John Thomas Woolrych Perowne VD, TD (1 June 1863 – 27 April 1954) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer, a

King's Messenger The Corps of King's Messengers (or Corps of Queen's Messengers during the reign of a female monarch) are couriers employed by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). They hand-carry secret and important documents to B ...

and a Gold Staff Officer at the

Coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

of King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

in 1937.

Biography

Born in

Lampeter Lampeter (; (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, after Aberystwyth and C ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 1863, the eldest son of Anna Maria (née Woolrych) and the Right Reverend

John James Stewart Perowne John James Stewart Perowne (3 March 1823 – 6 November 1904) was an English Anglican bishop. Born in Burdwan, Bengal, Perowne was a member of a notable clerical family, whose origins were Huguenot. Life He was educated at Norwich School ...

, the Vice-Principal of

St David’s College, Lampeter University of Wales, Lampeter () was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited degree awarding powers since 1852. It was a ...

, John Perowne attended

Haileybury School Haileybury is a co-educational Public school (United Kingdom), public school (fee-charging boarding school, boarding and day school for 11- to 18-year-olds) located in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire. It is a member of the Rugby Group and enrols ...

before going to

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

in 1882 where he obtained a

B.A. 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 degree ...

in 1885 and an M.A. in 1889.Biography of John Thomas Woolrych Perowne
/ref> He played

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

for the College side in 1885. By 1889 Perowne was a lieutenant in the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...

and by 1894 was a captain. In 1898 his book ''Russian Hosts and English Guests in Central Asia'' was published by Scientific Press. In 1901 he was a Director of

Samuel Allsopp & Sons Samuel Allsopp & Sons was one of the largest breweries operating in Burton upon Trent, England. It was revived as Allsopp's in the 2020s. History Origins Allsopp's origins go back to the 1740s, when Benjamin Wilson, an innkeeper-brewer of Burto ...

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

. In March 1902 he was appointed an ''Esquire'' of the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in England, and in 1903 he was awarded the

Volunteer Officers' Decoration The Volunteer Officers' Decoration, post-nominal letters VD, was instituted in 1892 as an award for long and meritorious service by officers of the United Kingdom's Volunteer Force (Great Britain), Volunteer Force. Award of the decoration was di ...

(VD).Perowne
on the

website He contested unsuccessfully as a

Liberal Unionist 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 ...

seats in the South Molton Division of Devon (January and December 1910) and the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

(1922). In 1911 Perowne was listed as a lieutenant colonel in the

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a Social movement, popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increa ...

, and served in

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 ...

as a lieutenant-colonel in 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 ...

(Territorial Force). From 1919 to 1921 he was an Acting King’s Messenger and was one of the 250 Gold Staff Officers who assisted at the

of King

in 1937. He was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

(TD) in 1930, and served in the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...

from 1940 to 1942. In addition, he was Registrar and Knight of Justice of the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

(1926-1933), a

Knight Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

in the same Order (1933-1946), a Member of the Executive Committee of the

British Red Cross Society The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...

and the Order of St. John War Organisation, Chairman of the Joint Council Finance Committee (1928-1945), and Vice Chairman of the

Samaritan Hospital for Women The Samaritan Hospital for Women was a hospital in Marylebone Road, London, UK. It is a Grade II listed building. History The hospital had its origins in the Gynaepathic Institute which was founded by Dr William Jones in Manchester Square in Janu ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

Family

With his wife Edith Marione (née Browne) (born 1874), whom he married in 1896 at St George Hanover Square in London he had four children: John Victor Thomas Woolrych Tait Perowne (1897-1951), Rosabelle Maud Iona Charlotte Perowne (1899-1987), Lancelot Edgar Connop Mervyn Perowne (1902-1982) and Christopher Terence Reginald Cuthbert Perowne (1904-1973). A nephew was the British diplomat, archaeologist, explorer and historian

Stewart Perowne Stewart Henry Perowne OBE, KStJ, FSA, FRSA (17 June 1901 – 10 May 1989) was a British diplomat, archaeologist, explorer and historian who wrote books on the history and antiquities of the Mediterranean. Despite his homosexuality, in 1947 he ...

. John Thomas Woolrych Perowne died in London in 1954 aged 90.

Family tree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perowne, John Thomas Woolrych 1863 births 1954 deaths People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Royal Field Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War I Liberal Unionist Party parliamentary candidates People from Lampeter 19th-century British Army personnel Military personnel from Ceredigion