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Name: SCOTT, Francis George Montagu-Douglas- KCMG, DSO, Lord

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Nee: 6th son of the 6th Duke of Buccleuch

Birth Date: 1 Nov 1879 Dalkeith

Death Date: 26 July 1952 in a train at Paddington station, London

First Date: 1920

Last Date: 1952

Profession: Farmed at Deloraine near Rongai. Lt. Col. Grenadier Guards (retd.); politician

Area: 'Deloraine', Rongai

Married: In London 11 Feb 1915 Lady Eileen Nina Evelyn Sibell Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound b. 13 Dec 1884 Carleton, Ontario, d. 29 May 1938 London (dau of 4th Earl of Minto)

Children: Pamela Violet (7 July 1916 Wandsworth-5 Feb 1992 Rongai); Moyra Eileen (Tweedie, then Smiley) (15 Mar 1919 Chelsea-2011)

Book Reference: Best, Last Chance, Nellie, Midday Sun, Brewery, Golf, Lytton, Joelson, Empire, Cranworth, Mischief, White Man, Debrett, KAD, Red 25, Red 31, Hut, EA & Rhodesia, Year Book, Alice - Memories, DSO, Dominion, Burke, Eton, Mills, SS, Chandler, Rift Valley

War Service: SA 1899-1902, WW1 attached to Irish Guards & 5th Batt. Grenadier Guards, wounded, despatches

School: Eton 1893-98 (Cricket XI 1898) and at Christ Church Oxford

General Information:

