Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE MOD 45147520

Raphael Charles Beauclerk, ''better known as'' Ralph Beauclerk, (1917–2007), VI marqués de Valero de Urría, was an upper-class

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 and

secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...

, decorated for his

WWII 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 ...

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

with the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Background and early life

Spanish noble The Spanish nobility are people who possess a title of nobility confirmed by the Spanish Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, as well as those individuals appointed to one of Spain's three highest orders of knightho ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

aristocratic descent, Beauclerk was via his father

in remainder The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

to the dukedom of Saint Albans, later succeeding as marqués de Valero de Urría (cr.

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come to ...

), when his mother's

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

was revived in his favour in 1989. His father William Topham Sidney Beauclerk (grandson of

Charles George Beauclerk Charles George Beauclerk (20 January 1774 – 25 December 1845) was an English politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the borough of Richmond from 1796 to 1798. Background and education He was the only son of Topham Beauclerk an ...

, only son of

Topham Beauclerk Topham Beauclerk ( ; 22 December 1739 – 11 March 1780) was a celebrated English wit and a friend of Samuel Johnson and Horace Walpole. Early life Topham Beauclerk was born on 22 December 1739 in Pall Mall, London. He was the only son of Lord ...

by his wife Lady Diana Beauclerk (''née'' Spencer), son of

Lord Sidney Beauclerk Lord Sidney Beauclerk (27 February 170323 November 1744) was a Kingdom of Great Britain, British politician who sat in the British House of Commons, House of Commons from 1733 to 1744. He acquired a reputation as a fortune hunter. Early life ...

)''Burke's Peerage & Baronetage''. – 106th Ed. –

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 ...

Ltd., 1999. – . – p. 2495. was a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

the Argentine Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

who, in 1910, married Dolores (''aka'' Lola) de Peñalver y Zamora (1881–1972), V condesa de Peñalver ''later'' VII marquesa de Arcos. His mother, the only surviving child of Enrique de Peñalver y Zamora, VII marqués de Arcos and María Zamora y Pérez de Urría, daughter and heiress of María Pérez de Urría y de la Cuesta, II marquesa de Valero de Urría (by Rafael Zamora y Quesada), succeeded to her family titles. Beauclerk was educated first at

Downside School Downside School (formally The College of St Gregory the Great, Downside but simply referred to as Downside) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, independent, day and boarding school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England. It was establish ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, then at

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, becoming a fluent linguist.

Military service and later life

Commissioned into the Intelligence Corps at the outbreak of

, Beauclerk served in

on attachment to the SOE, being 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 ...

. During World War II,

code name A code name, codename, call sign, or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in ...

d ''Casimir'', Beauclerk worked as an agent for the clandestine

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

(SOE), conducting espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in

Nazi-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

. SOE agents allied themselves with

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

maquis and supplied them with weapons and equipment. After his distinguished military service, Beauclerk joined Hong Kong and Shanghai

Merchant Bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage, it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in comm ...

working in Asia until 1970 and then with the Banque Privée de Luxembourg. In 1989, the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

marquisate A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

of Valero de Urría devolved upon Beauclerk; among his

cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the kinship system used in the English-speaking world, ...

s was the Marchioness of Cárdenas de Montehermoso, with kinsmen including the

Duke of St Albans Duke of St Albans is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1684 for Charles Beauclerk, 1st Earl of Burford, then 14 years old. King Charles II had accepted that Burford was his illegitimate son by Nell Gwyn, an actress, and awa ...

and the

Duchess of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes (), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by García Álvarez de Toledo, wa ...

Personal life

On 24 August 1957 at

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

, Vietnam, Beauclerk married Noirine Mary Bowen (died 20 January 1997), daughter of James Bowen, of

Bowen's Court Bowen's Court was a historic country house or Anglo-Irish big house near Kildorrery in County Cork, Ireland. House The house was built in the 1770s by Henry Cole Bowen (died 1788) and the design has tentatively been attributed to Isaac Rothery ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

; the Marquis and Marquesa had two children: * Dolores Mary Beauclerk (born 11 Jul 1958), married Dr Richard Makower and has three children. * William Raphael Beauclerk (born 14 Aug 1961), was educated at

Worth School Worth School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private co-educational Roman Catholic boarding school, boarding and day school, day school for pupils from 11 to 18 years of age near Worth, West Sussex, Worth, West Sussex, England. Unti ...

, commissioned in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

serving on HMY ''Britannia'' and promoted

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 ...

, elected

FRICS The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. The RICS was founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental ...

; after his father's death he succeeded as the 7th Marquis de Valero de Urría.www.boe.es
/ref> He married in 1986 Margaret Eleanor Mountjoy, having a daughter and two sons: ** Charlotte Mary Beauclerk (born 24 July 1987) ** Alexander Charles Beauclerk (born 11 February 1990) ** Cameron William Beauclerk (born 25 March 1993). Capt Beauclerk's granddaughter, doña Charlotte Beauclerk, is heiress apparent to the

and her younger brothers are

to the dukedom of Saint Albans. His son, the present Marquis and Marquesa de Valero de Urría live at

Médan Médan () is a village in the Yvelines department, Île-de-France region, in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France, about 25 km from the capital. Inhabitants of Médan are called ''Médanais''. Geography Médan is located in the Seine V ...

, near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Honours and decorations

The 6th Marquis de Valero de Urría's distinguished services were recognised by being appointed : * :

Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

; * :

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

; *

Croix de guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

; *

: Knight of Malta (SMOM).

References

External links

''Malraux: A Life'', Olivier Todd (2005)

www.burkespeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beauclerk, Ralph 1917 births 2007 deaths

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...