ColonelHarry Leslie Blundell McCalmont, CB (30 May 1861 – 8 December 1902) was a British army officer, race-horse owner, yachtsman and Conservative party politician.
Life
He was the son of Hugh Barklie Blundell McCalmont, and was educated at Eton College before gaining a commission in the 6th Regiment of Foot in 1881.[1] He subsequently transferred to the Scots Guards four years later.[1]
Colonel Harry McCalmont: caricature by Leslie Ward ("Spy"), 1889
The Second Boer War broke out in 1899, and in the following year McCalmont's battalion went to South Africa, serving in the Cape Colony and Orange River Colony. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) for his services in the war.[1] A general election was held in 1900, and McCalmont, who was still in South Africa, was re-elected with an increased majority. His opponent in the election was C. D. Rose, owner of the racehorse Ravensbury which had been a rival to Isinglass.[1]
Through both his racing interests and the connections of his second wife, McCalmont advanced in society. King Edward VII visited McCalmont for shooting at Cheveley park in November 1902, as part of a trip to Newmarket.[4]
He died suddenly at his London home from heart failure in December 1902.[1]
Family
He was married to Amy Miller, daughter of Major John Miller, who died in 1889; and then in 1897 to Winifred de Bathe, daughter of Sir Henry de Bathe, 4th Baronet. A sister-in-law was Lillie Langtry, who married the son of Sir Henry, Hugo Gerald de Bathe, in 1899.
He left no issue, and the bulk of his fortune passed to his second cousin, Dermot McCalmont, son of his father's first cousin, Colonel Sir Hugh McCalmont, KCB.[5]
