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Bertram Gurdon, 2nd Baron Cranworth

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Bertram Gurdon, 2nd Baron Cranworth

KG MC
Coat of arms
Born(1877-06-13)13 June 1877
Died4 January 1964(1964-01-04) (aged 86)
OfficesBaron Cranworth
Spouse(s)
Vera Ridley
​
(m. 1903)​
IssueRobert
FatherRobert Gurdon, 1st Baron Cranworth
MotherEmily Frances Heathcote
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchMilitia
Years of service1900–1948
RankHonorary Colonel
Unit358th (Suffolk) Medium Regiment
Battles / warsSecond Boer War

Bertram Francis Gurdon, 2nd Baron Cranworth KG, MC (13 June 1877 – 4 January 1964) was a British peer and soldier.

Gurdon was the eldest son of Robert Gurdon, 1st Baron Cranworth and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge.[1]

He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Norfolk Artillery Militia on 7 March 1900,[2] and volunteered for active service in the Second Boer War in South Africa. He was promoted to lieutenant on 25 August 1900. Two years into the war, he was wounded, but was discharged from hospital to duty in May 1902,[3] shortly before the end of hostilities. He left Cape Town on board the SS Walmer Castle the following month,[4] and arrived at Southampton in early July. He inherited his father's title in October 1902 and later became a captain.

On 18 July 1903, he married Vera Ridley (a cousin of Matthew Ridley, 1st Viscount Ridley). In 1937, he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 358th (Suffolk) Medium Regiment and on retiring in 1948, was made a Knight of the Garter. Lord Cranworth died in 1964 and his title passed to his grandson, Philip (his only son Robert having been killed in action in Libya in 1942).

He wrote A Colony in the Making, or Sport and Profit in British East Africa (1912; 2nd edition 1919) and Kenya Chronicles (1939).

Arms

[edit]
Coat of arms of Bertram Gurdon, 2nd Baron Cranworth
Crest
A goat climbing up a rock with sprigs issuant therefrom all Proper.
Escutcheon
Sable three leopards' faces jessant-de-lis Or.[5]
Supporters
On either side a goat Proper gorged with a collar gemel Or and standing on a rock also Proper.
Motto
In Arduis Viget Virtus

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Gurdon, Bertram Francis (GRDN896BF)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. ^ "No. 27171". The London Gazette. 6 March 1900. p. 1531.
  3. ^ "The War – Officers discharged to duty". The Times. No. 36785. London. 4 June 1902. p. 13.
  4. ^ "The Army in South Africa – Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36811. London. 4 July 1902. p. 9.
  5. ^ Debrett's Peerage. 1903. p. 225.
[edit]
Military offices
Preceded by
H. Jolly
 Honorary Colonel of the
358th (Suffolk) Medium Regiment
1937–1948 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baron Cranworth
1902–1964 		Succeeded by
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