BARONETAGE
Last updated 02/06/2018 (22 Apr 2024)
Date	Type	Order	Name	Born	Died	Age
Dates in italics in the "Born" column indicate that the baronet was baptised on that date; dates in italics in the "Died" column indicate that the baronet was buried on that date.
EARDLEY (formerly GIDEON) of Spalding, Lincs and Belvidere, Kent
21 May 1759 to     25 Dec 1824	GB	1	Sampson Gideon (he changed his surname to Eardley in July 1789) He was subsequently created Baron Eardley in 1789 with which title the baronetcy then merged until its extinction in 1824	10 Oct 1744	25 Dec 1824	80
EARDLEY of Hadley, Middlesex
22 Dec 1802	UK	1	Culling Smith	20 Nov 1731	19 Oct 1812	80
19 Oct 1812		2	Culling Smith	1769	30 Jun 1829	59
30 Jun 1829		3	Culling Eardley Smith (Eardley from 1847) MP for Pontefract 1830‑1831	21 Apr 1805	21 May 1863	58
21 May 1863 to     13 May 1875		4	Eardley Gideon Culling Eardley For further information on this baronet, see the note at the foot of this page Extinct on his death	12 Aug 1838	13 May 1875	36
EARDLEY-WILMOT of Berkswell Hall, Warwicks
23 Aug 1821	UK	1	John Eardley Eardley-Wilmot MP for Warwickshire North 1832‑1843; Governor of Tasmania 1843‑1846 For information on this baronet, see the note at the foot of this page	21 Feb 1783	3 Feb 1847	63
3 Feb 1847		2	John Eardley Eardley-Wilmot MP for Warwickshire South 1874‑1885	16 Nov 1810	1 Feb 1892	81
1 Feb 1892		3	William Assheton Eardley‑Wilmot	16 May 1841	12 Apr 1896	54
12 Apr 1896		4	John Eardley-Wilmot	14 Oct 1882	9 Feb 1970	87
9 Feb 1970		5	John Assheton Eardley-Wilmot	2 Jan 1917	20 Dec 1995	78
20 Dec 1995		6	Michael John Assheton Eardley‑Wilmot	13 Jan 1941	15 Nov 2014	73
15 Nov 2014		7	Benjamin John Eardley-Wilmot	24 Jan 1974
EARLE of Craglethorpe, Lincs
2 Jul 1629	E	1	Richard Earle	c 1606	25 Mar 1667
25 Mar 1667		2	Richard Earle		c 1670
c 1670		3	Richard Earle		c 1680
c 1680 to     13 Aug 1697		4	Richard Earle Extinct on his death	c 1673	13 Aug 1697
EARLE of Allerton Tower, Lancs
3 Nov 1869	UK	1	Hardman Earle	11 Jul 1792	25 Jan 1877	84
25 Jan 1877		2	Thomas Earle	30 Jun 1820	13 Apr 1900	79
13 Apr 1900		3	Henry Earle	15 Aug 1854	16 Jul 1939	84
16 Jul 1939		4	Thomas Algernon Earle	16 Jul 1860	5 Sep 1945	85
5 Sep 1945		5	Hardman Alexander Mort Earle	19 Aug 1902	17 Sep 1979	77
17 Sep 1979		6	Hardman George Algernon Earle	4 Feb 1932
EAST of Marden, Surrey
13 Jan 1732	GB		See "Clayton"
EAST of Hall Place, Berks
5 Jun 1766	GB	1	William East	27 Feb 1738	12 Oct 1819	81
12 Oct 1819 to     11 Dec 1828		2	Gilbert East Extinct on his death	17 Apr 1764	11 Dec 1828	64
EAST of Calcutta, India
25 Apr 1823	UK	1	Sir Edward Hyde East MP for Great Bedwyn 1792‑1796 and Winchester 1823‑1831; PC 1831	9 Sep 1764	8 Jan 1847	82
8 Jan 1847 to     19 Nov 1878		2	James Buller East MP for Winchester 1831‑1832 and 1835‑1864 Extinct on his death	1 Feb 1789	19 Nov 1878	89
EAST of Hall Place, Berks
17 Aug 1838	UK		See "Clayton-East"
EASTHOPE of Fir Grove, Surrey
24 Aug 1841 to     11 Dec 1865	UK	1	John Easthope MP for St. Albans 1826‑1830, Banbury 1831‑1832 and Leicester 1837‑1847 Extinct on his death	29 Oct 1784	11 Dec 1865	81
EATON of Dunmoylin, Limerick
21 Feb 1682 to     Dec 1697	I	1	Simon Eaton Extinct on his death		16 Dec 1697
EBRAHIM of Bombay
20 Jul 1910	UK	1	Sir Currimbhoy Ebrahim	21 Oct 1840	26 Sep 1924	83
26 Sep 1924		2	Mahomedbhoy Currimbhoy Ebrahim	11 Sep 1867	3 Mar 1928	60
3 Mar 1928		3	Huseinlali Currimbhoy Ebrahim	13 Apr 1903	4 Mar 1952	48
4 Mar 1952		4	Mahomed Currimbhoy Ebrahim	24 Jun 1935
ECHLIN of Clonagh, co. Kildare
17 Oct 1721	I	1	Henry Echlin	1652	29 Nov 1725	73
29 Nov 1725		2	Robert Echlin	13 Nov 1699	13 May 1757	57
13 May 1757		3	Henry Echlin	22 Dec 1740	1799	58
1799		4	James Echlin	1769	18 Feb 1833	63
18 Feb 1833		5	Frederick Henry Echlin	4 Mar 1795	27 May 1871	76
27 May 1871		6	Ferdinand Fenton Echlin	10 Mar 1798	4 Jul 1877	79
4 Jul 1877		7	Thomas Echlin	8 Nov 1844	1 Nov 1906	61
1 Nov 1906		8	Henry Frederick Echlin For further information on this baronet, see the note at the foot of this page	14 Aug 1846	8 Nov 1923	77
8 Nov 1923		9	John Frederick Echlin	18 Sep 1890	25 Sep 1932	42
25 Sep 1932 to     11 Apr 2007		10	Norman David Fenton Echlin Extinct on his death	1 Dec 1925	11 Apr 2007	81
ECKSTEIN of Fairwarp, Sussex and of the Sudan
24 Apr 1929	UK	1	Friedrich Gustav Jonathan Eckstein	9 Apr 1857	10 Jun 1930	73
10 Jun 1930 to     10 May 1948		2	Bernard Eckstein Extinct on his death	2 Nov 1894	10 May 1948	53
EDEN of West Auckland, Durham
13 Nov 1672	E	1	Robert Eden MP for Durham County 1679, 1690‑1695, 1698‑1701 and 1702‑1713	c 1644	30 Mar 1721
30 Mar 1721		2	John Eden MP for Durham County 1713‑1727	11 Sep 1677	2 May 1728	50
2 May 1728		3	Robert Eden	c 1718	25 Jun 1755
25 Jun 1755		4	John Eden MP for Durham County 1774‑1790	16 Sep 1740	23 Aug 1812	71
23 Aug 1812		5	Robert Johnson-Eden	25 Oct 1774	4 Sep 1844	69
4 Sep 1844		6	Sir William Eden, 4th baronet He had previously succeeded to the baronetcy of Eden created 1776 in 1814	31 Jan 1803	21 Oct 1873	70
21 Oct 1873		7 5	William Eden	4 Apr 1849	20 Feb 1915	65
20 Feb 1915		8 6	Timothy Calvert Eden	3 May 1893	13 May 1963	70
13 May 1963		9 7	John Benedict Eden, later [1983] Baron Eden of Winton [L] MP for Bournemouth West 1954‑1983; Minister of State, Technology 1970; Minister for Industry 1970‑1972; Minister of Posts & Telecommunications 1972‑1974; PC 1972	15 Sep 1925	25 May 2020	94
25 May 2020		10 8	Robert Frederick Calvert Eden	30 Apr 1964
EDEN of Maryland, North America
19 Oct 1776	GB	1	Robert Eden	c 1741	2 Sep 1784
2 Sep 1784		2	Frederick Morton Eden	c 1767	14 Nov 1809
14 Nov 1809		3	Frederick Eden	c 1798	24 Dec 1814
24 Dec 1814		4	William Eden He subsequently succeeded to the baronetcy of Eden created 1672 in 1844 when the baronetcies merged	31 Jan 1803	21 Oct 1873	70
EDGAR of Chalfont, Bucks
17 Feb 1920 to     7 Oct 1934	UK	1	Edward Mackay Edgar Extinct on his death	27 Feb 1876	7 Oct 1934	58
EDGE of Ribble Lodge, Lancs
9 Jun 1937	UK	1	Sir William Edge MP for Bolton 1916‑1923 and Bosworth 1927‑1945	21 Nov 1880	18 Dec 1948	68
18 Dec 1948		2	Knowles Edge	31 Dec 1905	19 Mar 1984	78
19 Mar 1984		3	William Edge	5 Oct 1936
EDMONSTONE of Duntreath, Stirling
20 May 1774	GB	1	Archibald Edmonstone MP for Dunbartonshire 1761‑1780 and 1790‑1796, and Ayr Burghs 1780‑1790	10 Oct 1717	20 Jul 1807	89
20 Jul 1807		2	Charles Edmonstone MP for Dunbartonshire 1806‑1807 and Stirlingshire 1812‑1821	10 Oct 1764	1 Apr 1821	56
1 Apr 1821		3	Archibald Edmonstone	12 Mar 1795	15 Mar 1871	76
15 Mar 1871		4	William Edmonstone MP for Stirlingshire 1874‑1880	29 Jan 1810	18 Feb 1888	78
18 Feb 1888		5	Archibald Edmonstone	30 May 1867	1 Apr 1954	86
1 Apr 1954		6	Archibald Charles Edmonstone	16 Jun 1898	5 Jun 1954	55
5 Jun 1954		7	Archibald Bruce Charles Edmonstone	3 Aug 1934
EDWARDES of Shrewsbury, Salop
21 Mar 1645	E	1	Thomas Edwards	c 1599	27 Apr 1660
Apr 1660 22 Apr 1678		2 1	Francis Edwards He obtained a fresh creation in 1678 MP for Shrewsbury 1685‑1690	13 May 1643	1690	47
1690		2	Francis Edwards		23 Oct 1701
Oct 1701		3	Francis Edwards	17 Apr 1699	5 Aug 1734	35
5 Aug 1734		4	Henry Edwards		26 Mar 1767
26 Mar 1767		5	Thomas Edwards	c 1730	13 Nov 1790
13 Nov 1790		6	Thomas Edwardes	7 Jan 1727	22 Sep 1797	70
22 Sep 1797		7	John Thomas Cholmondeley Edwardes	c 1764	23 Feb 1816
23 Feb 1816		8	Henry Edwardes	14 Aug 1787	26 Aug 1841	54
