Nathaniel Thomas Allen Fiennes, 21st Baron Saye and Sele, (né Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes; 22 September 1920 – 20 January 2024), styled as Lord Saye and Sele, was an

English peer The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

, businessman, chartered surveyor and army officer.

Early life and education

Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born on 22 September 1920, the son of Ivo Murray Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 20th Baron Saye and Sele, and Hersey Cecilia Hester Butler. Despite a family connection with

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

, 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 ...

and then at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

. While still a student at Eton, 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 ...

at minor counties level for

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, making a single appearance in the 1938

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship or National County Championship is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national counties (previously ca ...

against

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. Whilst studying at Oxford, Fiennes did not play

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

Oxford University Cricket Club Oxford University Cricket Club (OUCC), which represents the University of Oxford, had held first-class status since 1827 when it made its debut in the inaugural University Match between OUCC and Cambridge University Cricket Club (CUCC). Follo ...

, given the suspension of first-class cricket during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Army career

During the Second World War Fiennes served in the

Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

. He received an emergency commission in the Rifle Brigade on 19 April 1941, and was promoted war-substantive lieutenant on 1 October 1942 and temporary captain on 3 September 1943. In March 1945 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 ...

for service in North-West Europe. In April 1945 Fiennes and his regiment, the 8th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade, were among the first troops to reach

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

. In 2020 he recalled for the ''Daily Telegraph'': "We turned down a small track, and it opened into a sight you would never want to see again ... People being chopped up, people on the ground, pits with three or four hundred dead bodies in each ... It was like something from a nightmare, and the smell was overpowering." He met with Bergen-Belsen survivor

Mala Tribich Mala Tribich (born 24 September 1930) is a Polish-born British Holocaust survivor and educational speaker. Early life Tribich was born in 1930 to a Jewish family in Piotrków Trybunalski, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland. Her older brother was Ben H ...

(originally from

Piotrków Trybunalski Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by #Etymology, alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the capital of Piotrków County and the second-largest city in the Łódź Voi ...

, Poland) at his family seat,

Broughton Castle Broughton Castle is a medieval fortified manor house in the village of Broughton, which is about southwest of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England, on the B4035 road (). It is the home of the Fiennes (in full Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes) family, ...

, shortly before the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camp, and was ready "to grovel before ribich because I have such a respect and admiration for her. She is the most remarkable lady ... all these survivors are." Tribich, who was 14 and ill with

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

when Bergen-Belsen was liberated, had previously survived the

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

in her hometown and

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure of 1 ...

. After the war, Fiennes remained in the army, receiving promotion to war-substantive captain and temporary major on 15 January 1946. On 22 May 1948 he received a regular commission as a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade (seniority from 22 May 1943), with promotion to captain effective from the same date (seniority from 22 November 1947). He was stationed in Palestine during the Palestine Emergency in 1946–1947, for which he was again mentioned in despatches in January 1949. He resigned his commission on 8 February 1950, leaving with the honorary rank of major.

Later work

Fiennes was a trustee of the

Ernest Cook Trust The Ernest Cook Trust is a large educational charity in England. It was founded in 1952 by the philanthropist Ernest Cook, the grandson of travel pioneer Thomas Cook. Each year the Trustees distribute more than £1.25m in educational grants to be ...

, which works for the preservation of English country houses and estates, from 1959 until 1995, serving as chairman from 1964 until 1990. He was also a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of Winchester College from 1967 to 1983, and president of the

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

Historical Society from 1958 until his death. He became a

chartered surveyor Chartered Surveyor is the description (protected by law in many countries) of Professional ''Members'' and ''Fellows'' of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) entitled to use the designation (and a number of variations such as " Char ...

and was a partner in the company Laws and Fiennes before becoming a regional director within

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the "Big Four (banking)#England and Wales, Big Four" clearing house ...

from 1983 to 1990. In 1979 Fiennes was appointed Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of

Family

In 1958 Fiennes married Mariette Helena Salisbury-Jones (born 1935), daughter of Major-General Sir Arthur Guy Salisbury-Jones, and had five children: * Hon. Richard Ingel Fiennes (born 19 August 1959, died 13 April 2001) * Martin Guy Fiennes, 22nd Baron Saye and Sele (b. 27 February 1961) * Hon. Susannah Hersey Fiennes (b. 27 February 1961) * Hon. Thomas Nathaniel Fiennes (11 October 1965 − 3 September 1968) * Hon. William John Fiennes (b. 7 August 1970) In 1965 he changed his surname by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract, because it binds only one party. Etymology Th ...

to ''Fiennes'' thereby relinquishing the surnames ''Twisleton'' and ''Wykeham''. Fiennes's brother Ingelram was killed on 30 August 1941 when his

Wellington bomber The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of ...

was shot down, and his other brother,

Oliver Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * ''Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens Fictional characters * Ariadne Oliver ...

, was a clergyman who served as

Dean of Lincoln Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean S ...

from 1969 to 1989. When his father died on 21 October 1968, Fiennes succeeded him as 21st Baron Saye and Sele. He died on 20 January 2024, at the age of 103.

References

Links and sources

RootsWeb

RootsWeb

*''Debrett's People of Today'' (12th edn, London, 1999), p. 1739 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saye and Sele, Nathaniel Fiennes, 21st Baron 1920 births 2024 deaths Free Foresters cricketers People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford English bankers British Army personnel of World War II British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency Rifle Brigade officers

Nathaniel Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Hebrew name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. ...

English surveyors Deputy lieutenants of Oxfordshire English cricketers Oxfordshire cricketers English men centenarians 21 Saye and Sele 20th-century English sportsmen