 September 1921) was a Scottish military officer and courtier who was the

Serjeant-at-Arms A serjeant-at-arms or sergeant-at-arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin , which means "servant". Historically, serjeants-at-ar ...

of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1885–1915.

Early life and education

Erskine was born in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, the eldest son of James Elphinstone Erskine (1804–1844) and Mary Eliza Fagan, daughter of Lt.-Gen. Christopher Fagan. His branch of the family descended from the second Lord Cardross (his father's great-grandfather) and the Earls of Buchan. His father's mother was the daughter of the 11th Lord Elphinstone. Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Elphinstone Erskine was his younger brother, born just 11 months after him. His uncle was Admiral John Erskine. His father died in 1844. In 1847, David succeeded his grandfather as

laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

of Cardross in

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

. Erskine was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

Career

Erskine entered the British Army in 1854 and served in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

with the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and the Scots Fusilier Guards. He retired from the army in 1861. From 1875–1885, he served as Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms for the

. He spent the next three decades as

, retiring in 1915. Though his role was largely ceremonial, in May 1881 he was required to physically remove

Charles Bradlaugh Charles Bradlaugh (; 26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was an English political activist and atheist. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866, 15 years after George Holyoake had coined the term "secularism" in 1851. In 1880, Br ...

, whom a committee had voted to remove because of his refusal to take the oath. He was also tasked with removing the

suffragettes A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for women's suffrage, the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in part ...

Helen Fox and Muriel Matters during the famed " grille incident" of 28 October 1908, when they chained themselves to the Ladies Gallery of the House. He was appointed a Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

in 1901. He was knighted in the same order in 1911 Coronation Honours. He served as a Groom of the Robes to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

from 1870 until her death in 1901. From 1901 until his retirement in 1919, he served as

Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher and Lady Usher are titles for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. For a list of office-holders from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day see List of Lady and Gentleman Ushers. Gen ...

to King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

and then King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

Family and issue

In 1861, at the Royal Chapel Windsor, Erskine married Horatia Elizabeth Seymour, daughter of Maj.-Gen. Francis Seymour and his wife, Lady Emily Seymour. In 1870, her father succeeded as the 5th Marquess of Hertford and his wife was then styled as Lady Horatia Erskine. They had six sons and one daughter. *Brig.-Gen. James Francis Erskine (4 June 1862 – 26 June 1936), married Margaret Beatrix Lambton *Adm. Seymour Elphinstone Erskine (23 June 1863 – 23 February 1945), married Florence Laetitia Baker, daughter of Rev. Sir Talbot Baker, 3rd Baronet *Walter Hugh Erskine (27 April 1870 – 15 February 1948), married Enid Rate *Alan David Erskine (26 August 1872 – 26 October 1947), married Violet Emily Gregory *Rachel Augusta Erskine (30 December 1875 – 30 November 1953), married Allen Cyprian Bourne Webb, son of Bishop Allen Becher Webb *Ronald Keith Erskine (24 January 1879 – 27 March 1934), married Mabel Seabrook Dyson *Colonel Sir Arthur Edward Erskine (1 September 1881 – 24 July 1963), married Rosemary Freda Baird, daughter of Brig.-Gen. Ned Baird He died in 1921 at 26 Barton Street,

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, David 1838 births 1921 deaths People from Mumbai

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

Lairds People educated at Harrow School British Army personnel of the Crimean War Scots Guards officers 19th-century Scottish military personnel 20th-century Scottish military personnel Serjeants at arms of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Scottish courtiers