26 Aug 1841 to     24 Aug 1900		9	Henry Hope Edwardes Both creations extinct on his death	10 Apr 1829	24 Aug 1900	71
EDWARDS of York, Yorks
7 Dec 1691	E	1	James Edwards		Mar 1702
Mar 1702		2	James Edwards	c 1689	1744
1744 to     4 Mar 1764		3	Nathaniel Edwards Extinct on his death	c 1699	4 Mar 1764
EDWARDS of Garth, Montgomery
23 Jul 1838 to     19 Apr 1850	UK	1	John Edwards MP for Montgomery 1833‑1841 Extinct on his death	15 Jan 1770	19 Apr 1850	80
EDWARDS of Pye Nest, Yorks
3 Aug 1866	UK	1	Henry Edwards MP for Halifax 1847‑1852 and Beverley 1857‑1868 For further information on this baronet, see the note at the foot of this page	20 Jul 1812	23 Apr 1886	73
23 Apr 1886		2	Henry Coster Lea Edwards	3 Jun 1840	5 Dec 1896	56
5 Dec 1896		3	John Henry Priestley Churchill Edwards	7 Jul 1889	13 Nov 1942	53
13 Nov 1942		4	Henry Charles Serrell Priestley Edwards	1 Mar 1893	3 Apr 1963	70
3 Apr 1963		5	Christopher John Churchill Edwards	16 Aug 1941
EDWARDS of Knighton, Radnor
25 Jul 1907 to     10 May 1927	UK	1	Francis Edwards MP for Radnorshire 1892‑1895, 1900‑1910 and 1910‑1918 Extinct on his death	28 Apr 1852	10 May 1927	75
EDWARDS of Treforis, Glamorgan
30 Jun 1921	UK	1	John Bryn Edwards	12 Jan 1889	23 Aug 1922	33
23 Aug 1922 to     19 Feb 1999		2	John Clive Leighton Edwards Extinct on his death	11 Oct 1916	19 Feb 1999	82
EDWARDS-MOSS of Roby Hall, Lancs
23 Dec 1868	UK	1	Thomas Edwards-Moss	17 Jul, 1811	26 Apr 1890	78
26 Apr 1890		2	John Edwards Edwards-Moss	25 Oct 1850	26 Jun 1935	84
26 Jun 1935		3	Thomas Edwards-Moss	17 Jan 1874	26 Jul 1960	86
26 Jul 1960		4	John Herbert Theodore Edwards‑Moss	24 Jun 1913	28 Dec 1988	75
28 Dec 1988		5	David John Edwards-Moss	2 Feb 1955
EGERTON of Egerton, Cheshire
5 Apr 1617	E	1	Roland Egerton MP for Wootton Bassett 1624‑1625		3 Oct 1646
Oct 1646		2	John Egerton		1674
1674		3	John Egerton	c 1658	12 Apr 1729
12 Apr 1729		4	Holland Egerton	c 1689	25 Apr 1730
25 Apr 1730		5	Edward Egerton	c 1719	16 Feb 1744
16 Feb 1744		6	Thomas Grey Egerton MP for Newton 1747‑1754	c 1721	7 Aug 1756
7 Aug 1756		7	Thomas Egerton, later [1801] 1st Earl of Wilton	14 Aug 1749	23 Sep 1814	65
23 Sep 1814		8	John Egerton (Grey-Egerton from 17 Oct 1815) MP for Chester 1807‑1818	11 Jul 1766	24 May 1825	58
24 May 1825		9	Philip Grey-Egerton	6 Jan 1767	13 Dec 1829	62
13 Dec 1829		10	Philip de Malpas Grey‑Egerton MP for Chester 1830‑1831, Cheshire South 1835‑1868 and Cheshire West 1868‑1881	13 Nov 1806	5 Apr 1881	74
5 Apr 1881		11	Philip le Belward Grey‑Egerton	28 Mar 1833	2 Sep 1891	58
2 Sep 1891		12	Philip Henry Brian Grey‑Egerton	29 Apr 1864	4 Jul 1937	73
4 Jul 1937		13	Brooke de Malpas Grey‑Egerton	19 Aug 1845	5 Nov 1945	100
5 Nov 1945		14	Philip Reginald le Belward Grey‑Egerton	3 Sep 1885	9 Jun 1962	76
9 Jun 1962		15	Philip John Caledon Grey‑Egerton	19 Oct 1920	19 Feb 2008	87
19 Feb 2008		16	David Boswell Egerton	24 Jul 1914	17 Nov 2010	96
17 Nov 2010		17	William de Malpas Egerton	27 Apr 1949
EGERTON-BARRETT-BRYDGES of Denton Court, Kent
27 May 1815	UK		See "Brydges"
ELDRED of Saxham Magna, Suffolk
29 Jan 1642 to     c 1653	E	1	Revett Eldred Extinct on his death		c 1653
ELEY of Sagamore, Oxon
14 Jan 1921 to     7 Feb 1951	UK	1	Frederick Eley Extinct on his death	22 Nov 1866	7 Feb 1951	84
ELFORD of Bickham, Devon
26 Nov 1800 to     30 Nov 1837	GB	1	William Elford MP for Plymouth 1796‑1806 and Rye 1807‑1808 Extinct on his death	Aug 1749	30 Nov 1837	88
ELGAR of Broadheath, Worcs
23 Jun 1931 to     23 Feb 1934	UK	1	Sir Edward William Elgar OM 1911 Extinct on his death	2 Jun 1857	23 Feb 1934	76
ELIOTT of Stobs, Roxburgh
3 Dec 1666	NS	1	Gilbert Eliott		c 1680
c 1680		2	William Eliott		19 Feb 1699
19 Feb 1699		3	Gilbert Eliott MP for Roxburghshire 1708‑1715 and 1726‑1727	c 1680	27 May 1764
27 May 1764		4	John Eliott	c 1705	31 Dec 1767
31 Dec 1767		5	Francis Eliott		20 Jun 1791
20 Jun 1791		6	William Eliott		14 May 1812
14 May 1812		7	William Francis Eliott	1792	3 Sep 1864	72
3 Sep 1864		8	William Francis Augustus Eliott	2 Feb 1827	6 Apr 1910	83
6 Apr 1910		9	Arthur Boswell Eliott	13 Jul 1856	15 Jan 1926	69
15 Jan 1926		10	Gilbert Alexander Boswell Eliott	5 May 1885	26 Jul 1958	73
26 Jul 1958		11	Arthur Francis Augustus Boswell Eliott	2 Jan 1915	6 Apr 1989	74
6 Apr 1989		12	Charles Joseph Alexander Eliott	9 Jan 1937	8 Jul 2014	77
8 Jul 2014		13	Rodney Gilbert Charles Eliott	15 Jul 1966
ELLERMAN of Connaught Square, London
11 Dec 1905	UK	1	John Reeves Ellerman CH 1921	15 May 1862	16 Jul 1933	71
16 Jul 1933 to     17 Jul 1973		2	John Reeves Ellerman Extinct on his death	21 Dec 1909	17 Jul 1973	63
ELLIOT of Headshaw, Roxburgh
19 Apr 1700	NS	1	Gilbert Elliot	c 1650	1 May 1718
1 May 1718		2	Gilbert Elliot MP for Roxburghshire 1722‑1726	c 1693	16 Apr 1766
16 Apr 1766		3	Gilbert Elliot MP for Selkirkshire 1753‑1765 and Roxburghshire 1765‑1777	Sep 1722	11 Feb 1777	54
11 Feb 1777		4	Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound He was subsequently created Baron Minto in 1797 and Earl of Minto in 1813 with which title the baronetcy remains merged, although as at 30/06/2014 it does not appear on the Official Roll of the Baronetage	23 Apr 1751	21 Jun 1814	63
ELLIOT of Penshaw, Durham
15 May 1874	UK	1	George Elliot MP for Durham County North 1868‑1874, 1874‑1880 and 1881‑1885, and Monmouth 1886‑1892	18 Mar 1814	23 Dec 1893	79
23 Dec 1893		2	George William Elliot MP for Northallerton 1874‑1885 and Richmond 1886‑1895	13 May 1844	15 Nov 1895	51
15 Nov 1895		3	George Elliot	30 May 1867	14 Oct 1904	37
14 Oct 1904 to     15 Jan 1911		4	Charles Elliot Extinct on his death	2 Apr 1873	15 Jan 1911	37
ELLIOTT of Peebles, Scotland
25 Jul 1778 to     7 Nov 1786	GB	1	John Elliott Extinct on his death	1736	7 Nov 1786	50
ELLIOTT of Limpsfield, Surrey
21 Jun 1917	UK	1	Sir Thomas Henry Elliott	7 Sep 1854	4 Jun 1926	71
4 Jun 1926		2	Ivo D'Oyly Elliott	7 Mar 1882	18 Sep 1961	79
18 Sep 1961		3	Hugh Francis Ivo Elliott	10 Mar 1913	21 Dec 1989	76
21 Dec 1989		4	Clive Christopher Hugh Elliott	12 Aug 1945	18 Apr 2018	72
18 Apr 2018		5	Ivo Anthony Moritz Elliott	9 May 1978
ELLIS of Byfleet, Surrey
6 Jun 1882 to     20 Sep 1912	UK	1	John Whittaker Ellis MP for Surrey Mid 1884‑1885 and Kingston upon Thames 1885‑1892 Extinct on his death	25 Jan 1829	20 Sep 1912	83
ELLIS of Threshfield, Yorks
24 Jun 1932 to     28 Jul 1956	UK	1	Robert Geoffrey Ellis MP for Wakefield 1922‑1923 and 1924‑1929, Winchester 1931‑1935 and Ecclesall 1935‑1945 Extinct on his death	4 Sep 1874	28 Jul 1956	81
ELLIS-GRIFFITH of Llanidan, Anglesey
26 Jan 1918	UK	1	Ellis Jones Ellis-Griffith MP for Anglesey 1895‑1918 and Carmarthen 1923‑1924; PC 1914	23 May 1860	30 Nov 1926	66
30 Nov 1926 to     14 Jun 1934		2	Elis Arundell Ellis-Griffith Extinct on his death	15 Sep 1896	14 Jun 1934	37
ELLIS-NANNEY of Gwynfryn, Carnarvon and Cefndeuddwr, Merioneth
7 Mar 1898 to     7 Jun 1920	UK	1	Hugh John Ellis-Nanney	16 Feb 1845	7 Jun 1920	75
ELLYS of Wyham, Lincs
30 Jun 1660	E	1	Thomas Ellys	8 Oct 1627	1668
1668		2	William Ellys MP for Grantham 1679‑1685 and 1689‑1713	2 May 1654	6 Oct 1727	73
6 Oct 1727 to     14 Feb 1742		3	Richard Ellys MP for Grantham 1701‑1705 and Boston 1719‑1734 Extinct on his death	14 Mar 1683	14 Feb 1742	58
ELPHINSTONE of Elphinstone, Lanark
20 Jun 1628 to     10 Dec 1645	NS	1	William Elphinstone On his death the baronetcy became dormant		10 Dec 1645
ELPHINSTONE of Logie, Aberdeen
