Lieutenant-Colonel The Hon. Sir Eustace Edward Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 1st Baronet (29 February 1864–9 February 1943) was a British soldier, Liberal politician and colonial administrator.
Fiennes was born in Reading, Berkshire, the second son of John Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 17th Baron Saye and Sele and his wife, Lady Augusta Hay-Drummond, a daughter of the 11th Earl of Kinnoull. In 1894, Fiennes married Florence Agnes Fletcher née Rathfelder (from Constantia, Cape Town). They lived in Windlesham and Sunningdale and had two children: John Eustace (1895–1917, Battle of Arras) and Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 2nd Baronet (1902–1943).
Educated at Malvern College[1], he was commissioned into the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars in 1895. He fought in the North-West Rebellion in 1885, was stationed in Egypt from 1888–89, took part in the expedition to Mashonaland in 1890, and fought in the Second Boer War with the Imperial Yeomanry. He was promoted Lieutenant in 1899, Captain in 1901, Major in 1905, and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1918.
At the 1906 general election, Fiennes was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Banbury and with a brief interruption in 1910, held the seat until the 1918 general election. He was also Parliamentary Private Secretary to Winston Churchill (then First Lord of the Admiralty) from 1912–14 and he fought in Flanders and the Dardanelles during World War I.
Created a baronet in 1916, Fiennes left the Commons two years later to become Governor of the Seychelles and was then Governor of the Leeward Islands from 1921-29.
Fiennes died in 1943 and his title was inherited by his son who died the same year. His grandson, the famous explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, inherited the title on his birth in 1944. Fiennes is also related to the actors Ralph and Joseph Fiennes.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Albert Brassey |
Member of Parliament for Banbury 1906 – January 1910 |
Succeeded by Robert Brassey |
| Preceded by Robert Brassey |
Member of Parliament for Banbury December 1910 – 1918 |
Succeeded by Rhys Williams |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Charles O'Brien |
Governor of the Seychelles 1918 – 1921 |
Succeeded by Sir Joseph Byrne |
| Preceded by Sir Edward Merewether |
Governor of the Leeward Islands 1921 – 1929 |
Succeeded by Sir Thomas St. Johnston |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baronet (of Banbury) 1916 – 1943 |
Succeeded by Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes |