Lieutenant-Colonel Charles William Reginald Duncombe, 2nd Earl of Feversham (8 May 1879 – 15 September 1916), known as Viscount Helmsley from 1881 to 1915, was a British Conservative Party politician and soldier.
Feversham was the son of William Duncombe, Viscount Helmsley, elder son of William Duncombe, 1st Earl of Feversham. His mother was Lady Muriel Frances Louisa, daughter of Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 19th Earl of Shrewsbury. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He became was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Thirsk and Malton in 1906 and held the seat until he inherited his title on the death of his grandfather in 1915.
Feversham was killed in action on 15 September 1916 at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, while commanding 21st Bn (Yeoman Rifles) King's Royal Rifle Corps. The battalion was formed in 1915 at Helmsley. He had previously commanded the Yorkshire Hussars. "Dogs were frequent visitors to the trenches and he had taken his deerhound to war: it too was killed and was buried with him" (Tommy by Richard Holmes). He lies in the AIF Burial Ground at Flers, Somme.
Lord Feversham married Lady Marjorie Blanche Eva Greville, daughter of Francis Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick, in 1904. They had two sons and one daughter. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son Charles, who also became a Conservative politician. His younger son the Hon. David was killed in a car accident in 1927, aged only 17. The Dowager Lady Feversham married the Conservative politician Gervase Beckett in 1917. She died in July 1964, aged 79.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir John Lawson |
Member of Parliament for Thirsk and Malton 1906 – 1915 |
Succeeded by Edmund Russborough Turton |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by William Ernest Duncombe |
Earl of Feversham 1915 – 1916 |
Succeeded by Charles William Slingsby Duncombe |