2 Dec 1701	NS	1	James Elphinstone	c 1645	10 Mar 1722
10 Mar 1722		2	John Elphinstone	8 Aug 1675	11 Mar 1732	56
11 Mar 1732		3	James Elphinstone	c 1710	Apr 1739
Apr 1739 to     Jan 1743		4	John Elphinstone On his death the baronetcy became dormant	c 1717	Jan 1743
[Jan 1743]		5	John Elphinstone	1665	Sep 1758	93
[Sep 1758]		6	Alexander Elphinstone		26 Nov 1795
[26 Nov 1795]		7	John Elphinstone	15 May 1771	16 Apr 1835	63
[16 Apr 1835]		8	Alexander Elphinstone	3 Apr 1801	28 Nov 1888	87
[28 Nov 1888]		9	John Elphinstone	16 Dec 1834	30 Jun 1893	58
[30 Jun 1893] Nov 1927		10	Alexander Logie Elphinstone Proved his right to the baronetcy in 1927 For further information on this baronet, see the note at the foot of this page	8 Mar 1880	16 Dec 1970	90
16 Dec 1970		11	John Elphinston	12 Aug 1924	28 May 2015	90
28 May 2015		12	Alexander Elphinston	6 Jun 1955
ELPHINSTONE of Sowerby, Cumberland
25 May 1816	UK	1	Howard Elphinstone	4 Mar 1773	28 Apr 1846	73
28 Apr 1846		2	Howard Elphinstone MP for Hastings 1835‑1837 and Lewes 1841‑1847	9 Jun 1804	16 Mar 1893	88
16 Mar 1893		3	Howard Warburton Elphinstone	26 Jul 1830	3 Jan 1917	86
3 Jan 1917		4	Howard Graham Elphinstone	28 Dec 1898	18 May 1975	76
18 May 1975		5	Maurice Douglas Warburton Elphinstone	13 Apr 1909	5 Dec 1995	86
5 Dec 1995		6	John Howard Main Elphinstone	25 Feb 1949
ELPHINSTONE-DALRYMPLE of North Berwick, Haddington
16 Jan 1828	UK	1	Robert Dalrymple-Horn-Elphinstone	27 Feb 1766	11 Oct 1848	82
11 Oct 1848		2	James Dalrymple-Horn-Elphinstone MP for Portsmouth 1857‑1865 and 1868‑1880	20 Nov 1805	26 Dec 1886	81
26 Dec 1886		3	Robert Elphinstone Dalrymple-Horn-Elphinstone	12 Sep 1841	11 Feb 1887	45
11 Feb 1887		4	Graeme Hepburn Dalrymple-Horn-Elphinstone	12 Sep 1841	23 May 1900	58
23 May 1900		5	Robert Graeme Elphinstone-Dalrymple	17 Jan 1844	16 Apr 1908	64
16 Apr 1908		6	Edward Arthur Elphinstone-Dalrymple	3 Oct 1877	24 Apr 1913	35
24 Apr 1913 to     18 Dec 1956		7	Francis Napier Elphinstone-Dalrymple On his death the baronetcy became dormant	17 Jul 1882	18 Dec 1956	74
ELTON of Bristol, Somerset
31 Oct 1717	GB	1	Abraham Elton MP for Bristol 1722‑1727	3 Jul 1654	9 Feb 1728	73
9 Feb 1728		2	Abraham Elton MP for Taunton 1724‑1727 and Bristol 1727‑1742	30 Jun 1679	20 Oct 1742	63
20 Oct 1743		3	Abraham Elton	1703	29 Nov 1761	58
29 Nov 1761		4	Abraham Isaac Elton	1717	5 Feb 1790	72
5 Feb 1790		5	Abraham Elton	23 Mar 1755	23 Feb 1842	86
23 Feb 1842		6	Charles Abraham Elton	31 Oct 1778	1 Jun 1853	74
1 Jun 1853		7	Arthur Hallam Elton MP for Bath 1857‑1859	19 Apr 1818	14 Oct 1883	65
14 Oct 1883		8	Edmund Harry Elton	3 May 1846	17 Jul 1920	74
17 Jul 1920		9	Ambrose Elton	23 May 1869	11 Jul 1951	82
11 Jul 1951		10	Arthur Hallam Rice Elton	10 Feb 1906	1 Jan 1973	66
1 Jan 1973		11	Charles Abraham Grierson Elton	23 May 1953
ELTON of Widworthy Court, Devon
1 Aug 1838	UK		See "Marwood-Elton"
ELWES of Stoke, Suffolk
22 Jun 1660	E	1	Gervase Elwes MP for Sudbury 1677‑1679, 1679‑1681 and 1700‑1706, and Suffolk 1679 and 1690‑1698	21 Aug 1628	11 Apr 1706	77
11 Apr 1706		2	Hervey Elwes MP for Sudbury 1706‑1710 and 1713‑1722	Jul 1683	22 Oct 1763	80
22 Oct 1763		3	William Elwes		26 Nov 1778
Nov 1778 to     Jan 1787		4	Henry Elwes On his death the baronetcy became either extinct or dormant		19 Jan 1787
ELWILL of Exeter, Devon
25 Aug 1709	GB	1	John Elwill MP for Bere Alston 1681, 1689‑1690 and 1695‑1698	24 Sep 1643	25 Apr 1717	73
25 Apr 1717		2	John Elwill		10 Sep 1727
10 Sep 1727		3	Edmund Elwill		2 Feb 1740
2 Feb 1740 to     1 Mar 1778		4	John Elwill MP for Guildford 1747‑1768 Extinct on his death		1 Mar 1778
EMERSON-TENNENT of Tempo Manor, Fermanagh
14 Feb 1867	UK	1	Sir James Emerson-Tennent MP for Belfast 1832‑1837 and 1838‑1845	7 Apr 1804	6 Mar 1869	64
6 Mar 1869 to     16 Nov 1876		2	William Emerson-Tennent Extinct on his death	14 May 1835	16 Nov 1876	41
ENGLEFIELD of Wotton Basset, Wilts
25 Nov 1611	E	1	Francis Englefield	c 1561	26 Oct 1631
26 Oct 1631		2	Francis Englefield		1 May 1656
1 May 1656		3	Francis Englefield		May 1665
May 1665		4	Thomas Englefield		1678
1678		5	Charles Englefield	c 1670	21 Apr 1728
21 Apr 1728		6	Henry Englefield		25 May 1780
25 May 1780 to     21 Mar 1822		7	Henry Charles Englefield Extinct on his death	1752	21 Mar 1822	69
ENNIS of Ballinahown Court, Westmeath
27 Jul 1866	UK	1	John Ennis MP for Athlone 1857‑1865	1809	8 Aug 1878	69
8 Aug 1878 to     28 May 1884		2	John James Ennis MP for Athlone 1868‑1874 and 1880‑1884 Extinct on his death	1842	28 May 1884	41
ENYON of Flowrie, Northants
9 Apr 1642 to     15 Sep 1643	E	1	James Enyon Extinct on his death	c 1587	15 Sep 1643
ERICHSEN of Cavendish Place, London
26 Feb 1895 to     23 Sep 1896	UK	1	John Eric Erichsen Extinct on his death	19 Jul 1818	23 Sep 1896	77
ERNLE of Etchilhampton, Wilts
2 Feb 1660	E	1	Walter Ernle MP for Devizes 1679 and 1681‑1682	c 1628	25 Jul 1682
25 Jul 1682		2	Walter Ernle	c 1671	1690
1690		3	Edward Ernle MP for Devizes 1695‑1698, Wiltshire 1698‑1701, Wareham 1701, 1704‑1705, 1710‑1713 and 1722‑1729, Heytesbury 1701‑1702, Marlborough 1708‑1710 and Portsmouth 1715‑1722	c 1673	31 Jan 1729
31 Jan 1729		4	Walter Ernle	1676	16 Jul 1732	56
16 Jul 1732 to     30 Mar 1734		5	John Ernle Extinct on his death	c 1681	30 Mar 1734
ERRINGTON of Hooton, Cheshire
17 Jun 1661	E	1	William Stanley	Sep 1628	30 Sep 1673	45
Sep 1673		2	Rowland Stanley	Jun 1653	5 Jun 1737	83
5 Jun 1737		3	William Stanley	11 Nov 1679	Jul 1740	60
Jul 1740		4	Rowland Stanley	23 Aug 1707	9 Apr 1771	63
9 Apr 1771		5	William Stanley	c 1753	29 May 1792
29 May 1792		6	John Stanley-Massey-Stanley	28 Feb 1711	24 Nov 1794	83
24 Nov 1794		7	Thomas Stanley-Massey-Stanley	c 1755	19 Feb 1795
19 Feb 1795		8	William Stanley-Massey-Stanley	c 1780	14 Jun 1800
14 Jun 1800		9	Thomas Stanley-Massey-Stanley	23 Jan 1782	20 Aug 1841	59
20 Aug 1841		10	William Thomas Stanley-Massey-Stanley MP for Pontefract 1837‑1841	24 Nov 1806	29 Jun 1863	56
29 Jun 1863		11	Rowland Errington	4 Apr 1809	31 Mar 1875	65
31 Mar 1875 to     19 Mar 1893		12	John Errington Extinct on his death	30 Apr 1810	19 Mar 1893	82
ERRINGTON of Lockham Manor, Wilts
18 Jul 1885 to     19 Mar 1920	UK	1	George Errington MP for co. Longford 1874‑1885 Extinct on his death	1839	19 Mar 1920	80
ERRINGTON of Ness, Cheshire
26 Jun 1963	UK	1	Sir Eric Errington MP for Bootle 1935‑1945 and Aldershot 1954‑1970	17 Mar 1900	3 Jun 1973	73
3 Jun 1973		2	Geoffrey Frederick Errington	15 Feb 1926	3 Oct 2015	89
3 Oct 2015		3	Robin Davenport Errington	1 Jul 1957
ERSKINE of Alva, Fife
30 Apr 1666	NS	1	Charles Erskine	4 Jul 1643	4 Jun 1690	46
4 Jun 1690		2	James Erskine	c 1670	23 Jul 1693
23 Jul 1693		3	John Erskine MP for Scotland 1707‑1708 and Clackmannanshire 1713‑1715	1672	12 Mar 1739	66
12 Mar 1739		4	Charles Erskine		2 Jul 1747
2 Jul 1747		5	Henry Erskine MP for Ayr Burghs 1749‑1754 and Anstruther Easter Burghs 1754‑1765	23 Dec 1710	7 Aug 1765	54
7 Aug 1765		6	James Erskine He subsequently succeeded to the Earldom of Rosslyn in 1805 with which title the baronetcy remains merged	6 Feb 1762	18 Jan 1837	74
ERSKINE of Cambo, Fife
20 Aug 1666	NS	1	Charles Erskine	c 1620	Feb 1677
Feb 1677		2	Alexander Erskine MP for Fifeshire 1710‑1715	c 1663	4 Aug 1727
4 Aug 1727		3	Charles Erskine		8 Feb 1753
8 Feb 1753		4	John Erskine		20 Jul 1754
20 Jul 1754		5	William Erskine		30 Oct 1780
30 Oct 1780		6	Charles Erskine		6 Mar 1790
6 Mar 1790		7	William Erskine	c 1760	2 Oct 1791
