Roderick Sinclair, 19th Earl of Caithness

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Brigadier The Right Honourable

The Earl of Caithness

CVO CBE DSO
File:Brigadier Sinclair The Earl of Caithness.jpg
Born(1906-09-29)29 September 1906
Died8 May 1965(1965-05-08) (aged 58)
AllegianceFile:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
File:Flag of Ceylon.svg Ceylon
BranchFile:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg British Army
File:Flag of Ceylon (1875–1948).svg Ceylon Army
Service years?–1955
RankBrigadier
Service number36869[1]
UnitGordon Highlanders
Commands153rd Infantry Brigade
Commander of Ceylon Army
51st Infantry Brigade
ConflictsWorld War II
RelationsLord Berriedale (son)

Brigadier James Roderick Sinclair, 19th Earl of Caithness, CVO, CBE, DSO (29 September 1906 – 8 May 1965) was a British Army officer during World War II, hereditary peer and chief of Clan Sinclair.

Early life and education

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Sinclair was born in 1906, the only son of the Rev and Hon Charles Augustus Sinclair, third son of James Augustus Sinclair, 16th Earl of Caithness, and his wife Mary Ann Harman. He was educated at Marlborough College.

Sinclair succeeded to the earldom and its subsidiary titles in 1947 upon the death of his uncle, Norman Macleod (Sinclair) Buchan, 18th Earl of Caithness, who had no son.

Military service

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Sinclair joined the Gordon Highlanders and rose to the rank of Brigadier and as such led his regiment (part of the 51st (Highland) Division) through France, Belgium, the Netherlands into Germany during World War II and was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

File:SLA-50.jpg
Guard of Honor for Brigadier James Sinclair, Earl of Caithness, held by Major B.R. Heyn.

In 1949 he was appointed the first Commander of the Ceylon Army and played a major role in establishing it as a regular army from the volunteer Ceylon Defence Force till 1952. On returning to the UK he was given various postings in England and Scotland before in 1955 being appointed land agent and manager of Her Majesty The Queen's private Estate at Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire where he lived until his death. After leaving the army, he was appointed Colonel of his old Regiment the Gordon Highlanders.[2]

Marriages and children

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Sinclair married Grizel Margaret Miller-Cunningham on 29 April 1933. They had three daughters:

  • Lady Jean Elizabeth Sinclair (born 11 February 1936)
  • Lady Margaret Nicola Sinclair (born 11 September 1937)
  • Lady Fiona Catharine Sinclair (born 27 October 1941)

His first wife died during World War II. In 1946, he married secondly a widow Madeline Gabrielle Ormerod (nee de Pury) (1912–1990), whose husband had been killed on active service in Africa leaving her with a daughter (Susie). They had two children:

Death

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Lord Caithness died on 8 May 1965 at the age of 58. He was succeeded in the earldom and its subsidiary titles and as chief of Clan Sinclair by his only son, Malcolm.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 646
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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