Francis Edward Fitzherbert-Stafford, 12th Baron Stafford,DSO (28 August 1859 – 18 September 1932) was anEnglishpeer andBritish Army officer, holding the titleBaron Stafford. His lifetime marked the point where the Stafford barony first came into contact withFitzherbert as a surname.
Francis Edward's father was Basil Thomas Fitzherbert and his mother was Emily Charlotte Stafford-Jerningham. It was through his mother's side of the family that he gained the Stafford barony; his uncleFitzherbert Edward Stafford-Jerningham, 11th Baron Stafford had died without issue in 1913. Fitzherbert-Stafford also descended fromGenoese nobility as his great grandfather wasJohn Vincent Gandolfi, 12th Marquis Gandolfi. ARoman Catholic, he was educated atBeaumont College,Windsor.[1]
Fitzherbert was commissioned in 1877 into the1st Royal Lancashire Militia (The Duke of Lancaster's Own), which from 1881 became the3rd (1st Royal Lancashire Militia) Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster). He was promoted tomajor on 5 February 1900,[2] and the following week left with the battalion to serve in theSecond Boer War.[3] He fought in South Africa from his arrival in March 1900 to 1902, and was awarded theDistinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1900.[4] He became honorarylieutenant-colonel in 1901, and renounced his militia commission in 1903. He was also commissioned into his native county'sStaffordshire Yeomanry in 1885, and promoted Major in that regiment in 1898.[1]
In theFirst World War he served purely on home defence duties, becoming Colonel commanding the Staffordshire Volunteer Regiment of theVolunteer Training Corps.[4]
He was aDeputy Lieutenant andJustice of the Peace for Staffordshire and hereditary Lord High Steward of the Borough of Stafford.[1]
On 20 April 1903 Fitzherbert-Stafford married Dorothy Hilda Worthington, the daughter ofAlbert Octavius Worthington. Together the two did not parent any children. He died at the family seat ofSwynnerton Hall at age 73.
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| Preceded by | Baron Stafford 1913–1932 | Succeeded by |