(The Coat of Arms of Sir Francis while he was married to his first wife, Violet Houldsworth) Sir Francis' involvement in
the administration of the Territorial Army began
in 1908 when he became a Military Member of the
Territorial Army Association for the County of
Essex. He served as its Chairman from 1929 to
1936, its President from 1936, and was a member
of the Territorial Army Advisory Committee to the
War Office 1935-37. When the Second World War
broke out in 1939, Colonel Whitmore assumed the
presidency of the National Service Committee in
Essex, formed to co-ordinate the county's war
effort. He became Honorary Colonel of 104 (Essex
Yeomanry) Regiment, RHA in 1936; 147 (Essex
Yeomanry) Field Regiment RA in 1940; 17th Light
Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA in 1941 and Honorary
Commander of the Essex Home Guard in 1940. When
the Territorial Army was re-formed after the war
in 1947, he became Honorary Colonel of 304 (Essex
Yeomanry) Field Regiment RA (TA) and 517 Light
Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA (TA). In 1949 Sir
Francis Whitmore, representing King George VI,
presented a new guidon to the Essex Yeomanry in
place of the one destroyed during an air raid on
their headquarters in Chelmsford. Sir Francis
reminded the assembled soldiers and Old Comrades
that he had commanded the colour party which
received their original guidon from King Edward
VII in 1909.
Francis Whitmore was just
as diligent in the civil administration of the
county, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace
in 1899, a Deputy Lieutenant in 1907, served on
the Essex County Council from 1918 to 1926, and
was High Sheriff of Essex from 1922 to 1923. He
was appointed His Majesty's Lord Lieutenant for
the County of Essex in 1936 and served in that
office until he retired in 1958, at the age of 86.
He was made a Commander of the Most Honourable
Order of the Bath (CB) in 1935, a Knight of the
Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem in 1937 (KStJ),
raised to Knight Commander of the Order of the
Bath (KCB) in 1941, and created a baronet in 1954.
He was a benevolent lord of the manors of Orsett,
Little Thurrock, Stifford, Corringham and North
Benfleet, where his memory is cherished by the
older inhabitants. During his lifetime he
involved himself in a great many activities in
the county, either as president, chairman or
benefactor of innumerable organisations and
societies.
Sir Francis married twice;
in 1900 he wed Violet Frances Elizabeth, youngest
daughter of Sir William Henry Houldsworth of
Coodham, Ayrshire. She died in 1927. In 1931 he
married Ellis Christense Johnsen (DStJ 1960)
eldest daughter of Knud Johnsen of Bergen, Norway,
who outlived him. Lady Whitmore, at a sprightly
95, now lives quietly in Chelmsford. A daughter,
Anne Catherine, was born in 1934 and a son and
heir, John Henry Douglas, in 1937
Sir Francis Whitmore, KCB,
CMG, DSO, TD, JP died on June 12th 1962 at Orsett
and was buried with full military honours at
Orsett parish church. His coffin was draped with
the Union Flag upon which were laid his orders
and decorations and his Lord Lieutenant's cocked
hat. It was borne to St. Giles and All Saints on
a gun carriage and carried into the church on the
shoulders of six Essex Yeomen attended by the
Regimental Sergeant Major. Members of the
regiment and Old Comrades lined the processional
route while family, friends, military colleagues
and county dignitaries paid tribute to this Grand
Old Man of Essex. Sir John Whitmore, the 2nd
Baronet, lived a very different life to his
father, and became a prominent racing driver with
the Ford Motor company, although he did serve for
a time in 304 (Essex Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA
(TA). He decided, initially, to carry on with the
estate-farming tradition of his father, but,
although successful, his heart was not in
agriculture and he sold the Orsett Estate in 1968.
Sir John Whitmore now lives
in Kent with his son Jason. Sir Francis' daughter,
Anne Catherine, married Daniel Jose Emilio O'Connell
in 1966 and lives in Argentina with their three
daughters.
The writer had the
privilege of meeting Sir Francis Whitmore at
Orsett Hall shortly before he died. After the
interview, he gave a sharp tug on a tapestry cord
and a chauffeur appeared, who drove us to Orsett
parish church, where Sir Francis pointed out with
obvious pride two flags hanging limply in the
nave. They were the Regimental Flags of the two
regiments he had commanded during The Great War.
Both were red; one bore the gold badge of The
Essex Yeomanry and the linked horseshoes emblem
of the 8th Cavalry Brigade, while the other
displayed the badge of the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince
of Wales's Own) and the crest of the 6th Cavalry
Brigade. Paraphased words of Sir Edward Hamley
sprang to mind:
"Two
moth-eaten rags on worm-eaten poles, Do not look
likely to stir a man's soul,
'Tis the deeds that were done under the moth-eaten
rags, When the poles were staffs and the rags
were flags. "
On returning to Orsett Hall,
Sir Francis presented to the writer his unbound
proof copy of the book he had written in 1920
entitled The 10th (P. W. O.) Royal Hussars
and The Essex Yeomanry during the European War,
1914 - 1918. The book is embellished with
his hand-written corrections, annotations and
directions to the printer. It is the writer's
only tangible link with a man who will remain a
legend within the Essex Yeomanry Association. (The Local History Web Site Committee was pleased to received an email from Anne Catherine O'Connell, nee Whitmore, pointing out that the coat of arms displayed here were those of Sir Francis and his first wife. Also the regimental colours that used to hang in Orsett church did not have moth holes - they were bullet holes. Sir Francis Whitmore's second wife, Lady Ellis was not allowed to patch them except with thin net so that they should remain as a visible memorial. June 2011.
On 10th September, 2015, a
Thurrock Heritage plaque was unveiled
at Orsett Hall commemorating Sir
Francis and the Officers and Men of the Essex Yeomanry and 10th
Royal Hussars who served with Sir Francis in the Great War.)
The Great
War and before
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