Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Thomas David Freeman-Mitford (2 January 1909 – 30 March 1945) was the only son of the 2nd Baron Redesdale and brother of the

Mitford Sisters The Mitford family is an aristocratic British family who became particularly well known in the 1930s for the six Mitford sisters, the daughters of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and his wife, Sydney Bowles. They were celebrated and ...

. 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 ...

, Mitford joined the

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 ...

, and was initially deployed to Italy and North Africa. A Nazi sympathizer, Mitford was sent to fight in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

after saying he did not want to fight against Germany. He was killed in action in 1945.

Early life

Mitford was born on 2 January 1909, the only son of

David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale David Bertram Ogilvy Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale (13 March 1878 – 17 March 1958), was a British peer, soldier, and landowner. He was the father of the Mitford sisters, in whose various novels and memoirs he is depicted. Ancestry and ...

. He attended

Lockers Park School Lockers Park School is a day and boarding preparatory and pre-preparatory school for boys, situated in 23 acres of countryside in Boxmoor, Hertfordshire. Its headmaster is Gavin Taylor. History Lockers Park was founded in 1872 by Henry Monta ...

in Hertfordshire and

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. He had relationships with several students there, among whom were Jim Lees-Milne and Hamish St. Clair-Erskine (later engaged to his sister Nancy). In the late 1920s, Mitford studied law in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and it was at that time that he displayed a favour for the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

Military service and death

While serving, at first Mitford chose to serve in Italy and North Africa, and then in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

, since he did not want to fight against Germany. Mitford was killed on 30 March 1945 in Burma, while serving with the

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, ...

. He is buried at

Taukkyan War Cemetery The Taukkyan War Cemetery () is a cemetery for Allied soldiers from the British Commonwealth who died in battle in Burma during the Second World War. The cemetery is in the village of Taukkyan, about north of Yangon on Pyay Road. It is maintaine ...

. His sister Diana, Lady Mosley, wrote: "his loss was something from which I never recovered for the rest of my life". His father, Lord Redesdale, erected a memorial tablet inside St Mary's Church,

Swinbrook Swinbrook is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Swinbrook and Widford, in the West Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is on the River Windrush, about east of Burford. Widford, Oxfordshire, Widf ...

, near their home, Swinbrook House. The 2nd Baron Redesdale, Lady Mosley,

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973) was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford family#Mitford sisters, Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the ...

, and

Unity Mitford Unity Valkyrie Freeman-Mitford (8 August 1914 – 28 May 1948) was a British fascist and socialite and member of the Mitford family known for her relationship with Adolf Hitler. Born in the United Kingdom, she was a prominent supporter of Nazis ...

are buried in the churchyard, while Pamela Mitford is buried in the northwest of the tower. Another tablet to the memory of Tom Mitford is inside Holy Trinity Church, Horsley, just south of Rochester, Northumberland, near their estate in Northumberland.

Personal life

In July 1929, Mitford took part in the "Bruno Hat" art hoax. He took the role of the imaginary reclusive artist, Bruno Hat; other

Bright Young Things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a group of Bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in London during the Roaring Twenties. The name was given to them by the tabloid press. They threw flamboyant fancy dress part ...

involved were Brian Howard,

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

, Bryan Guinness, and

John Banting John Banting (12 May 1902 – 30 January 1972) was an English Surrealist artist and writer associated with the Bloomsbury Group, whose left-wing philosophy was reflected in much of his work. According to his ''Times'' obituary, he was "an artist ...

. Mitford is alleged to have had an affair with

James Lees-Milne (George) James Henry Lees-Milne (6 August 1908 – 28 December 1997) was an English writer and expert on country houses, who worked for the National Trust from 1936 to 1973. He was an architectural historian, novelist and biographer. His extens ...

, a writer, when both were attending

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 ...

. In the summer of 1930, Mitford met

Sheilah Graham Sheilah Graham (born Lily Shiel; 15 September 1904 – 17 November 1988) was a British-born, nationally syndicated American gossip columnist during Hollywood's "Golden Age". In her youth, she had been a showgirl and a freelance writer for Fl ...

, who would later describe him in her memoirs, ''Beloved Infidel'', as "a youthful edition of his father and, at twenty-one, one of the handsomest men I had ever seen". In the 1930s, he was a lover of Austrian-born dancer

Tilly Losch Ottilie Ethel Leopoldine, Countess of Carnarvon (''née'' Losch; November 15, 1903 – December 24, 1975), known professionally as Tilly Losch, was an Austrian dancer, choreographer, actress, and painter who lived and worked for most of her life ...

, while she was married to art patron

Edward James Edward Frank Willis James (16 August 1907 – 2 December 1984) was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement. Early life and marriage James was born on 16 August 1907, the only son of William James (who had inheri ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitford, Tom 1909 births 1945 deaths People educated at Eton College English bisexual men English Nazis Bisexual military personnel British LGBTQ military personnel British Army personnel killed in World War II

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

Heirs apparent who never acceded Devonshire Regiment officers Burials at Taukkyan War Cemetery 20th-century English LGBTQ people LGBTQ nobility