Henry Valerian George Wellesley, 6th Duke of Wellington (14 July 1912 – 16 September 1943), styled as Earl of Mornington between 1912 and 1934 and Marquess of Douro between 1934 and 1941, was a British peer and politician.

Life and career

He was the younger child and only son of Arthur Wellesley, 5th Duke of Wellington, and his wife, the Hon. Lilian Maud Glen Coats (elder daughter of George Coats, 1st Baron Glentanar). On 14 October 1933, he received a commission as a reserve

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

in 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; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

, and he received a regular commission in the same rank in the

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

on 13 November 1935. He died, aged 31, on 16 September 1943, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, from wounds received in action while leading a group of

Commandos Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

. He is buried in the British Salerno War Cemetery, Bivio Pratole, in the province of

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

, Italy. At the time of his death, he was a

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

in command of a troop in

No. 2 Commando No. 2 Commando was a battalion-sized British Commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The first No.2 Commando was formed on 22 June 1940 for a parachuting role at Cambrai Barracks, Perham Down, near Tidworth, Hants. The unit ...

, commanded by

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

'Mad'

Jack Churchill John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill, (16 September 1906 – 8 March 1996) was a British Army officer who fought in the Second World War with a longbow, a Scottish broadsword, and a bagpipe. Nicknamed "Fighting Jack Churchill" and "Mad Jack" ...

. Both No. 2 and

41 Commando 41 Commando or No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando was a unit of the Royal Marines trained as Commandos during the Second World War. They were part of the all Royal Marine 4th Special Service Brigade that took part in the Normandy landings in June 1 ...

were engaged at the

Salerno landings Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, b ...

, part of the

Allied invasion of Italy The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign of World War II. The operation was undertaken by General Sir Harold Alexander's 15th Army ...

. They switched from their initial battle area around Vietri sul Mare, west of Salerno, to a position two to three miles inland of Mercatello, then southeast of Salerno. The Germans held and were strengthening three high-ground positions. During the daytime of 16 September, No. 2 Commando moved back through a valley around the village of Piegolelle, dubbed 'Pigoletti', which had been cleared the night before, intending to capture a hill at the far end referred to as 'Pimple Hill'. However, in the early hours, the Germans had sent light forces back into the valley and also strengthened 'Pimple Hill'. On assaulting the hill two troops of commandos were exposed to well-positioned machine-gun fire. The Duke was among the fatalities: leading a charge against a machine-gun post he was hit by a sustained burst from an

MG 42 The MG 42 (shortened from German: ''Maschinengewehr 42'', or "machine gun 42") is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun used extensively by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. Enter ...

. His helmet was holed in three or four places. He was buried close to the place where he was killed. His probates (one for his current and future-valued interest in the settled (entrusted) land, one for the rest) were resworn the next year at a total of .https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk Calendar of Probates and Administrations As he died without issue and was the only son of his father, he was succeeded in the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

by his uncle, Lord Gerald Wellesley. His sister Anne succeeded him as 7th Duchess of Ciudad Rodrigo.

References

External links

*
Duke of Wellington's Regiment – West Riding
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellington, Henry Wellesley, 6th Duke 1912 births 1943 deaths Henry Wellesley, 6th Duke of Wellington Dukes of Ciudad Rodrigo Dukes of Wellington Dukes da Vitória Princes of Waterloo Wellesley, Henry 6 Coldstream Guards officers Duke of Wellington's Regiment officers British Army personnel killed in World War II British Army Commandos officers Earls of Mornington