Douglas James Proby DL, JP (23 September 1856 – 18 November 1931), known as Douglas James Hamilton until 1904, was a British politician and soldier.

Background

Born Douglas Hamilton, he was the only son of Lord Claud Hamilton (1813–1884) and his wife Lady Elizabeth Emma, second daughter of

Granville Proby, 3rd Earl of Carysfort Admiral Granville Leveson Proby, 3rd Earl of Carysfort (12 November 1782 – 3 November 1868), known as The Honourable Granville Proby until 1855, was a British naval commander and Whig politician. Biography Carysfort was the third and younges ...

John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn John James Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn (2 July 1756 – 27 January 1818) was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician. Background and education John James was born in July 1756 in London, the posthumous son of John Hamilton (Royal Navy offic ...

, was his great-grandfather and

James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn (21 January 1811 – 31 October 1885), styled Viscount Hamilton from 1814 to 1818 and The Marquess of Abercorn from 1818 to 1868, was a Conservative statesman who twice served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. ...

, his uncle. In 1904 he assumed by Royal licence the surname of Proby in lieu of his patronymic. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and matriculated on 15 January 1875 at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1879 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1912.

Military career

In January 1880, Proby was commissioned as 2nd lieutenant from the military college into the 109th Regiment of Foot. He was exchanged to the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

in April and when two years later the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt, also known as the Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

erupted, he fought with the 1st Battalion . He then became involved into the

Mahdist War The Mahdist War (; 1881–1899) was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese, led by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided One"), and the forces of the Khedivate of Egypt, initially, and later th ...

with the 2nd Battalion and took part in the

Battle of Suakin The Battle of Suakin (also known as the Battle of Gemaizah), occurred on 20 December 1888 during the Mahdist War, when General Francis Grenfell defeated a Mahdist (Often called Dervishes by Europeans), force near Suakin, a chief port of Sudan. ...

in 1888. After the end of the war in 1891, he was promoted to captain and transferred to the 5th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. From 1897, he recruited new soldiers around

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and in the following year, was advanced to major. Proby was attached to the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

in 1900 and became lieutenant-colonel after another four years. He was promoted to brevet-colonel in 1907 and retired in the following year. From 1914 Proby commanded a regimental district until 1917.

Political career

Proby entered the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

as Member of Parliament for

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...

in the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 UK general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a constitutional crisis after the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the People's Budget, the Liberal government, seeking a mandate, los ...

. However, he lost his seat in the December general election of the same year, and never returned to Parliament. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire This is an ''incomplete'' list of sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in England from 1154 until the abolition of the office in 1965. Exceptionally, the two counties shared a single sheriff. Sheriffs had a one-year term of office, bei ...

in 1923 and was a Justice of the Peace for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

and for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. Proby represented the latter together with

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

also as Deputy Lieutenant. He was invested as an Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (OStJ).

Family

On 6 July 1882, Proby married Lady Margaret Frances Hely-Hutchinson, daughter of

Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 4th Earl of Donoughmore Richard John Hely-Hutchinson, 4th Earl of Donoughmore PC FRS (4 April 1823 – 22 February 1866), styled Viscount Suirdale between 1832 and 1851, was a British Conservative politician. Background Donoughmore was the son of John Hely-Hutchins ...

, and had by her four sons and a daughter. Proby died in 1931 at his residence

Elton Hall Elton Hall is a country house in Elton, Cambridgeshire. It has been the ancestral home of the Proby family (sometime known as the Earls of Carysfort) since 1660. The hall lies in an estate through which the River Nene runs. The building inc ...

. His oldest son Granville was a

lord-lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility o ...

and his third son

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proby, Douglas 1856 births 1931 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Mahdist War Deputy lieutenants of Hampshire Deputy lieutenants of Wicklow High sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire Irish Guards officers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Officers of the Order of St John People educated at Eton College UK MPs 1910 Coldstream Guards officers British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War Royal Fusiliers officers