Edmund Montagu Prinsep Fisher (13 January 1872 – 31 March 1918) was a British architect, the son of historian

Herbert William Fisher Herbert William Fisher (30 July 1826 – 17 January 1903) was a British historian, best known for his book ''Considerations on the Origin of the American War'' (1865). Life He was born at Poulshot, Wiltshire, the eldest son of Rev. William Fis ...

. He died following service in France during

World War I 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 ...

Biography

Fisher was born on 13 January 1872 in Onslow Square,

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, England, the sixth of the eleven children of Herbert William Fisher (1826–1903) and his wife Mary Louisa (née Jackson) (1841–1916). His siblings included: H. A. L. Fisher, historian and Minister of Education; Admiral Sir

William Wordsworth Fisher Admiral Sir William Wordsworth Fisher (26 March 1875 – 24 June 1937) was a Royal Navy officer who captained a battleship at the Battle of Jutland and became Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet. Arthur Marder wrote that he was "the ...

, Commander-in-Chief of the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

; Florence Henrietta, Lady Darwin, playwright and wife of Sir

Francis Darwin Sir Francis Darwin (16 August 1848 – 19 September 1925) was a British botanist. He was the third son of the naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin. Biography Francis Darwin was born at Down House, Downe, Kent in 1848. He was the third s ...

(son of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

); and Adeline Vaughan Williams, wife of English composer

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

. He was educated at Haileybury and trained as an architect in the office of

Basil Champneys Basil Champneys (17 September 1842 – 5 April 1935) was an English architect and author whose most notable buildings include Manchester's John Rylands Library, Somerville College Library (Oxford), Newnham College, Cambridge, Lady Margaret Ha ...

in London. His distinctive architectural style showed a "singular talent for making his houses appear to grow out of the ground as natural parts of the surrounding scenery." Much of his work was domestic, but he also designed more than twenty schools in Berkshire, including Wescott School and Alwyn County Infants' School, Maidenhead (demolished in 1997) He also designed Wych Cross Place, the residence of his father-in-law Douglas Freshfield, during the early 1900s. His more prominent works include the Maitland Building (1910–1911) and Hall (1912–1913) at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The colle ...

, described as "unassertive but admirable", and the Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity in Rome (now demolished).

War service and death

At the outbreak of

he was too old for active service, but he spent the summer of 1915 working as an orderly in the

Hôpital Temporaire d'Arc-en-Barrois Hôpital Temporaire d'Arc-en-Barrois was an emergency evacuation hospital serving the 3rd Army Corps (France), French 3rd Army Corps during World War I. It was organised and staffed by British volunteers and served French soldiers. History Hôpit ...

. The hospital had been set up in December 1914 as a temporary evacuation hospital for the French Army, and Fisher helped with

X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

work. He went on to complete his training for the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

and was accepted for active service from 5 June 1917, serving in the fighting in the Ypres Salient and the Battle of Cambrai. He served as Second Lieutenant in the 36th Division (Ulster or Irish Division), but suffered

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

on 17 January 1918 and was invalided home. He died of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

on Easter Sunday 1918 and was buried in

Brockenhurst Brockenhurst is the largest village by population within the New Forest in Hampshire, England. The nearest city is Southampton some to the north-east, while Bournemouth is also nearby, south-west. Surrounding towns and villages include Beaul ...

(St Nicholas) churchyard.

Personal life

On 6 June 1899 he married Janie Magdalene Freshfield (20 September 1875 – c. 1964), daughter of Douglas Freshfield, and they had seven children. Fisher was keen on country pursuits, and was also an admirable judge of painting and porcelain.

Obituary

His obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' concludes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Edmund Montagu Prinsep Architects from London People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Royal Field Artillery officers 1872 births 1918 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I