Michael Erskine-Wemyss

Captain
Michael Erskine Wemyss of Wemyss
DL, JP
Born(1888-03-08)8 March 1888
London, England
Died8 September 1982(1982-09-08) (aged 94)
Wemyss Castle, East Wemyss, Scotland
Spouse
Lady Victoria Cavendish-Bentinck
​
​
(m. 1918; died 1982)​
ChildrenDavid Wemyss
Andrew Wemyss
Parent(s)Randolph Erskine-Wemyss
Lady Lillian Mary Paulet
RelativesJames Hay Erskine-Wemyss (grandfather)
John Paulet, 14th Marquess of Winchester (grandfather)
William Grosvenor, 3rd Duke of Westminster (cousin)
Augustus Paulet, 15th Marquess of Winchester (uncle)
Henry Paulet, 16th Marquess of Winchester (uncle)

Captain Michael John Erskine-Wemyss (also Michael Wemyss of that Ilk) DL JP (8 March 1888 – 8 September 1982) was Laird of Wemyss Castle and Chief of Clan Wemyss.[1]

Early life

Aerial view of Wemyss Castle and gardens

Erskine-Wemyss was born in London, England on 8 March 1888.[2] He was the only son of Randolph Gordon Erskine-Wemyss (1858–1908) of Wemyss Castle, and Lady Lillian Mary Paulet.[3] After his parent's divorced in 1898, his father married Lady Eva Cecilia Margaret Wellesley (daughter of the 2nd Earl Cowley) in November 1898.[4] His mother did not remarry before her death in November 1952. In 1917 his sister Mary Millicent Erskine-Wemyss married, as his first wife, Lt. Ernest Caswell Long, of the Grenadier Guards.[5][a]

His paternal grandparents were James Hay Erskine-Wemyss, MP for Fife (a grandson of the 17th Earl of Erroll) and Augusta Millicent Anne Mary Kennedy-Erskine.[b] Among his maternal family were aunts, Mary Frances Erskine-Wemyss, who married Cecil Stratford Paget (a son of Gen. Lord George Paget), and Dora Mina Erskine-Wemyss, who married Lord Henry Grosvenor (third son of the 1st Duke of Westminster). Through his aunt Dora, he was a first cousin of William Grosvenor, 3rd Duke of Westminster.[3] His maternal grandparents were John Paulet, 14th Marquess of Winchester and Hon. Mary Montagu (a daughter of 6th Baron Rokeby). Both of his maternal uncles, Augustus John Henry Beaumont Paulet (who was killed in the Second Boer War) and Henry William Montagu Paulet, succeeded his grandfather as the Marquess of Winchester.[9]

Career

Portrait of his wife, Lady Victoria, by Philip de Laszlo, 1911

Upon his father's death in 1908, he succeeded as Laird of Wemyss Castle and Chief of Clan Wemyss. In 1911, his stepmother hosted suffragette standard-bearer Emmeline Pankhurst at Wemyss Castle on the latter's tour of Scotland.[10]

He served as a Captain in the Royal Horse Guards. From 1914 to 1919, fought with the Royal Garrison Artillery and Army Signal Service in World War I, where he was wounded.[11]

He served as a Justice of the Peace for Fife and as Deputy Lieutenant of Fife in 1936.[12]

Personal life

Portrait of his son, David, by Philip de Laszlo, 1925

On 25 November 1918, he married Lady Victoria Alexandrina Violet Cavendish-Bentinck (1890–1994),[13] only daughter of William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland and Winifred Anna Dallas-Yorke (a daughter of Thomas Dallas-Yorke, of Walmsgate, Lincolnshire). Her brother was William Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland.[14] Together, they lived at Wemyss Castle, Fife, Scotland and were the parents of two sons:[15]

Wemyss died at Wemyss Castle in East Wemyss, Fife on 8 September 1982 at age 94. His wife, who was an Extra Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth II, was the last surviving godchild of Queen Victoria until her death in 1994.[16]

Notes

  1. ^ After their divorce, Ernest Caswell Long (1892–1950), who was known as "Boy" Long, was a rancher at Elementaita in Kenya and married Genesta Mary (née Heath) Farquhar in 1924 (former wife of Arthur McNeill Farquhar, son of Adm. Sir Arthur Murray Farquhar. After their divorce, she married Capt. Lord Claud David Hamilton, son of James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn). They divorced and Long married Paula (née Gellibrand) Allen (Long was named in Paula's 1939 divorce from her second husband, William Edward David Allen. Her first husband was Pedro Monés, Marquess of Casa Maury (who married Freda Dudley Ward after his divorce from Paula).[6][7]
  2. ^ Augusta Millicent Anne Mary Kennedy-Erskine (1831–1895)[8] was the youngest daughter of the Hon. John Kennedy Erskine of Dun (son of the 1st Marquess of Ailsa) and his wife Lady Augusta FitzClarence (an illegitimate daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom by his mistress Dora Bland).[3]

References

  1. ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition
  2. ^ Burke, Bernard (1921). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain. Burke Publishing Company. p. 1860. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Fraser, Sir William (1888). Memorials of the Family of Wemyss of Wemyss. p. 412. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  4. ^ The Scottish Law Reporter Containing Reports ...: Of Cases Decided in the Court of Session, Court of Justiciary, Court of Teinds, and House of Lords. J. Baxter & son, printers. 1921. p. 117. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  5. ^ Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, Privy Council, and Order of Preference. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1963. p. 2,539. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  6. ^ Spicer, Paul (20 July 2010). The Temptress: The Scandalous Life of Alice de Janze and the Mysterious Death of Lord Erroll. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 246. ISBN 978-1-4299-8472-0. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  7. ^ Vickers, Hugo (5 October 2021). Malice in Wonderland: My Adventures in the World of Cecil Beaton. Simon and Schuster. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-64313-844-2. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  8. ^ "Millicent Ann Mary Wemyss (née Kennedy-Erskine)". www.npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  9. ^ Cokayne, George Edward, ed. (1892). Complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct or dormant (U to Z). Vol. 8 (1st ed.). London: George Bell & Sons. p. 176.
  10. ^ Baker, Jean H. (14 March 2002). Votes for Women: The Struggle for Suffrage Revisited. Oxford University Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-19-802983-0. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  11. ^ Debrett's Peerage, and Titles of Courtesy: In which is Included Full Information Respecting the Collateral Branches of Peers, Privy Councillors, Lords of Session, Etc. Dean. 1921. p. 917. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  12. ^ a b c Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 3, page 3184.
  13. ^ "Obituary: Lady Victoria Wemyss". The Independent. 12 May 1994. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  14. ^ "THE DUKE OF PORTLAND". The New York Times. 20 Jan 1884. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  15. ^ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1929). Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-armour. Hurst & Blackett, Limited. p. 2063. ISBN 978-0-7153-4766-9. Retrieved 14 August 2025. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  16. ^ Massingberd, Hugh, ed. (1995) The Daily Telegraph Book of Obituaries. Macmillan; p. 324
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