2 Oct 1791		8	Charles Erskine He subsequently succeeded to the Earldom of Kellie in 1797 with which title the baronetcy then merged until its extinction in 1829	1764	28 Oct 1799	35
ERSKINE of Torrie, Fife
28 Jul 1791	GB	1	William Erskine	27 Mar 1728	19 Mar 1795	66
19 Mar 1795		2	William Erskine MP for Fifeshire 1796‑1806 For further information on this baronet, see the note at the foot of this page	30 Mar 1770	14 May 1813	43
14 May 1813		3	James Erskine	30 Sep 1772	3 Mar 1825	52
3 Mar 1825 to     30 Jul 1836		4	John Drummond Erskine Extinct on his death	5 Apr 1776	30 Jul 1836	60
ERSKINE of Cambo, Fife
27 Aug 1821	UK	1	David Erskine	6 Feb 1792	29 Jan 1841	48
29 Jan 1841		2	Thomas Erskine	23 Jul 1824	27 Sep 1902	78
27 Sep 1902		3	Ffolliott Williams Erskine	28 Oct 1850	9 Jan 1912	61
9 Jan 1912		4	Thomas Wilfrid Hargreaves John Erskine	27 May 1880	29 Apr 1944	63
29 Apr 1944		5	Thomas David Erskine	31 Jul 1912	21 Mar 2007	94
21 Mar 2007		6	Thomas Peter Neil Erskine	28 Mar 1950
ERSKINE of Rerrick
5 Jul 1961	UK	1	John Maxwell Erskine He subsequently created Baron Erskine of Rerrick in 1964 with which title the baronetcy then merged until its extinction in 1995	14 Dec 1893	14 Dec 1980	87
ERSKINE-HILL of Quothquhan, Lanark
22 Jun 1945	UK	1	Alexander Galloway Erskine‑Hill MP for Edinburgh North 1935‑1945	3 Apr 1894	6 Jun 1947	53
6 Jun 1947		2	Robert Erskine-Hill	6 Feb 1917	10 Jul 1989	72
10 Jul 1989		3	Alexander Rodger Erskine‑Hill	15 Aug 1949
ESMONDE of Ballynastragh, co. Wexford
28 Jan 1629	I	1	Thomas Esmonde		c 1665
c 1665		2	Laurence Esmonde		1688
1688		3	Laurence Esmonde		c 1717
c 1717		4	Laurence Esmonde		1738
1738		5	John Esmonde		30 Jun 1758
30 Jun 1758		6	Walter Esmonde		Feb 1766
Feb 1766		7	James Esmonde He held the baronetcy for only two days	23 Apr 1701	Feb 1766	65
Feb 1766		8	Thomas Esmonde		19 Dec 1803
19 Dec 1803		9	Thomas Esmonde MP for Wexford 1841‑1847; PC [I] 1846	10 Dec 1786	31 Dec 1868	82
31 Dec 1868		10	John Esmonde MP for co. Waterford 1852‑1876 For information on this baronet's brother, Thomas Esmonde VC, see the note at the foot of this page	16 May 1826	9 Dec 1876	50
9 Dec 1876		11	Thomas Henry Grattan Esmonde MP for Dublin County South 1885‑1892, Kerry West 1892‑1900 and Wexford County North 1900‑1918	21 Sep 1862	15 Sep 1935	72
15 Sep 1935		12	Osmond Thomas Grattan Esmonde	4 Apr 1896	22 Jul 1936	40
22 Jul 1936		13	Laurence Grattan Esmonde	3 Nov 1863	1 Feb 1943	79
1 Feb 1943		14	John Lymbrick Esmonde MP for Tipperary North 1915‑1918	15 Dec 1893	6 Jul 1958	64
6 Jul 1958		15	Anthony Charles Esmonde	18 Jan 1899	17 Mar 1981	82
17 Mar 1981		16	John Henry Grattan Esmonde	27 Jun 1928	16 May 1987	58
16 May 1987		17	Thomas Francis Grattan Esmonde	14 Oct 1960	24 Jul 2021	60
24 Jul 2021		18	Sean Vincent Grattan Esmonde	8 Jan 1989
ESPLEN of Hardres Court, Kent
14 Jul 1921	UK	1	Sir John Esplen	7 Apr 1863	7 Feb 1930	66
7 Feb 1930		2	William Graham Esplen	29 Dec 1899	29 Apr 1989	89
29 Apr 1989		3	John Graham Esplen	4 Aug 1932	26 Mar 2016	83
26 Mar 2016		4	William John Harry Esplen	24 Feb 1967
ESSEX of Bewcot, Berks
25 Nov 1611 to     c 1645	E	1	William Essex MP for Arundel 1597‑1598 and Stafford 1601 Extinct on his death	c 1575	c 1645
ESTCOURT of Newton, Wilts
17 Mar 1627	E	1	Giles Estcourt MP for Cirencester 1628‑1629	c 1601	c 1650
c 1650		2	Giles Estcourt		c Jul 1676
c Jul 1676 to     c 1684		3	William Estcourt Extinct on his death		c 1684
ETHERINGTON of Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorks
22 Nov 1775 to     16 Aug 1819	GB	1	Henry Etherington Extinct on his death	c 1732	16 Aug 1819
EUSTACE of Castle Martin, Kildare
23 Dec 1685 to     1691	I	1	Maurice Eustace He was attainted and the baronetcy forfeited in 1691		15 Oct 1693
EVANS of Kilcreene, Kilkenny
19 Feb 1683 to     May 1690	I	1	William Evans Extinct on his death	1662	May 1690	27
EVANS of Allestree Hall, Derby
18 Jul 1887 to     4 Oct 1892	UK	1	Thomas William Evans MP for Derbyshire South 1857‑1868 and 1874‑1885 Extinct on his death	15 Apr 1821	4 Oct 1892	71
EVANS of Tubbendeny, Kent
26 Jul 1902	UK	1	Sir Francis Henry Evans MP for Southampton 1896‑1900 and Maidstone 1901‑1906	29 Aug 1840	22 Jan 1907	66
22 Jan 1907		2	Murland de Grasse Evans	8 Dec 1874	28 Jun 1946	71
28 Jun 1946 to     1 Feb 1970		3	Evelyn Ward Evans Extinct on his death	4 Mar 1883	1 Feb 1970	86
EVANS of Colchester, Essex
15 Nov 1916	UK		See "Worthington-Evans"
EVANS of Wightwick, Staffs
31 Jan 1920	UK	1	Walter Harry Evans For information on the death of this baronet's son and heir, see the note at the foot of this page	19 May 1872	7 Nov 1954	82
7 Nov 1954 to     30 Aug 2017		2	Anthony Adney Evans Presumed extinct on his death. His sons appear to have been born to his second wife before they were married in 1967	5 Aug 1922	30 Aug 2017	95
EVANS of Rottingdean, Sussex
21 Nov 1963 to     21 Apr 1983	UK	1	Harold Evans Extinct on his death	29 Apr 1911	21 Apr 1983	71
EVANS-BEVAN of Cadoxton-Juxta-Neath, Glamorgan
9 Jul 1958	UK	1	David Martyn Evans-Bevan	4 Mar 1902	9 Sep 1973	71
9 Sep 1973		2	Martyn Evan Evans-Bevan	1 Apr 1932
EVANS-FREKE of Castle Freke, Cork
15 Jul 1768	I	1	John Freke (later Evans-Freke)	1744	20 Mar 1777	32
20 Mar 1777		2	John Evans-Freke He subsequently succeeded to the Barony of Carbery in 1807 with which title the baronetcy remains merged	11 Nov 1765	12 May 1845	79
EVANS-TIPPING of Oaklands, Gloucs
17 Jun 1913	UK	1	William Gwynne-Evans	3 Feb 1845	23 Jan 1927	81
23 Jan 1927		2	Evan Gwynne Gwynne-Evans	4 May 1877	2 Feb 1959	81
2 Feb 1959		3	Ian William Gwynne-Evans	21 Feb 1909	27 Dec 1985	76
27 Dec 1985		4	Francis Loring Gwynne-Evans	22 Feb 1914	29 Dec 1993	79
29 Dec 1993		5	David Gwynne Evans-Tipping	25 Nov 1943	31 Jan 2023	79
31 Jan 2023		6	Guy Edward Francis Evans-Tipping	10 May 1978
EVE of Silsoe, Beds
18 Jan 1943	UK	1	Arthur Malcolm Trustram Eve He was subsequently created Baron Silsoe in 1963 with which title the baronetcy then merged	8 Apr 1894	3 Dec 1976	82
EVELYN of Godstone, Surrey
29 May 1660 to     10 Aug 1671	E	1	John Evelyn Extinct on his death	12 Mar 1633	10 Aug 1671	38
EVELYN of Long Ditton, Surrey
17 Feb 1683 to     3 May 1692	E	1	Edward Evelyn MP for Surrey 1685‑1687 Extinct on his death	25 Jan 1626	3 May 1692	66
EVELYN of Wotton, Surrey
6 Aug 1713	GB	1	John Evelyn MP for Helston 1708‑1710; Joint Postmaster General 1708‑1715	2 Mar 1682	15 Jul 1763	81
15 Jul 1763		2	John Evelyn MP for Helston 1727‑1741 and 1747‑1767, and Penryn 1741‑1747	24 Aug 1706	11 Jun 1767	60
11 Jun 1767		3	Frederick Evelyn	1734	1 Apr 1812	77
1 Apr 1812		4	John Evelyn	c 1758	14 May 1833
14 May 1833 to     28 Aug 1848		5	Hugh Evelyn Extinct on his death	31 Jan 1769	28 Aug 1848	79
EVERARD of Ballybay, Tipperary
30 Apr 1622	I	1	Richard Everard		c 1660
c 1660		2	Redmond Everard		20 Feb 1686
20 Feb 1686		3	John Everard		12 Jul 1690
12 Jul 1690 to     13 Apr 1742		4	Redmond Everard MP [I] for Kilkenny City 1711‑1713 and Fethard (Tipperary) 1713‑1715 Extinct on his death	c 1689	13 Apr 1742
EVERARD of Much Waltham, Essex
29 Jan 1629	E	1	Richard Everard		c 1680
c 1680		2	Richard Everard MP for Westminster 1661‑1678	c 1625	29 Aug 1694
29 Aug 1694		3	Hugh Everard	c 1654	2 Jan 1706
2 Jan 1706		4	Richard Everard Governor of North Carolina 1724	c 1683	17 Feb 1733
17 Feb 1733		5	Richard Everard		7 Mar 1742
7 Mar 1742 to     1745		6	Hugh Everard Extinct on his death		1745