Elected as leader of the "unofficial" members of the Legislative Council following the death of Lord Delamere in 1931. 
Best - He had been severely wounded in the Grenadier Guards during WW1 and walked with a pronounced limp, leading eventually to the amputation of his leg in 1933.   
Last Chance - (1948) - Came out to Kenya with a fair enough sum of money, which he lost; but he has made enough of it back now to retire contentedly on the stone veranda of the Edwardian mansion he erected facing the blue Kenya mountains beyond his flower beds: that irascible, aristocratic figure with the kindly blue eyes, who often tried to bend the whole Colony to his will. For a long and trying time (for those he disagreed with), Lord F.S. was the leader of the White settlers. He was seriously wounded in WW1, and after years of acute suffering has only recently had his foot amputated. When the weather was bad, or Sir (sic) Francis's foot bothered him, he went down to Nairobi and took it out on the Legco, so they complain.  
Nellie - 'Deloraine, the Francis Scott's residence; as civilized as the Harries menage was savage. From the wide veranda you looked over smooth, sprinkler-watered lawns with great clumps of bougainvillaeas and flowering shrubs. The rooms were high-ceilinged, spacious and cool, with polished hardwood floors. .......... Lord Francis limped from a war wound in the foot that never healed and always pained him, giving rise, sometimes to fits of irritability too transient to detract from his great charm and courtesy. His laughter, his perfect manners and the sparkle in his pale blue eyes was the impression that remained.'                            
Midday Sun - 'Francis Scott was a less pugnacious man than Delamere, less impetuous and eccentric, but he shared the same imperial ideas and could be just as quick-tempered and impatient. This was generally attributed to a war wound in the foot that caused him constant pain until it was amputated, but in fact the wound had paralysed the sciatic nerve and his leg was numb rather than painful. Tall and distinguished-looking, fair and with ice-blue eyes, his perfect manners befitted a former officer in the Grenadier Guards who had been aide-de-camp to the Viceroy of India, the Earl of Minto, and had married the Viceroy's daughter. He was a younger son of the Duke of Buccleuch and had 84 first cousins. ........... At Deloraine they lived in some style, with a lady's maid called Loder and a Scottish nanny, later replaced by a succession of governesses to educate their two daughters.'    
'In politics, Francis was a good and steady leader whose judgement was said to be sound - rather a damning word perhaps, but it implied that he did not make inflammatory speeches about birthrights and Christian civilization, and would never have led a mob of angry settlers to the steps of Government House shouting 'Resign! Resign!' at the Governor as Delamere had done in his salad days.  
Brewery - One of the first regular customers of the Kenya Brewery in 1924.
Golf - First President of Naivasha Golf Club in 1922. President of Njoro Golf Club in 1920 and 1932-36. Captain of Njoro Golf Club in 1936
Empire - Polo - The Rift Valley and Njoro Clubs are higher up the country, where Lord Francis Scott and Major Reynard preside.
Cranworth - No memoir of post-war [WW1], however piecemeal and discursive could be compiled without a mention of Colonel Lord Francis Scott, whose services to the Colony have been so outstanding. After a most distinguished career in the Army and more especially during the Great War, Lord Francis came out to Kenya in 1920 still suffering from a grievous wound which years afterwards caused the amputation of a leg. From the day of his arrival he showed a determination to place all his ability and all his energy at the disposal of the Colony, and needless to say he quickly made his mark ...... (lots more) ....….
In all his many struggles and difficulties he has had, until her lamented death in 1938, the support and advice of Lady Frances, which I feel well assured he would acknowledge to have been invaluable. ......... It is indeed a happy thing to record that he has found in the person of the present Governor, Sir Robert Brooke-Popham, a man after his own heart. Close friends and equally determined believers in Kenya's future, they work together in a harmony as pleasant as it has been in the past unusual. .......  
Mischief - In the Irish Guards he was Delves-Broughton's CO at one time
White Man - delegate to Delamere's unofficial Federation conference at Tukuyu in 1925
Debrett - is Lieut.-Col. Grenadier Guards (retired); sometime ADC to Viceroy of India (Earl of Minto); S. Africa 1899-1902 (Queen's medal with 3 clasps, King's medal with 2 clasps), European War 1914-18, attached to Irish Guards, and Comdg. a Batn. Roy. Fusiliers (City of London Regt.), and 5th Batn. Grenadier Guards (wounded, DSO, Brevet Lieut.-Col.)
Red 25 - Member, Kenya Land Settlement Advisory Board
East Africa & Rhodesia - 31/7/52 - Lieut.-Colonel Lord Francis Scott, KCMG, DSO, who settled in Kenya more than 30 years ago and had thereafter taken a prominent part in the affairs of the Colony, died suddenly at Paddington railway station, on Saturday at the age of 72. He had for some time suffered from a heart affliction. …….. {more}
Year Book - Jockey Club - a great suporter of racing and a Steward for 28 years and many times Senior Steward.
Red 22 - President, Njoro European Association
Red 22 - Steward, The Jockey Club of Kenya
Red 22 - Vice-President, Kenya Polo Association
