Evelyn Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset

{{Short description|British soldier, landowner, peer (1882–1954)}}

{{infobox officeholder

| honorific_prefix = His Grace

| name = The Duke of Somerset

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DSO|OBE|DL}}

| image = Evelyn Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset, in 1926.jpg

| image_size = 200

| caption = Seymour in 1926

| birth_name = Evelyn Francis Edward Seymour

| birth_date = 1 May 1882

| birth_place = Kandy, Ceylon1911 England Census

| death_date = 26 April 1954

| death_place = London

| education = Blundell's School

| alma_mater = Royal Military College, Sandhurst

| father = Edward Seymour, 16th Duke of Somerset

| mother = Rowena Wall

| occupation = British peer

| children = Francis William Seymour
Algernon Francis Edward Seymour
Percy Seymour, 18th Duke of Somerset
Lady Susan Mary Seymour

}}

Evelyn Francis Edward Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset {{postnominals|country=GBR|DSO|OBE|DL}} (1 May 1882 – 26 April 1954), styled as Lord Seymour between 1923–1931, was a British Army officer, landowner, peer, and for eight years Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire. He was also a baronet.

Early life

The son of Edward Seymour, 16th Duke of Somerset, by his marriage to Rowena Wall, Seymour was born in Colombo, Ceylon. His maternal grandfather, George Wall, was a coffee merchant and botanist.

He was educated at Blundell's School, Tiverton, and later at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Career

Seymour was gazetted a second lieutenant on the Unattached List in January 1901,{{London Gazette |issue=27264 |date=8 January 1901 |page=160 }} before being attached to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.{{Cite book|last=Books|first=Hephaestus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UrlAYAAACAAJ|title=Royal Dublin Fusiliers Officers, Including: Robert Barton, Evelyn Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset, Edward Seymour, 16th Duke of Somerset, Edward Spears|date=August 2011|publisher=BiblioBazaar|isbn=978-1-242-65844-0}} He served throughout the Second Boer War (1901–02) and received the Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps. He took part in the operations in the Aden Protectorate in 1903.

In April 1913, Seymour, then of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, was appointed adjutant of the 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion of the London Regiment,{{London Gazette |issue=28709 |date=11 April 1913 |page=2640 |nolink=yes }} in which posting he continued until 1916, before returning to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers to take command of its 10th Battalion. In December 1917, he was promoted Acting Lieutenant Colonel.{{London Gazette |issue=30450 |date=28 December 1917 |page=25 |supp=y |nolink=yes }} In 1918, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and in 1919 he served in the Adjutant-General's department of the War Office. He was appointed to the Order of the British Empire in 1919 and retired from the service in 1920. He succeeded to his father's dukedom in 1931.

On 12 May 1937, he bore the Sceptre with the Cross at the coronation of King George VI.{{London Gazette |issue=34453 |date=10 November 1937 |page=7043 |supp=y |nolink=yes }}

During the Second World War, Somerset returned to the army. With effect from 1 November 1939, he was appointed a Lieutenant Colonel of the Devonshire Regiment,{{London Gazette |issue=34770 |date=9 January 1940 |page=217 |supp=y |nolink=yes }} in which he commanded a battalion, and he later held an appointment as a full Colonel on the General Staff.

=Later life=

On his retirement from active service with the Army, Somerset returned to Maiden Bradley to take charge of his estates in Wiltshire and Somerset. On 4 May 1942 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, succeeding Ernest Wills.{{London Gazette |issue=35557 |date=12 May 1942 |page=2073 |nolink=yes }}

On 19 March 1949, "having exceeded the age limit", he relinquished his commission as an honorary Colonel of the Devon Regiment on retired pay.{{London Gazette |issue=38564 |date=18 March 1949 |page=1380 |supp=y |nolink=yes }} In 1950, he was appointed a knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John.{{London Gazette |issue=38804 |date=3 January 1950 |page=60 |nolink=yes }}

He was a member of the Army and Navy Club, the Naval & Military Club, and the Marylebone Cricket Club.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U243156 |title=SOMERSET, 17th Duke of |work=Who Was Who |publisher=A. & C. Black, 1920–2008 |edition=Oxford University Press online |date=December 2007}}

Personal life

In London on 3 January 1906, he married Edith Mary Parker (d. Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire, 19 April 1962), daughter of William Parker (1816–1893), of Whittington Hall, Derbyshire, England, and Lucinda Steeves (1842–1920), daughter of William Steeves. Evelyn and Edith had four children:

Francis William Seymour (1906–1907), who died young.
Algernon Francis Edward Seymour (1908–1911), who died young.
Percy Hamilton Seymour, 18th Duke of Somerset (1910–1984)
Lady Susan Mary Seymour (1913–2004), who died unmarried and without issue.

Somerset was a member of The Magic Circle for many years, having first joined it in 1907, after becoming a pupil of the magician Ernest Noakes. He became the organization's president in 1935, after the death of Lord Ampthill.

The Duke died in London on 26 April 1954.