EVERARD of Randlestown, co. Meath
30 Jun 1911	UK	1	Nugent Talbot Everard Lord Lieutenant Meath 1906‑1922	24 Oct 1849	11 Jul 1929	79
11 Jul 1929		2	Richard William Everard	9 Sep 1874	22 Jul 1929	54
22 Jul 1929		3	Nugent Henry Everard	28 Feb 1905	15 Dec 1984	79
15 Dec 1984		4	Robin Charles Everard	5 Oct 1939	31 Aug 2010	70
31 Aug 2010		5	Henry Peter Charles Everard	6 Aug 1970
EVERSFIELD of Welches, Sussex
4 May 1725	GB	1	Henry Fermor		3 Jun 1734
3 Jun 1734 to     26 Oct 1784		2	Charles Eversfield Extinct on his death	c 1708	26 Oct 1784
EVERY of Egginton, Derby
26 May 1641	E	1	Simon Every MP for Leicester 1640	c 1603	c 1647
c 1647		2	Henry Every	15 Nov 1629	29 Sep 1700	70
29 Sep 1700		3	Henry Every	c 1653	Sep 1709
Sep 1709		4	John Every	c 1654	1 Jul 1729
1 Jul 1729		5	Simon Every	c 1658	12 Jan 1753
12 Jan 1753		6	Henry Every	25 Oct 1708	31 May 1755	46
31 May 1755		7	John Every	17 Oct 1709	29 Jun 1779	69
29 Jun 1779		8	Edward Every	15 Aug 1754	4 Jan 1786	31
Jan 1786		9	Henry Every	4 Jun 1777	28 Dec 1855	78
28 Dec 1855		10	Henry Flower Every	25 Dec 1830	26 Feb 1893	62
26 Feb 1893		11	Edward Oswald Every	14 Jan 1886	11 Nov 1959	73
11 Nov 1959		12	John Simon Every	24 Apr 1914	3 Nov 1988	74
3 Nov 1988		13	Henry John Michael Every	6 Apr 1947
EWART of Glenmachan House, co. Down and Glenbank, co. Antrim
13 Sep 1887	UK	1	William Ewart MP for Belfast 1878‑1885 and Belfast North 1885‑1889	22 Nov 1817	1 Aug 1889	71
1 Aug 1889		2	William Quartus Ewart	14 Jun 1844	17 Oct 1919	75
17 Oct 1919		3	Robert Heard Ewart	5 Nov 1879	12 Aug 1939	59
12 Aug 1939		4	Lavens Mathewson Algernon Ewart	6 Sep 1885	21 Sep 1939	54
21 Sep 1939		5	Talbot Ewart	2 Nov 1878	23 Oct 1959	80
23 Oct 1959		6	William Ivan Cecil Ewart	18 Jul 1919	29 Nov 1995	76
29 Nov 1995		7	William Michael Ewart	10 Jun 1953
EWART of White House, Hants
14 Jun 1910 to     16 Apr 1928	UK		Sir Henry Peter Ewart Extinct on his death	20 Aug 1838	16 Apr 1928	89
EWING of Ballikinran, Stirling
8 Mar 1886	UK		See "Orr-Ewing"
EYLES of London
1 Dec 1714	GB	1	Francis Eyles		24 May 1716
24 May 1716		2	John Eyles MP for Chippenham 1713‑1727 and London 1727‑1734	c 1683	11 Mar 1745
11 Mar 1745		3	Francis Haskins Eyles-Stiles		29 Jan 1762
29 Jan 1762 to     1 Nov 1768		4	John Haskins Eyles-Stiles Extinct on his death	16 Apr 1741	1 Nov 1768	27

	Sir Eardley Gideon Culling Eardley, 4th baronet
	In January 1868, this baronet was tried on a charge of bigamy before the Central Criminal Court. The following report is taken from The Hull Packet and East Riding Times of 31 January 1868:-
	Sir Culling Eardley was placed at the bar of the Central Criminal Court on Monday, to take his trial for feloniously intermarrying with Mary Elizabeth Allen, at the district church of St. George's, Hanover-square, his wife Emily Florence Magee, to whom he had previously been married at New York, in the United States of America, being alive.
	This case appeared to create considerable interest on account of the position of the defendant and the circumstances connected with the charge. Evidence was adduced to show that on the 12th of December, 1859, the defendant, being then Mr. Eardley, married Miss Emily Florence Magee at New York, and continued to live with that lady for some time afterwards, when a separation took place. In the first instance Sir Culling Eardley, the father of the defendant, was ignorant of the fact of the marriage having taken place, but when he became aware of the fact that his son had married a lady of position and respectability, he at once acknowledged her as his daughter, and made a settlement of £1,500 a year upon her. After the defendant came to the title by the death of his father, he endeavoured to procure a reconciliation with his wife, but she refused to live with him again, and in September 1867, he contracted a second marriage with a lady named Allen, at St. George's Church, Hanover-square. The marriage was advertised in the Times, and the father of the defendant's first wife immediately commenced the present prosecution.
	Mr. De Tracy Gould, a member of the American bar, practising in England, proved that the marriage in America was a perfectly legal ceremony.
	Evidence having been given of the second marriage, Mr. M. Williams addressed the jury for the defendant.
	The Recorder, in summing up the case to the jury, said that he really did not see any real answer to the charge, or any facts in the case that would justify them in coming to the conclusion that the defendant had not committed the offence imputed to him.
	The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict of Guilty.
	The Recorder, in passing sentence, said that in the absence of any information as to the circumstances connected with the second marriage, the Court must deal with the case as it stood. The defendant had deliberately committed a very grave offence, and one that was calculated to do very serious injury to the person who was a victim of it. There did not appear to be any extenuation for his conduct, and the sentence he felt bound to pass upon him was that he be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for eighteen months.
	Sir John Eardley Eardley-Wilmot, 1st baronet
	Sir John was Governor of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) between 1843 and 1846. The following story of his shabby treatment by the British Government appeared in the Australian monthly magazine Parade in its issue for November 1963:-
	On January 26, 1847, Sir William Thomas Denison, newly-appointed Governor of Van Diemen's Land, landed in Hobart from the barque Windermere. Incoming governors were usually greeted by the roar of cannon, but in Denison's case the artillery was dispensed with out of consideration for his predecessor, Sir John Eardley‑Wilmot. Disgraced and dismissed, Eardley‑Wilmot lay dying in a small cottage owned by his secretary and, eight days later, Denison attended the funeral of the tragic man he had superseded.
	Officially, Eardley-Wilmot's death at 64 was due to "complete exhaustion of his frame and the decay of nature". But as he had been in perfect health a few months before few Tasmanians believed this. His friends knew he simply wanted to die. His career had been wrecked by the injustice of a British politician, and his personal reputation had been sabotaged by the envenomed pens of anonymous accusers.
	One of the most tragic figures in early Australian history, Sir John Eardley‑Wilmot was born in England on February 21, 1783, and educated at Harrow for a law career. After practising at the bar for some years he inherited the family estates and entered the House of Commons as a member of Warwickshire [North]. One of his weaknesses was his unusually genial temperament. Often he carried this to extremes when he sat on the bench as chairman of the Warwickshire Quarter Sessions and exchanged pleasantries with the accused. While the habit gained him the sobriquet of the "joking justice", his ill-timed humour was not highly regarded in judicial circles. Many dignified eyebrows were raised in 1843 when Lord Stanley, Colonial Secretary in Sir Robert Peel's government, appointed the jovial humanitarian Governor of Van Diemen's Land. The newspapers published some acid comments on what they considered an unsuitable appointment. Their strictures, hastily reprinted in Hobart, did the new governor much harm.
