William Forbes-Sempill, 17th Lord Sempill
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Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
peer, the 17th Lord Sempill
Lord Sempill
Lord Sempill is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in circa 1489 for Sir John Sempill, founder of the collegiate Church of Lochwinnoch. Sempill was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. His grandson, the third Lord, was known as "The Great Lord Sempill"...
and 8th Baronet of Craigievar
Forbes Baronets
There have been five Baronetcies created for people with the surname Forbes, four in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...
.
He was the son of Sir John Forbes, 7th Baronet, and succeeded his father to the baronetcy on his death in February 1846, at the age of seven. He was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and then joined the Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
in 1854; he served in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, rising to the rank of Captain. In 1884, he inherited the title of Lord Sempill from his relation Maria Jane Sempill, 16th Lady Sempill, and adopted the surname of Sempill.
He married three times, the first time in 1858 to Caroline, the only daughter of Sir Charles Forbes, 3rd Baronet; this ended in divorce in 1861, after the birth of one daughter, Katherine. The second marriage was in 1862 to Frances Emily Abercromby, the youngest daughter of Sir Robert Abercromby, 5th Baronet
Sir Robert Abercromby, 5th Baronet
Sir Robert Abercromby, 5th Baronet was a Scottish politician, the 5th Baronet of Birkenbog.He was the son of Sir George Abercromby, 4th Baronet, and Jane Ogilvie, the daughter of Alexander Ogilvie, 7th Lord Banff...
, in 1862. They had seven children, four sons and two daughters. All four of the sons served in the military; the eldest, John
John Forbes-Sempill, 18th Lord Sempill
John Forbes-Sempill, 18th Lord Sempill was a Scottish peer, the 18th Lord Sempill and 9th Baronet of Craigievar....
commanded a battalion of the Black Watch
Black Watch
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The unit's traditional colours were retired in 2011 in a ceremony led by Queen Elizabeth II....
at the Battle of Loos
Battle of Loos
The Battle of Loos was one of the major British offensives mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I. It marked the first time the British used poison gas during the war, and is also famous for the fact that it witnessed the first large-scale use of 'new' or Kitchener's Army...
. Douglas, a Major in the Seaforth Highlanders
Seaforth Highlanders
The Seaforth Highlanders was a historic regiment of the British Army associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The Seaforth Highlanders have varied in size from two battalions to seventeen battalions during the Great War...
, was killed on the North-West Frontier
North-West Frontier (military history)
The North-West Frontier was the most difficult area, from a military point of view, of the former British India in the Indian sub-continent. It remains the frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separating the...
of India in 1908, whilst Robert was killed in the Battle of the Somme serving with the Gordon Highlanders. The youngest of the four, Arthur
Arthur Forbes-Sempill
Rear-Admiral Arthur Lionel Ochoncar Forbes-Sempill was an officer of the Royal Navy active in the First World War.He was the fourth son of William Forbes-Sempill, 17th Lord Sempill; his three elder brothers, John, Douglas and Robert, all served in the Army.In January 1898, he was assigned to HMS...
, was in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, and survived the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
. The elder daughter, Evelyn, married Duncan Vernon Pirie
Duncan Vernon Pirie
Duncan Vernon Pirie OBE FRSGS JP DL was a Scottish Liberal politician.The eldest son of Gordon Pirie, of Château de Varennes, France, and Valentine, daughter of Comte J. Rousseau de Labrosse, he was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond and at Clifton College...
MP, whilst the younger, Gertrude, never married. The third marriage was in 1890, to Mary Sherbrooke.
On his death in 1905, his titles were inherited by his son John
John Forbes-Sempill, 18th Lord Sempill
John Forbes-Sempill, 18th Lord Sempill was a Scottish peer, the 18th Lord Sempill and 9th Baronet of Craigievar....
.