Henry Kitchener, 2nd Earl Kitchener

The Earl Kitchener
Born	5 October 1846
Died	27 March 1937
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1866–1903 1916–1918
Rank	Colonel
Unit	46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
Battles/wars	Franco-Prussian War Manipur Expedition First World War: - South-West Africa Campaign - East African Campaign
Relations	Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener Frederick Walter Kitchener

Colonel Henry Elliott Chevallier Kitchener, 2nd Earl Kitchener (5 October 1846 – 27 March 1937), was a British soldier and peer.

Early life and career

He was the oldest of five children born to Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Horatio Kitchener (1805–1894) and his first wife Anne Frances Chevallier (1826–1864). Among his siblings was the famous military commander Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener.

He spent his early life in Tralee in Ireland where he and his siblings received their education from governesses and tutors.^[1] Kitchener joined the British Army in 1866 and was commissioned into the 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot before joining the newly created Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry when it was founded in 1881.^[1] He also served alongside his brother in France during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71.^[2] From July 1876 until July 1878 he served as garrison instructor at the Curragh Camp in Ireland and in 1879 he was appointed the Instructor in military topography at the Royal Military College a post he held until August 1886.^[1]

He saw his first action in Burma with the British Army where he was Chief transport officer of the Field Force's during the Manipur Expedition in 1891.^[3] His was posted to Jamaica in December 1898 where he was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant General for the British colony before receiving his final posting in the Army when he was appointed commander of the Depot for the West India Regiment.^[1] He retired from the Army in 1903 with the rank Colonel.^[4]

Post retirement

After retiring he remained in Jamaica where he was a property owner and he got involved in local politics and contested the St Andrew Parish in the Legislative Council elections but was not elected.^[5] With the outbreak of the First World War he was recalled to the Army and was posted to take up a command post in South West Africa and he was also put in command of a British Expeditionary Force sent to fight the Germans in East Africa.^[2][4][6] On 5 June 1916 he succeeded his younger brother as second Earl Kitchener according to a special remainder in the letters patent. In 1918 he left Jamaica to return to Britain.^[7] After the war he moved to Kenya where he was active in encouraging the settlement of War veterans in the British colony and he also developed a number of Flax-producing estates in the colony.^[1][3]

Lord Kitchener was married in 1877 to Eleanor Fanny Lushington (died 1897) with whom he had a son and a daughter:^[8][9]

• Henry Franklin Chevallier Kitchener, Viscount Broome (17 Oct 1878 – 13 Jun 1928)
• Lady Nora Fanny Kitchener (1882 – 10 May 1919)

His son and heir Henry Franklin Kitchener, Viscount Broome (1878–1928) predeceased him so his titles passed to his grandson Henry Herbert Kitchener on his death in 1937 in Nairobi, Kenya.

His great granddaughter Emma Joy Kitchener (born 1962) is a lady in waiting to Princess Michael of Kent and the wife of actor Julian Fellowes.

References

• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.