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Roderick Sinclair, 19th Earl of Caithness

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The Earl of Caithness
Brigadier James Sinclair
Born(1906-09-29)29 September 1906
Died8 May 1965(1965-05-08) (aged 58)
Allegiance United Kingdom
 Ceylon
Service / branch British Army
Ceylon Army
Years of service?-1955
RankBrigadier
Service number36869[1]
UnitGordon Highlanders
Commands153rd Infantry Brigade
Commander of Ceylon Army
51st Infantry Brigade
Battles / warsWorld War II
RelationsLord Berriedale (son)

Brigadier James Roderick Sinclair, 19th Earl of Caithness, CVO, CBE, DSO (29 September 1906 – 8 May 1965) was a British Army officer during World War II, hereditary peer and chief of Clan Sinclair.

Early life and education

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Sinclair was born in 1906, the only son of the Rev and Hon Charles Augustus Sinclair, third son of James Augustus Sinclair, 16th Earl of Caithness, and his wife Mary Ann Harman. He was educated at Marlborough College.

Sinclair succeeded to the earldom and its subsidiary titles in 1947 upon the death of his uncle, Norman Macleod (Sinclair) Buchan, 18th Earl of Caithness.

Military service

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Sinclair joined the Gordon Highlanders and rose to the rank of Brigadier and as such led his regiment (part of the 51st (Highland) Division) through France, Belgium, the Netherlands into Germany during World War II and was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Guard of Honor for Brigadier James Sinclair, Earl of Caithness, held by Major B.R. Heyn.

In 1949 he was appointed the first Commander of the Ceylon Army and played a major role in establishing it as a regular army from the volunteer Ceylon Defence Force till 1952. On returning to the UK he was given various postings in England and Scotland before in 1955 being appointed land agent and manager of Her Majesty The Queen's private Estate at Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire where he lived until his death. After leaving the army, he was appointed Colonel of his old Regiment the Gordon Highlanders.[2]

Marriages and children

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Sinclair married Grizel Margaret Miller-Cunningham on 29 April 1933. They had three daughters:

  • Lady Jean Elizabeth Sinclair (born 11 February 1936)
  • Lady Margaret Nicola Sinclair (born 11 September 1937)
  • Lady Fiona Catharine Sinclair (born 27 October 1941)

His first wife died during World War II. In 1946, he married secondly a widow Madeline Gabrielle Ormerod (nee de Pury) (1912–1990), whose husband had been killed on active service in Africa leaving her with a daughter (Susie). They had two children:

Death

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Lord Caithness died on 8 May 1965 at the age of 58. He was succeeded in the earldom and its subsidiary titles and as chief of Clan Sinclair by his only son, Malcolm.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "No. 37853". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 January 1947. p. 325.
  2. ^ "Past Army Commanders". Sri Lanka Army. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  3. ^ Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 646
  4. ^ "Caithness, 19th Earl of, cr 1455 (James Roderick Sinclair) (Baron Berriedale, 1455; Bt 1631)". WHO WAS WHO 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
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Military offices
New post Commander of the Ceylon Army
1949–1952 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Earl of Caithness
1947–1965 		Succeeded by
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