Lieutenant-Colonel Ernest Fitzroy Morrison-Bell, (19 April 1871 – 20 October 1960) was a British soldier and parliamentarian.

Family and education

He was born Ernest Fitzroy Morrison, the son of Sir Charles William Morrison, 1st Baronet and Louisa Maria Dawes, daughter of William Henry Dawes. In 1905, the family adopted the surname Morrison-Bell by royal licence for his father's mother, Mary Wilhelmina Morrison, daughter and heiress of John Morrison of the Royal Navy. His elder brother was Sir Clive Morrison-Bell. Ernest 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 ...

Military career

Morrison joined the

9th Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, ...

as a second lieutenant on 5 December 1891, and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 5 September 1894. He was

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of his regiment from 20 April 1898 until 20 April 1902, during which the regiment served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, and he was promoted

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 1 January 1901 while in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. For his service in the war, he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

by Lord Kitchener in his final despatch dated 23 June 1902.

Political career

Morrison-Bell was the

Liberal Unionist Party The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

candidate for Ashburton at the 1906 General Election. He was elected at the 1908 Ashburton by-election but lost the seat in the January 1910 General Election. He regained the seat at the December 1910 General Election. The seat was abolished in 1918 and he did not contest the election.Obituary, ''The Times'', 21 October 1960

Personal life

He married Maud Evelyn, daughter of Lt. Col. Francis Henry. Their granddaughter Susan is the Duchess of Richmond, having married

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond, 10th Duke of Lennox, 10th Duke of Aubigny, 5th Duke of Gordon (19 September 1929 – 1 September 2017), styled Lord Settrington until 1935 and Earl of March and Kinrara between 1935–1989, was ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison-Bell, Ernest Fitzroy 1871 births 1960 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Eton College British Army personnel of the Second Boer War 9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Ashburton