Alice - Memories - Francis Scott was one of those people who never thought ill of anyone. He had the most useless manager, but he never checked up on him or the men, and when it was brought to his attention he just dismissed it with a sigh and said 'Maybe, but you'll never get anyone better.' The fact is he was not very interested in farming and the farm suffered as a result; fences went unmended and crops uncollected ….. Polo at Njoro some 15 miles away, was a popular excuse for people to foregather on a Sunday, and teams would arrive from quite a distance away. Uncle Francis was a keen player and, in spite of the 'gammy' leg from his time as a soldier, a very good one.
DSO - Joined the 3rd Battn. The Royal Scots in 1898, and the 2nd Battn. Grenadier Guards 29/11/1899. He served in the SA War from April 1900 to July 1902, with the 2nd Battn. Grenadier Guards and took part in the operations in the Orange Free State, April to May 1900; in Orange River Colony May to 29 Nov 1900, including actions at Biddulphsberg and Wittebergen; in the Transvaal Feb to March 1901; and again during operations in Orange River Colony Dec 1900 to Feb 1901 and March 1901 to May 1902 (Queen's Medal with 3 clasps and King's Medal with 2 clasps). He became Lieut. 17 Sept 1901; was ADC to the Viceroy of India 18 Nov 1905 to 22 Nov 1910, and became Captain 22 Jan 1908. He served in the European War from 1914 to 1918, and was created a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (London Gazette, 1 Dec 1914) - For persistent and gallant efforts to rally the battalion when much shaken by heavy losses, and by helping to restore steadiness by his good example. The DSO was awarded whilst attached to the 1st Battn. Irish Guards, from 18 Sept to 31 Oct 1914, serving on the Aisne and in the First battle of Ypres. The account in official Despatch was not accurate, as it was described as rallying men after heavy losses, whereas such occasion never occurred. It is believed that the real reason was for running across the open to give orders to a subaltern under heavy fire from the enemy, and being wounded severely in so doing. He was Mentioned in Despatches Jan 1915. He was promoted to Major 11 Nov 1914; became Temporary Lieut-Col. 4 Dec 1916; was in command of a Service Battn. Royal Fusiliers 1 Sept to 4 Nov 1915; was Mentioned in Despatches, and was given the Brevet of Lieut.-Col. 3 June 1918. His favourite recreations are hunting, shooting, cricket, polo and golf. Dominion - 1930 - European Elected member of Legco
Mills - Had 84 first cousins! He was considered variously as a charming man with impeccable manners prone to be impatient and intolerant, irascible and outspoken; moods which were often attributed to the pain he continually experienced from his war wounds. His leg was eventually amputated in 1935. In 1919, after the Great War, Lord Scott settled in Rongai, north-west of Nakuru on land he had been awarded under the Soldier Settlement Scheme Lottery. He called his farm 'Deloraine', a luxurious Edwardian mansion which faced Mount Kenya. During the first 9 months at Deloraine he lived in a tent. On the arrival of his wife Eileen and their 2 young daughters, he built mud and wattle huts in which they lived for another 9 months until the double storey house, which was the first of its type to be built in the Protectorate, was ready for occupancy. …………… [more]
A long serving member of the Muthaiga Country Club Committee, Lord Scott died suddenly of a heart attack at Paddington Railway Station, London whilst on holiday in England on 26th July 1952, at the age of 72. His wife Lady Eileen predeceased him in 1938.
Soldier Settlement Scheme after WW1 - Class B - Lieut.-Col. Lord F.G.M.D. Scott, DSO, Minto House, Hawick, Scotland - Farm 818
Rift Valley - Member of the Rift Valley Sports Club - Jan 1929 - Elected - 3 Apr 1920 - Lord Francis Scott
KAD 1922 - President, Njoro European Association.
KAD 1922 - Steward, Jockey Club of Kenya
Pamela Scott, A Nice Place to LIve, 1991 My father was a man of very simple tastes. He had little aesthetic appreciation and was quite happy living in any kind of surroundings; he liked simple food and he rarely drank anything more than one whisky and water as a sundowner each evening. He hated buying new clothes and what he wore was usually old and patched. He was what is called a 'good mixer' and he was quite at ease with people from any walk of life. He had been brought up amongst grooms and keepers, as well as dukes and millionaires, and had served in the Army; he could fit in with anyone. He was over six feet tall with fair hair and twinkling blue eyes and a rather long pointed nose. Since he had been wounded he stooped and used two sticks to help him walk. He had a quick brain but was intolerant of others who were slower or who took a different point of view. 'You're an idiot' he would shout at a lady who was partnering him at bridge when she made a mistake. 'You're a damn fool of a woman' he would yell at me if I did something he didn't like — at the same time making a lunge at me with one of his sticks. This sometimes upset people who didn't know his ways but he was the kindest of men. He loved a party and dancing and pretty girls right up to his old age. As a young man he had been a natural ball games player. After he was wounded he couldn't play as before, but until his arthritis became too bad he still loved golf, croquet and polo. He was a very amusing teller of stories, often scurrilous, and would roar with laughter when telling them.

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