	Van Diemen's Land at that time had such a sinister reputation in Britain that when several reputable visitors from the colony put up at a London hotel the proprietor begged them not to reveal where they had come from, lest the other guests leave. Moreover the ratio of convicts to free settlers was increasing rapidly. Since transportation to New South Wales had ceased, felons of all kinds were being poured into the island. Alarmed at being swamped by prisoners, and indignant at having to foot the bill for policing this horde, the colonists protested bitterly. Between 1841 and Eardley-Wilmot's arrival in 1843 some 12,000 free colonists left the island, thus throwing an additional burden on those who remained.
	To make matters worse a new system had been evolved in London. In earlier days, most convicts were assigned as servants to settlers in various parts of the colony. This at least distributed them widely. But under the new scheme new arrivals were herded in "probation gangs", where they were set to hard labour. Having endured six months of this without giving any trouble, they became "pass-holders", and were allowed to work for wages, part of their earnings being deferred. From pass-holders they graduated to the ranks of the ticket-of-leave men, and were finally granted conditional pardons under which they were free men provided they remained in Van Diemen's Land.
	To those who held control in London the system appeared ideal. In practice it broke down in the 1840s, when a depression hit the Australian colonies. As the returns from agriculture fell below the cost of production, there was no work for the army of pass-holders. Herded in hiring depots waiting for work, they had to be kept at the public expense.
	When Eardley-Wilmot took over there were nearly 2,000 escaped convicts at large and the colonists were expected to foot the bill to recapturing them. To clean up this situation proved an impossible task for an English country gentleman with a sense of humour and some vague theories on penal reform. Already prejudiced by adverse press comments in London, Eardley‑Wilmot aroused further ire in Hobart when it was found that he had left his wife and family behind in Warwickshire. Some of the local socialites construed this into an affront to Hobart society.
	The new governor fell foul of the judiciary for his clemency to the bushranger Kavanagh, a violent ruffian who had already escaped the gallows several times. Sentenced to death for robbery and attempted murder, Kavanagh was reprieved by the Governor within 10 minutes of being sentenced to death. This act of mercy not only offended the judge who had sentenced Kavanagh, but angered farmers who were the chief targets of bushrangers. In any case, it merely postponed Kavanagh's end. He was hanged at Norfolk Island in 1846.
	The well-meaning Eardley-Wilmot soon found his position hopeless. When he applied to Britain for financial aid to help pay the ever-increasing costs of police and gaols he was ignored. But when he floated a public loan of £70,000 he was harshly censured for extravagance and ordered to tax the settlers. Meanwhile, William Ewart Gladstone, later celebrated as the "Grand Old Man" of British politics, had taken over the Colonial Office. Pigeon-holing Eardley-Wilmot's requests for money, Gladstone called for reports on the moral standards of the convict population. Most contemporary accounts agree that their standards could scarcely have been lower, but there was nothing the harassed governor could do about it.
	In 1845 he called the Legislative Council together to consider some way of raising money. This body, whose members were all appointed by the Governor himself, consisted of six government officials and eight private citizens. The official party was prepared to endorse whatever Sir John suggested. But the private members were in a recalcitrant mood. One of them suggested that the best way to obtain funds was to tax dogs and billiard tables. As there were only 10 billiard tables in the colony, Eardley‑Wilmot, whose sense of humour was fast waning, declared the proposal facetious. His own suggestion was to treble the customs duties. After a long and fierce argument this was passed on the Governor's casting vote. But when he brought in a Bill to establish toll gates on the roads the unofficial members rebelled. Declaring that they vote for no more taxes until the British Government paid the expenses of maintaining the convicts it sent, six private members refused to attend any more council meetings. This meant that Sir John could no longer get a quorum and the patriotic six, as they were called, became the heroes of the island.
	By now Eardley-Wilmot regretted ever having heard of Van Diemen's Land. Caught between the colonists and the Colonial Office, he could make no impression on either. His reports on the condition of the convicts under the hated probation system were ignored in London. So, too, was his plea on behalf of a political offender named Zephania Williams, who had been exiled for life for participating in the Chartist movement. Williams, a harmless working-class leader whose conduct on the island had been exemplary, rushed into a burning mental hospital and rescued a number of inmates at the risk of his life. Eardley‑Wilmot brought his heroism to the notice of Gladstone but his dispatch was not even acknowledged.
	Sir John's next attempt to raise funds was by special taxes on auctioneers, pawnbrokers, publicans, butchers, restaurant keepers and even cabmen. This gave the wits of Hobart an opportunity. The town was placarded with punning posters calling on butchers to show their pluck and hotelkeepers their spirit, while cabmen were exhorted to take a stand against the unjust imposts.
	By now the colonists were on the point of revolt and Eardley-Wilmot was at the end of his resources. No longer the "joking justice", he battled on, weighed down with work and worry and entirely without support from the government which had sent him there. Gladstone, however, had already prepared the final blow. On October 13, 1846, Eardley‑Wilmot received a dispatch from the Colonial Office giving him immediate notice to resign. In the official notification Gladstone accused him of "failure to give due attention to the pressing exigencies of convict discipline and to impress a moral and reforming character on the convict system." But it was the accompanying private letter which stunned the Governor. In this letter Gladstone told him he could expect no more appointments under the Crown as his immorality had become notorious in Van Diemen's Land. Gladstone added that he had been informed that Sir John's regime [at] Government House had become a place shunned by the respectable ladies of Hobart. That this was no ordinary case was shown by the immediate arrival of C.J. Latrobe, superintendent of Port Phillip, who had received urgent orders to assume the administration of the colony until Sir William Denison arrived.
	Instead of returning to England immediately, the bewildered Eardley-Wilmot stayed on in Hobart to try to vindicate his character. But when he attempted to find out who had maligned him, he came up against a blank wall. Many locals came forward to defend the slandered Governor. The Chief Justice, Sir John Pedder, declared that Gladstone's charges were entirely false. He added that his wife and the wives of his friends were frequent visitors at Government House. Even though some of them had not been on good terms with Eardley‑Wilmot, 300 prominent Tasmanians signed a memorial protesting against the way he had been treated. Eardley‑Wilmot asked to be given the privilege accorded the meanest criminal and allowed to face his accusers in a court of law. The home government made no reply.
	Finally, his health completely shattered, Eardley-Wilmot found refuge in a small cottage owned by his former private secretary. There he died on February 3, 1847, eight days after his successor was sworn in.
	In June 1847 the [former] Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, blandly assured the House of Commons that the allegations against Sir John Eardley‑Wilmot were totally and entirely erroneous. Sir Robert did not inform the House who had made the false charges, although many rumours were current in Van Diemen's Land. Nor did Peel mention the £12,000 due to Eardley‑Wilmot's heirs as the balance of his salary for the remaining years of his six-year term.
	Sir John Eardley-Wilmot lies in St. David's Church, Hobart, under a monument erected by public subscription. Gladstone survived another 50 years, to have four terms as Prime Minister and bec[a]me one of the greatest figures of Victorian Britain. By then he had long lived down what his biographer, John Morley, dismissed as a "trivial episode".
	Sir Henry Frederick Echlin, 8th baronet
	The following article on Sir Henry Echlin appeared in the New Zealand Feilding Star, reprinted from the London Express, on 6 February 1907:-
	"Sir Henry Echlin, Bart., licensed to sell beer, wines, and spirits, to be consumed on or off the premises. Dealer in tobacco."
	This legend, in brand new paint, will be written prominently over the door of the Rose and Crown Inn, a small wayside hostelry half a mile out of the little Buckinghamshire township of Wooburn Green, by the end of the present week.
	The proprietor of the Rose and Crown, who was serving out pewters of mild ale and screws of shag to rustic customers for about fourteen years past, succeeded to the ancient baronetcy of the Echlins on the death of his elder brother Thomas, the seventh baronet, a fortnight ago.
	Sir Henry first heard a rumour of the honour thus thrust upon him during last week. On Saturday evening when the farm labourers and paper-mill hands of Wooburn opened the local newspapers in the Working Men's Club they read of the sudden exaltation of their host at the Rose and Crown.
	It dawned upon them slowly that they had "quality" in their midst. The club was almost deserted that night. The members strolled down to the inn with newspapers in their hands, and found that Sir Henry had already heard of his new dignity from the same source. So they crowded on the window-seat and the old settle in the little bar and gazed and drank and talked, putting unctuous deference into the order "Another 'arf-pint, Sir 'Enery."
	When I walked out to the Rose and Crown to-day I arrived at the same moment that the first official intimation of his succession to the baronetcy reached the proprietor. Sergeant King, of the Wooburn police, bore it in the shape of a letter from the head office of the Royal Irish Constabulary, in which service Sir Henry's brother, Sir Thomas, had been since 1860.
	Sir Henry Echlin had last heard of his brother fourteen years before. That was in the present baronet's first year as a publican. He was then proprietor of the Red Lion, at High Wycombe.
	In a chat with me Sir Henry, who is a finely built man of nearly sixty years, standing over six feet in his stockings, straight as a die, with black hair, clean-shaven chin, and iron-grey moustache, gave a remarkable account of his life history. [He] had been employed in the following varied capacities:- Footman: three or four years. Royal Irish Constabulary: Four years. 2nd Life Guards: About a month. Liverpool Police: Six weeks. 2nd Life Guards: Twenty-one years. Commissionaire: Twelve months. Prison warder: About four months. Private lunatic attendant: Three years. Publican: About fourteen years.
	"My father was poor, but a gentleman," he said. "When I was about seven years old I left home to live with my uncle, and went to the village school until I was fourteen or fifteen. Then I entered the service of Sir Gerald Aylmer, Bart., at Donadea Castle, C. Kildare, as a footman, and remained with him for about four years.
	"After that I served in the Royal Irish Constabulary for four years, and then left to join the 2nd Life Guards. But I only served a month with the Guards then. The yarns of the old soldiers put me off the Army altogether. I was only a young fellow; but all that these old hands told me made me feel that the regiment was not up to concert pitch, so I deserted. I was a fool to desert, as I was really getting on well.
	"As a deserter I joined the Liverpool police. That was about 1865. I used to see my name in the 'Police Gazette' every morning as a deserter, and I had many a good laugh at it, for they spelt it 'Ashlin', and that was why I was never found out.
	"I left the Liverpool Police after six weeks, one reason being that the helmets they wore in those days were too heavy. They made my head ache. I tried to join the Preston police, but they were full up; so, after wandering miserably about for some weeks with nothing to do, I gave myself up as a deserter.
	"I was sent back to London for punishment; but I was only in the guardroom one day, when I was released by the Duke of Cambridge's orders. He was a real soldier's friend, and we all loved him. He let me go on the plea that I was only a youngster, that I did not take away any accoutrements or equipment, and that my previous character was very good.
	"So I was reinstated, and served in the 2nd Life Guards for twenty-one years, finally leaving the regiment a non-commissioned officer. I never saw any foreign service, but I was often one of Queen Victoria's bodyguard, and rode with her Majesty to the opening of Blackfriars Bridge and the stonelaying of St. Thomas' Hospital.
	"After that I served in the Corps of Commissionaires for a year, and then as a warder at Wandsworth Prison for a few months. In my next employment, as private attendant to an insane gentleman at Kingston-on-Thames, I had some really exciting experiences.
	"My charge stood six feet high and weighed eighteen stone nine pounds, and was subject to periodical attacks of violent insanity. Two days before the full moon I had to look out for squalls. I used to see his neck swell and grow as red as a turkey cock's, and lively times followed, for he was a tough handful to overpower.
	"I remained with him for three years, and on the whole we got on very well, for we were both Army men."
	Sir Henry Echlin's subsequent career has been spent behind the bars of country inns, he having successively owned the following public houses:- Wheelwright's Arms, Marlow; Rupert Arms, Reading; Criterion, Windsor; Red Lion, Wycombe; Rose and Crown, Wooburn Green.
	At Reading Sir Henry married, and his one child, a daughter, is now a pupil teacher at Wooburn School. [Sh]e is a very pretty girl of fourteen summers. Her name, Margaret Daisy, figures on five certificates for proficiency in religious knowledge hanging in the little bar parlour at the Rose and Crown.
	Lady Echlin was serving beer and tobacco in the bar while her husband talked with me, and was in no way abashed at the words, "Your ladyship", now punctiliously added by every customer at the Rose and Crown who has heard the news.
	In reply to the question whether he would now remove from the Rose and Crown, Sir Henry said: "Funds will not let me live elsewhere. I am doing a fair wayside trade, and am under a very good brewer. I have already given the order for a new signboard with my title on it and I suppose I shall keep here.
	"There is property in Dublin, I believe, belonging to my family; but money will be required to get it, and I have no money. I am going to write to the Dublin office of the Royal Irish Constabulary at once to learn more about my brother. I have a sister in Canada, and a younger brother who is a stationmaster on an Irish railway. We are all poor now. It was the baronets who have gone before who squandered all our estates."
	Sir Henry is a non-smoker, and, as he put it yesterday, his "strongest drink is mild beer". He did not know whether he was the seventh or eighth baronet until I informed him.
	The Echlin baronetcy was created in 1721. The family is of ancient Scottish origin, and formerly possessed vast estates both in Scotland and Ireland. One Echlin was Constable and Deputy Governor of Edinburgh Castle during the siege of 1572; another - Bishop of Down and Connor - was murdered in 1635, and Sir Henry Echlin, the first baronet, was a Baron of the Court of Exchequer in Ireland. The second baronet sat as M.P. for Newry. The third, fourth, fifth and sixth baronets successively dissipated the family possessions.
	The elaborate coat-of-arms of the Echlins includes a device of a hound in full chase after a stag, and the family motto is, "Non sine praeda" (not without prey).
	Sir Henry Edwards, 1st baronet [UK 1866]
	Following an incident between two of his servants, Sir Henry found himself in court charged with assaulting his butler. The report beneath of this case appeared in the Glasgow Herald of 18 January 1870:-
	At the West Riding Court, Halifax, on Saturday, two charges of assault were heard by the magistrates. The first charge was that of Henry Hill Hobson, second footman in the service of Sir H. Edwards, of Pye Nest, near Halifax, against George Lovett, butler to Sir Henry, for an assault at Pye Nest on the 6th inst.; the other being brought by the butler against Sir Henry for an assault said to have occurred at the same place on the 7th of January. According to priority in taking out the summons, the charge against the butler was first heard.
	Complainant said that on the day named, whilst in the pantry about two o'clock in the afternoon, the butler went in and asked what he had been saying about him. Complainant replied that he did not know what he meant, upon which the butler said he did know, and began to use coarse and abusive language, ordering him out of the pantry. Complainant refused to go, upon which the butler took off his coat, threw it upon the floor, and after using more abusive language, seized complainant by one of his whiskers with one hand, and by the ear with the other, but did not succeed in pulling him out. The butler then went out, but returned soon afterwards, and continued to use abusive and coarse language. Complainant then said to the butler that once before he had intended to give notice to Lady Edwards to leave on account of his conduct, and this time he should do so. Defendant replied that he had better do so, and again repeated his improper language, adding that complainant was of no use there. Defendant again pulled off his coat, and tried to put the footman out, but did not succeed. Defendant had previously used similar offensive language to him and others in the house. When Lady Edwards returned home about half-past three o'clock the same afternoon, complainant gave her notice, and on her Ladyship wishing to know the reason he told her of defendant's conduct. In consequence of this, on the following morning, the butler, the complainant, and the other footman were called before Sir Henry, and complainant gave a full explanation. A kitchen-maid, named Jemima Smith, was called to prove the charge, her attention having been drawn to the pantry by hearing a noise, and she saw the butler have hold of the footman's ear and whisker. At the same time he was using foul language to the footman. The butler's defence was that he had frequently had to complain of the neglect of complainant, who on the day named was insolent, and he ordered him out of the pantry. As the footman refused to go, he got hold of him to put him out, but not by the ear and whisker, but only by the coat. They struggled with each other, the question being who should be put out of the pantry, but no blows were struck by defendant.
	Before deciding upon this case, the bench decided to hear that against Sir Henry. The butler said he had been in the service of Sir Henry for two months and seventeen days. On Friday the 7th instant, in consequence of a message brought to him, he went into the entrance hall, where he saw Sir Henry, who, in warm terms, demanded to know the meaning of his conduct. In reply to this, the butler said he "demanded" to know what conduct he alluded to. Sir Henry said it was using abusive language, taking off his coat, and threatening to fight. Complainant said he had had frequent cause of complaint against Hobson for insubordination, and that he might have used language which he should have been glad not to have been called to use, but he had made no effort to strike Hobson, and that all the morning he had been complaining of Hobson's inattention to work. At this Sir Henry made some derisive remark, and then charged him with having insulted his son Churchill, which witness denied. Sir Henry said, "You have; a gentleman told me so, and if I had heard it I would have kicked you out of the house." To this complainant replied, "I am surprised you should use language as violent as mine, of which you have complained." Previous to this Sir Henry had told him that he must leave his service that day three months; to which complainant replied that it would be very agreeable to him. Sir Henry then told him he must leave that day, and ordered the men to "chuck" him out of the house. Complainant was asked if the men did so, and he replied, "I rather fancy not; the men did not attempt to do so." Sir Henry then went towards him, and, without any intimation, struck him violently on the left cheek. Complainant was not much intimidated by this, and was retreating gently, when Sir Henry followed up and said, "If you don't be off I will give you another." Complainant told him he would hear of that another day, and then (he said) "I turned round to leave the room, but he followed me, and, like a coward, he pushed me. I say it was cowardly."
	Henry Hill Hobson, the footman, was called, and said that what Sir Henry said to complainant was, "You mean to say that you did not pull off your coat and want to fight?" to which complainant replied, "I may have done so through excitement." Witness also said that when complainant was ordered out of the hall he refused to go, and said it was not gentlemanly of Sir Henry to order him out. He said several times he should not go. Sir Henry then called upon them to put the butler out and to fetch a policeman. The butler then put himself up to Sir Henry, who in pushing him away caught his ear. Sir Henry pushed the butler past witness, and out of the door, but witness did not see Sir Henry kick the butler. The other footman, Alfred Micklethwaite, corroborated this evidence.
	Mr. Jubb, for the defence, said that if complainant had acted to Sir Henry as his own evidence proved, he was justified, not only in discharging him, but in kicking him out of the hall, and any master would have done the same.
	The Magistrates having consulted together, Mr. John Waterhouse (the chairman) said the Bench were unanimously decided as to the merits of the two cases; and with regard to the one against the butler they were quite of opinion that the charge was proved, and he would have £1 6s 6d penalty and costs to pay. With regard to the charge against Sir H. Edwards, their unanimous opinion was there was not the shadow of ground to establish it, and they therefore dismissed the case. (Hisses.) All servants should remember that when they are ordered to leave their master's house and did not do so at once they became trespassers. In this case the servant was frequently requested to leave, but instead of doing so he insulted his employer, and got what he deserved.
	Sir Alexander Logie Elphinstone, 10th baronet
	In November 1927, Elphinstone's claim to the baronetcy, which had been dormant since 1743, was heard and decided in his favour. The following report appeared in The Scotsman on 1 December 1927:-
	A genealogical tangle came up for unravelling before the Baronetcy Committee of the Privy Council at London yesterday, when a claim to a Scottish title, dating back to December 1701, in the time of King William III, and which has lain in abeyance [sic] since 1743, was made by a military officer.
	The claimant is Alexander Elphinstone of Glack, a Major in the Reserve of Officers, living at 40 Kildare Terrace, London, and he claimed to be heir of the baronetcy of the Order of Scotland and of Nova Scotia, which was conferred upon Mr. James Elphinstone of Logie, because, it was stated, of his contributions to the development of Nova Scotia, where he held a grant of 16,000 acres.
	Lord Dunedin was the chairman of the Committee, and the other members were Lord Shaw of Dunfermline, Lord Fitzalan and Sir Herbert Maxwell. As the letters patent under the Great Seal creating the baronetcy were not in the possession of the petitioner, and as he was not aware whether it was in existence, he was given permission to search in the Great Seal Register, and some quaint entries were disclosed.
	There was an item of £118 4s 8d stated to have been paid for the funeral expenses of an ancestor, Robert Elphinstone, on two days in September 1704, which drew from Lord Shaw the remark that "it seems to take two days to perform the burial function."
