Major Sir Keith Alexander Fraser, 5th Baronet JP DL (24 December 1867 – 21 September 1935) was a British cavalry officer, and a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament for

Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the 2021 census. It is the administrative headquarters of the Harborough dis ...

from 1918 until 1923. He was also a breeder and trainer of racehorses.

Early life

Keith Fraser was born on 24 December 1867. He was the eldest son of Gen. James Keith Fraser and Amelia Alice Julia Ward. His sister, Helena Violet Alice Fraser, was the wife of

George Rous, 3rd Earl of Stradbroke George Edward John Mowbray Rous, 3rd Earl of Stradbroke, (19 November 1862 – 20 December 1947) was a British nobleman from Suffolk who served as a Territorial Army officer, as a junior government minister, and as the 15th Governor of Victoria ...

, and his younger brother, Hugh Craufurd Keith-Fraser, married Dorothy Villiers (a daughter of Rt. Hon. Sir

Francis Hyde Villiers Sir Francis Hyde Villiers (13 August 1852 – 18 November 1925) was a British civil servant and diplomat who was ambassador to Portugal and Belgium. Career The youngest son of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, Francis Villiers was ed ...

).Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 933. His father was the third son of

Sir James John Fraser, 3rd Baronet Lieutenant-Colonel Sir James John Fraser, 3rd Baronet (1789 – 5 June 1834) was a lieutenant-colonel in the British Army (1828). Early life Fraser, who was born in 1789, was the second son of Sir William Fraser, 1st Baronet, F.R.S., and Elizab ...

, and the former Charlotte Anne Craufurd (a granddaughter of

Sir Alexander Craufurd, 1st Baronet Sir Alexander Craufurd, 1st Baronet ( – 15 December 1797), of Kilbirney, was a Scottish baronet. Early life Craufurd was born at Kilwinning, Scotland. He was the son of Quintin Craufurd of Newark, Ayrshire and Ann Robinson. His father was Just ...

). His maternal grandparents were the Hon. Humble Dudley Ward (a younger son of the 10th Baron Ward) and the former Eleanor Louisa Hawkes (a daughter of Thomas Hawkes, MP for

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

). He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

Career

Fraser joined the

7th Queen's Own Hussars The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...

and as a captain saw active service with his regiment in Southern Africa. He fought in the

First Matabele War The First Matabele War was fought between 1893 and 1894 in modern-day Zimbabwe. It pitted the British South Africa Company against the Ndebele (Matabele) Kingdom. Lobengula, king of the Ndebele, had tried to avoid outright war with the compa ...

(in what is now

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

) and was awarded the

British South Africa Company Medal The British South Africa Company Medal (1890–97). In 1896, Queen Victoria sanctioned the issue by the British South Africa Company of a medal to troops who had been engaged in the First Matabele War. In 1897, the award was extended to those eng ...

in 1893. He also saw action in the

Second Matabele War The Second Matabele War, also known as the First Chimurenga, was fought between 1896 and 1897 in the region that later became Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The conflict was initially between the British South Africa Company and the Mata ...

and was awarded the clasp in 1897. Fraser succeeded his cousin Sir William Augustus Fraser, 4th Baronet to the title of baronet in 1898. He contested the Parliamentary seat of Caithness-shire in 1906, and the Bosworth division of Leicestershire in January 1910. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for Harborough from 1918 until 1923.

Horse breeding and training

Fraser was a friend of Baden Powell and presented the Fraser Shield to the

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

s in 1912 and the Fraser Shield Camping Competition is now thought by the organisers to be the longest running camping competition in

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

. Fraser was a "famous breeder and trainer of racehorses under both

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

and

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

Rules." Together with his wife, he trained Ardeen, who won the

Scottish Grand National The Scottish Grand National is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ayr, Scotland, over a distance of ab ...

and the Grand Sefton Chase at Liverpool, and bred Totaig, who won the

Royal Hunt Cup The Royal Hunt Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

in 1932.

Personal life

On 30 August 1910, Fraser married Lady Dorothy Coventry (1872–1965), a daughter of

George Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry George William Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry, (9 May 1838 – 13 March 1930), styled Viscount Deerhurst from November 1838 until 1843, was a British Conservative politician. He was Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms between 1877 and 1880 and aga ...

and the former Lady Blanche Craven (a daughter of the 2nd Earl of Craven). Together, they were the parents of: * Keith Charles Adolphus Fraser (1911–1979), who married Blanca de Undurraga y Sandiford, daughter of Don Julio de Undurraga, in 1934. They divorced in 1946; she married

Duncan Grinnell-Milne Captain Duncan William Grinnell-Milne (6 August 1896 – November 1973) was an English First World War pilot credited with six confirmed aerial victories, a prisoner of war who escaped from German captivity, a flying ace, and an author. Initia ...

and he married Sybil Ivy Savage, a daughter of George Savage, in 1947. Sir Keith died of a heart attack at his home,

Carlton Curlieu Hall Carlton Curlieu Hall is a privately owned 17th-century country house at Carlton Curlieu, Leicestershire. It is the home of the Palmer family and is a Grade II* listed building. John Bale purchased land at Carlton Curlieu in 1549 and in 1575 hi ...

, Carlton Curlieu,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, on 21 September 1935. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his only son, Keith.

Notes

References

* "Sir Keith Alexander Fraser, s. of Lieut. - Gen. James Keith Fraser, CMO, 3rd son of the 2nd bait., by Amelia Alice Julia, d. of the Hon. Humble Dudley Ward. It. 1867 ; succeeded his cousin 1898;" * * *