Douglas Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald

The Earl of Dundonald
The Earl of Dundonald in 1904
Born	29 October 1852 Banff, Scotland
Died	12 April 1935 (aged 82) Wimbledon, England
Buried at	Achnaba Churchyard, Ardchattan
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1870–?
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada 2nd Regiment of Life Guards
Battles/wars	Mahdist War Second Boer War First World War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Mentioned in Despatches (7)

Lieutenant General Douglas Mackinnon Baillie Hamilton Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald, KCB, KCVO (29 October 1852 – 12 April 1935), styled Lord Cochrane between 1860 and 1885, was a Scottish representative peer and a British Army general.

Early life

Cochrane was the second but eldest surviving son of Thomas Cochrane, 11th Earl of Dundonald, by Louisa Harriet Mackinnon, daughter of William Alexander Mackinnon. Thomas Cochrane, 1st Baron Cochrane of Cults, was his younger brother.^[1] He was educated at Eton College.^[2]

Military career

Cochrane was commissioned into the Life Guards in July 1870,^[3] and was promoted to lieutenant the following year and captain in 1878.^[4] He served in the Nile Expedition,^[3] the Desert March and the Relief of Khartoum in 1885.^[5] He was appointed Commanding Officer of 2nd Life Guards in 1895.^[3]

He served in the Second Boer War and in November 1899 he was appointed Commander of the Mounted Brigade, part of the South Natal Field Force.^[3] He took part in the Relief of Ladysmith in February 1900,^[3] although his South African troops, unimpressed by his leadership, referred to him as “Dundoodle”.^[6]

In April 1902, it was announced that Lord Dundonald would be appointed General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada,^[4] the senior military officer in Canada. He left Liverpool on 15 July,^[7] and arrived in Quebec the following month to take up his position. Lady Dundonald joined him in Ottawa, where they stayed in Crichton-lodge. He served in Canada for two years.^[3]

He later served in the First World War as Chairman of the Admiralty Committee on Smoke Screens in 1915.^[3]

Lord Dundonald was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in December 1901,^[8] and in June 1907 knighted as a Knight Commander (KCVO) of the order.

Dundonald Park, in Centretown, Ottawa, is named after him.

Family

Lord Dundonald married Winifred Bamford-Hesketh, daughter of Robert Bamford-Hesketh, in 1878. They had two sons and three daughters. The family lived for many years at Gwrych Castle in North Wales, the seat of the Bamford-Hesketh family. The Countess of Dundonald accompanied her husband to Canada 1902-1904. She died in January 1924. Lord Dundonald died at his home in Wimbledon in April 1935, aged 82, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, Thomas.^[1] He is buried in Achnaba Churchyard, Ardchattan near Benderloch, Lorne, Argyll & Bute.

See also

• Earl of Dundonald
• Clan Cochrane

References

1. [thepeerage.com Lt.-Gen. Douglas Mackinnon Baillie Hamilton Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald]
2. Dundee Courier. 13 April 1935. p. 7. Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. "King's College London Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives entry". Retrieved 3 May 2006.
4. "The Command of the Canadian Militia". The Times (36737). London. 9 April 1902. p. 6.
5. The Peerage.com
6. Farrar-Hockley 1974, p43
7. "Lord Dundonald´s departure for Canada". The Times (36821). London. 16 July 1902. p. 9.
8. The London Gazette: no. 27390. p. 9061. 24 December 1901.

Books Used for Citations

• Farrar-Hockley, General Sir Anthony (1975). Goughie. London: Granada. ISBN -0246640596.