	Mr. Hugh McMillan, for the petitioner, said that during the early development of Nova Scotia each Baronet on being exalted was asked to contribute 3000 marks towards the development of the colony, and was given 16,000 acres of land.
	Tracing the pedigree of the petitioner, counsel said Sir John Elphinstone, the fourth Baronet, died in 1743, unmarried, and then the whole heirs male became extinct, as well as the heirs of the patentee's father, William Elphinstone, of Ressiviot.
	The Baronetcy then devolved on Sir John's third cousin, John Elphinstone of Glack. This John Elphinstone married Jean Achyndachy. He was the grandfather in the male line of John Elphinstone of Glack, who was a member of the Council of Bombay, under the Honourable East India Co., and was the great-grandfather in the male line of the petitioner.
	Major Alexander Elphinstone, said counsel, was thus the nearest heir male collateral and male representative of the patentee. So far as the petitioner was aware the dignity had not been assumed since the death of Sir John Elphinstone, the fourth holder.
	After a short deliberation, Lord Dunedin said - The Committee has decided to recommend the claim.
	Unfortunately, in March 1933, Sir Alexander found himself in court to be sentenced after being found guilty on criminal charges, as related in an article in The Times of India on 9 March 1933:-
	The trial was concluded before Judge Whiteley, K.C., at the Central Criminal Court of Alfred Laurens, 70, manager, and Sir Logie Elphinstone, Bt., 52, charged with conspiring to defraud such persons as might be induced to invest or purchase shares in the National Match Company, and concurring in publishing a statement which they knew to be false.
	Laurens was found guilty on these charges and with obtaining money by false pretences and and sentenced to three years' penal servitude.
	Elphinstone was found guilty of conspiring to defraud and not guilty on the other charge. Sentence was postponed on him until next sessions. The jury recommended him to clemency.
	Divisional Detective-Inspector Young proved six previous convictions against Laurens, one previous sentence being of three years' penal servitude. His correct name was Alfred Baker, and he was known under other names, including that of Baron de Lussan. Altogether he had obtained £5,841 in connexion with the National Match Company and a subsidiary company, of which £350 was repaid.
	The witness stated that several investors who called at Laurens's offices in Abbey House, Westminster, were unable to obtain an interview, as he had a room at the offices known as the "bunk-hole" to which he retired.
	Elphinstone was born in America and came to this country when he was four years old. He joined the Army in 1899 and served in the South African War. During the Great War he had the rank of major. He established his claim to the baronetcy in November, 1927. It was a very old title dating back to 1435 [sic]. He had twice been convicted in America for larceny and at the London Sessions in 1910 for obtaining credit as an undischarged bankrupt. He had been associated with a number of companies which had been wound up.
	Judge Whiteley, passing sentence on Laurens, said the evidence showed that he was an extremely clever man and very dominating. He was a dangerous criminal. Elphinstone must feel it a disgraceful thing for a man of his opportunities, education, and position to find himself in the dock of the Central Criminal Court with a man convicted six times.
	Elphinstone - I knew nothing about it, I swear.
	Judge Whiteley said he had lent his name and he had had opportunity of getting out of the company.
	Elphinstone was subsequently bound over for two years, the Judge saying that if there was any suggestion that Elphinstone was entering into City affairs or making himself a party to obtaining money from the public, he would be brought to the Court and sentenced for the present offence. The Army was, however, less forgiving, since the London Gazette of 2 June 1933 contained a paragraph in which it was revealed that Elphinstone had been removed from the Army and stripped of his rank of Major.
	Sir William Erskine, 2nd baronet of Torrie, Fife (created 1791)
	Before his appointment as one of the Duke of Wellington's senior commanders in the Peninsular War, Erskine had twice been confined in an insane asylum.
	After obtaining a commission in the cavalry, Erskine served with the British army in Flanders. In 1794, he fought with the 15th Light Dragoons at the Battle of Villers-en-Cauchies, where a handful of British and Austrian cavalry routed a much larger French force.
	After representing Fifeshire in the House of Commons between 1796 and 1806, he was promoted to Major General and shipped to Portugal to assist Wellington. When Wellington heard of this, he complained that he 'generally understood him to be a madman.' Wellington received the far from reassuring reply that 'no doubt he is sometimes a little mad, but in his lucid intervals he is an uncommonly clever fellow, and I trust he will have no fit during the campaign, though he looked a little wild as he embarked.' A further concern was Erskine's eyesight, which was particularly poor. Before the enemy could be engaged, he had to ask a subordinate to point him in the right direction.
	During the 1811 campaign in Portugal, Erskine took over the command of the Light Division. He soon developed a reputation for rashness. Wellington wrote that 'it is impossible to trust to his judgment in any critical case'.
	At Casal Novo on 14 March 1811, Erskine advanced his men along the main road, in fog, and with no proper scouts. When the fog suddenly cleared, he found himself facing infantry with artillery support and lost 155 killed and wounded.
	At the Battle of Sabugal on 3 April 1811, the fog and Erskine's incompetence saved the opposing French forces from destruction. Erskine was in command of both the cavalry and the light infantry. Each was marched off in the direction the other should have taken, the cavalry promptly becoming lost in the fog and the French were able to escape.
	At the Siege of Almeida in May 1811, Erskine's actions confounded Wellington's battle tactics, causing the Duke to protest that 'this was the most disgraceful military event that has yet occurred to us.' The besieged French garrison was allowed to escape because Erskine failed to guard the bridge of Barba de Puerca. Erskine was dining with a colleague when Wellington's order to guard the bridge arrived. Told to send some cavalry and a force of infantry, Erskine despatched a corporal and four privates. When a fellow diner pointed out that this party would not be insufficient, he decided to send a whole regiment. He wrote out the necessary order and then put the order in his pocket, forgetting all about it. When he was undressing for bed that night, he found the order and passed it on to a Colonel Bevan, who arrived at the bridge too late; the French had already slipped away. Wellington was furious - 'I have never been so distressed by any military event as by the escape of even a man of them.'
	Aware that he could not dismiss Erskine because of his political influence, Wellington from then on placed Erskine in positions where he could do minimal harm. Eventually, Erskine was declared insane and dismissed. He committed suicide in Lisbon in 1813 by jumping out a window. His last words to bystanders were 'Why did I do that?'
	Thomas Esmonde (25 May 1829-14 Jan 1873), brother of Sir John Esmonde, 10th baronet
	Esmonde was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry during the Crimean War. The citation, dated 25 September 1857, reads as follows:-
	Captain Thomas Esmonde, 18th Regiment, for having (on the 18th and 20th June, 1855), after being engaged in the attack on the Redan, repeatedly assisted, at great personal risk, under a heavy fire of shell and grape, in rescuing wounded men from exposed positions, and also, while in command of a covering party, two days after, for having rushed, with the most prompt and daring gallantry, to a spot where a fire-ball from the enemy had just been lodged, which he effectively extinguished before it had betrayed the position of the working party under his protection - thus saving it from a murderous fire of shell and grape, which was immediately opened upon the spot where the fire-ball had fallen.
	Walter Terence Evans (18 Sep 1911-4 Apr 1932), son and heir of Sir Walter Harry Evans, 1st baronet [UK 1920]
	Walter Evans drowned in April 1932 when his canoe sank in an Irish lake. The following report appeared in the Weekly Irish Times of 16 April 1932:-
	The story of a man's attempt to fight for life in the placid waters of Lake Bollager, one of the beauty spots in Connemara [in County Galway], was told at an inquest on 6th April on the body of Mr. Walter Terence Evans (20), son of Sir W. Evans, baronet, Wightwick Hall, Wolverhampton, who was drowned on Monday. The remains were recovered after extensive dragging operations on the previous evening.
	John Anthony Tinne, Emlaughmore Lodge, Clifden, said that Mr. Evans was on a holiday in Emlaughmore since March 27, and intended returning home on Wednesday. Witness accompanied him to Emlaughmore on Monday. Mr. Evans and witness went to Bollager Lake, about three miles from the lodge, and they crossed two lakes before coming to Bollager. They were in a small Canadian canoe, and their intention was to Lough Fada in order to gather herons' eggs.
	When they were in the middle of Lake Bollager, Mr. Evans mentioned to witness that they appeared to be getting some water in the canoe, and suggested that witness should move up further in the boat. Almost immediately after, the deceased man said that the water was increasing in the boat. Witness said that they should go towards an island about 150 yards away. They paddled towards the island, and when about 75 yards away from it the canoe seemed to sink in the stern, and witness said to Mr. Evans: "jump out." Both did so and started to swim towards the island, with the boat between them, each holding an end of the boat. After swimming some distance, Mr. Evans mentioned that he wanted to take off his shoes.
	Witness held him while he tried to take them off, and they both started swimming again and got to within thirty yards of the island. Mr. Evans said that he could not hold out much longer. He appeared to be quite calm. Witness was becoming exhausted by this time, and told Evans that he would swim ashore and return undressed to help him, and told him to tread water. In the meantime witness swam to the island and left Evans, so far as he could remember, still holding on to the canoe. Just as witness reached near the island and was able to find ground to walk on he heard the deceased man call in his ordinary voice: "Help me, Tony." When witness got to land he looked round and saw deceased man's head disappear under the water about fifteen yards from the shore.
	The canoe had drifted off, and witness believed that Mr. Evans left the canoe and tried to follow him, and when witness got to land he tried to take off his clothes, but was unable to do so owing to numbness. He was horrified for a minute or so. The deceased man did not come over the water after witness saw him sink. Witness returned to Emlaughmore looking for help, as he could not do anything further.
	Before the accident Evans and witness were joking and paddling extra hard, each pulling against the other. It appeared that the result of this was that they shipped water. There was a pretty strong wind blowing, and when they turned to the breeze they must have shipped more water. The deceased man was about fourteen stone weight and was in the stern, and this may have helped towards the accident.
	Dr. P.J. Maguire, medical officer, Roundstone, said that the cause of death was immersion in the water. Sergeant Fox, Roundstone, said that when found the body was about fifteen yards from the shore of the island. When the body was taken from the water the left shoe was missing, and the bootlace of the right shoe was loose. The water where Mr. Evans was found was between fifteen and twenty feet deep.
	A verdict of "Death from misadventure" was returned, and sympathy extended to the relatives.

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