The Yeomanry


Lord Grimthorpe TD


Ralph William Ernest Beckett, 3rd Baron Grimthorpe was born in 1891, the son of Ernest William who designed and built Villa Cimbrone in Italy. His great uncle Edmund was an architect who designed the clock mechanism of Big Ben. Ralph was a banker who ran the firm Beckett & Co in Leeds, later part of the Westminster Bank, also Airspeed Ltd. He was a breeder of racehorses, Fortina won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1947 and Fragrant Mac won the Scottish Grand National in 1952.

The painting is by Walter Partington and was completed in 1925 when Lord Grimthorpe was a major. He has medal ribbons for World War 1, 1914/15 Star, BWM, VM, George V Coronation, TD, Legion d'Honneur and Croix de Guerre. His bronze cap badge and collar badges are clearly those of the Yorkshire Hussars. He commanded the regiment at the beginning of World War 2, from 1936 to 1940. Lord Grimthorpe was married twice. He died in 1963.


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by Stephen Luscombe