Fergus Bowes-Lyon

Fergus Bowes-Lyon was born on 18 April 1889 at Forbes House in Ham, Surrey. He was the son of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. His early education was received at Ludgrove School, followed by attendance at Eton College. During his youth, he engaged in cricket, participating in annual autumn fixtures at the cricket ground at Glamis Castle.

On 17 September 1914, Fergus Bowes-Lyon married Lady Christian Norah Dawson-Damer, born on 7 August 1890, the daughter of the 5th Earl of Portarlington. The couple had one child, Rosemary Louisa Bowes-Lyon, born on 18 July 1915. Fergus died in action on 27 September 1915, at the age of 26, shortly after his wedding. His daughter, Rosemary, was only two months old at the time of his death.

Fergus Bowes-Lyon served in the British Army during World War I. He was a member of the 8th Battalion, Black Watch. He held the rank of lieutenant starting on 19 August 1914 and was promoted to temporary captain on 17 November 1914. During his military service, his batman was Alfred Anderson, who later became notable as the last surviving Scottish soldier of World War I and the last British soldier awarded the 1914 Star.

He was killed during the Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt, part of the Battle of Loos, when he led an attack on German lines. His leg was destroyed by artillery, and he fell into his sergeant’s arms. Subsequently, he was struck by bullets in the chest and shoulder and died on the battlefield. He was initially buried in a quarry at Vermelles, located at coordinates 50°29′57.94″N 2°46′8.16″E. Although the quarry was designated as a war cemetery, his specific grave details were lost, and he was commemorated among the missing on the Loos Memorial.

At the time of Fergus’s death, his family had several members serving in the military. His brother John was also with the Black Watch, while his younger brother Michael was recovering from wounds at home. Their eldest brother, Lord Glamis, had recently left the Black Watch after being wounded. Their mother, Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, was deeply affected by the loss, becoming an invalid and withdrawing from public life until her daughter Elizabeth's marriage to the future King George VI in 1923.

After Fergus’s death, his widow married Captain William Frederick Martin, who died on 6 October 1947. She herself died on 29 March 1959, aged 68. In November 2011, family records disclosed by Fergus’s grandson indicated that his original burial site had remained marked during the war. Consequently, in August 2012, his place of commemoration was relocated to the Quarry Cemetery at Auchy-les-Mines, marked by a headstone inscribed with his details and the words "Buried near this spot," acknowledging that the exact location of his grave remains unknown.

Fergus Bowes-Lyon was an older brother of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who later became Queen Consort of King George VI, and was a maternal uncle of Elizabeth II.