Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Gilbert John Acland-Troyte, CMG, DSO, JP (4 September 1876 – 27 April 1964[1]) of Huntsham Court, near Tiverton, Devon, was a British soldier and Conservative Party politician.

Sir Gilbert Acland-Troyte
Portrait of Acland-Troyte by Oswald Birley, 1945
Member of Parliament
for Tiverton
In office
29 October 1924 – 15 June 1945
Preceded byFrancis Dyke Acland
Succeeded byDerick Heathcoat-Amory
Personal details
Born(1876-09-04)4 September 1876
Died27 April 1964(1964-04-27) (aged 87)
Resting placeAll Saints Church, Huntsham
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Gwladys Quicke
(m. 1909)
ResidenceHuntsham Court
EducationEton College
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge

Background

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He was the third son of Colonel Charles Arthur William Troyte of Huntsham Court, by his wife Katherine Mary Walrond, daughter of Sir John Walrond, 1st Baronet[2] of Bradfield House, Uffculme, Devon. Acland-Troyte was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge.[3]

Career

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Military

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Acland-Troyte was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Devonshire Regiment on 11 November 1896.[4] He transferred to the regular army with appointment as second lieutenant in the 4th battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps on 8 February 1899,[5] and fought with his battalion in the Second Boer War one year later, where he was promoted to lieutenant on 25 January 1900,[6] and was later dangerously wounded. He was with his regiment in Somaliland between 1903 and 1904 and was afterwards promoted to lieutenant.[7] He rose to captain by 1905, for services to the Colonial Office.[8]

During the First World War, Acland-Troyte was mentioned in despatches seven times.[9] He was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General in the beginning of 1915[10] and was promoted to major in September.[11] In 1916 Acland-Troyte was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order[12] and in 1917 was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG).[13] After the war he received the French Croix de Guerre in January 1919[14] and retired as brevet lieutenant-colonel a few months later.[15] At the outbreak of the Second World War he was reactivated and in 1940 joined the Home Guard.[16]

Political

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Acland-Troyte contested unsuccessfully the parliamentary seat of Tiverton in a by-election in 1923 and in the following general election.[16] He was however successful the next year and was elected MP for Tiverton in 1924, which seat he held until 1945.[1]

Retirement

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Following his retirement from politics he was knighted[17] and in 1946 accepted the office of Master of the Tiverton Foxhounds which he fulfilled until 1950. He was a Justice of the Peace and alderman of Tiverton.[2] In 1937 he was elected president of the Country Landowners Association, which post he left after two years.[16]

Marriage

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On 12 October 1909 he married Gwladys Eleanor Quicke (d.1968), daughter of Ernest Henry Godolphin Quicke of Newton House, Newton St Cyres, Devon.[18]

Death

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Acland-Troyte died in 1964. He is buried at All Saints' Church, Huntsham in Devon.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Leigh Rayment - British House of Commons, Tiverton". Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ a b Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1929). Armorial Families. Vol. II. London: Hurst & Blackett. pp. 1966–1967.
  3. ^ "Troyte (or Acland-Troyte), Gilbert John Acland (TRT895GJ)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  4. ^ "No. 26801". The London Gazette. 8 December 1896. p. 7233.
  5. ^ "No. 27049". The London Gazette. 7 February 1899. p. 793.
  6. ^ "No. 27175". The London Gazette. 20 March 1900. p. 1879.
  7. ^ "No. 27674". The London Gazette. 6 May 1904. p. 2926.
  8. ^ "No. 27801". The London Gazette. 6 June 1905. p. 4033.
  9. ^ Snowden, Kathryn Louise (2001). British 21st Infantry Division on the Western Front 1914-1918. University of Birmingham. p. 171.
  10. ^ "No. 29041". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 January 1915. p. 486.
  11. ^ "No. 29284". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 September 1915. p. 8809.
  12. ^ "No. 29438". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 1916. p. 571.
  13. ^ "No. 30111". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1917. p. 5459.
  14. ^ "No. 31109". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 January 1919. p. 312.
  15. ^ "No. 31357". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 May 1919. p. 6465.
  16. ^ a b c Who is Who 1963. London: Adam & Charles Black Ltd. 1963. p. 12.
  17. ^ "No. 36943". The London Gazette. 16 February 1945. p. 943.
  18. ^ Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937, pp.2290-1, pedigree of Acland-Troyte of Huntsham Court; pp.1875-6, pedigree of Quicke of Newton St Cyres
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Tiverton
19241945
Succeeded by