Geoffrey Cecil Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 18th Baron Saye and Sele (3 August 1858 – 2 February 1937), was a British soldier and Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 politician. He served as Comptroller of the Household

Comptroller of the Household

The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...

 between 1912 and 1915.

Background

Saye and Sele was the eldest son of John Fiennes Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 17th Baron Saye and Sele, and his wife Lady Augusta Sophia, daughter of Thomas Hay-Drummond, 11th Earl of Kinnoull

Thomas Hay-Drummond, 11th Earl of Kinnoull

Thomas Robert Hay-Drummond, 11th Earl of Kinnoull was the son of Robert Hay-Drummond, 10th Earl of Kinnoull. He served as Lord Lyon King of Arms from 1804 until 1866, succeeding his father in that office...

. Sir Eustace Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 1st Baronet, was his younger brother.

Military career

Saye and Sele fought in the Anglo-Zulu War

Anglo-Zulu War

The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.Following the imperialist scheme by which Lord Carnarvon had successfully brought about federation in Canada, it was thought that a similar plan might succeed with the various African kingdoms, tribal areas and...

 of 1879 as a Captain in the Royal Scots Fusiliers

Royal Scots Fusiliers

-The Earl of Mar's Regiment of Foot :The regiment was raised in Scotland in 1678 by Stuart loyalist Charles Erskine, de jure 5th Earl of Mar for service against the rebel covenanting forces during the Second Whig Revolt . They were used to keep the peace and put down brigands, mercenaries, and...

. He was appointed an Honorary Colonel of the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1907. During the First World War he served as an Area Commandant in Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

. He was also a Lieutenant-Colonel in the 3rd Battalion of the Middlesex County Regiment.

Political career

Saye and Sele succeeded his father in the barony in 1907 and took his seat on the Liberal benches in the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

. From 1912 to 1915 he served under H. H. Asquith

H. H. Asquith

Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...

 as Comptroller of the Household

Comptroller of the Household

The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...

.

Family

Lord Saye and Sele married Marion Ruperta Murray, daughter of Major Robert Bartholomew Lawes, in 1884. They had five sons and two daughters. He died in February 1937, aged 78, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Geoffrey. Lady Saye and Sele died in July 1946, aged 82.