Edward Fiennes-Clinton, 18th Earl of Lincoln
Encyclopedia
Edward Horace Fiennes-Clinton, 18th Earl of Lincoln (23 February 1913 – 7 July 2001) was an Australia
n engineer
. In 1989, on the death of the last Duke of Newcastle
, a very distant patrilineal cousin
, he inherited the ancient Earldom of Lincoln
.
, Australia, in 1913, Fiennes-Clinton was the son of Edward Henry Fiennes-Clinton, a Mate
in the British Merchant Navy who had emigrated to Australia in 1912, returning to Europe to serve with the 51st Battalion the Australian Imperial Force
in the First World War and being killed in action
on 17 August 1916. Fiennes-Clinton was therefore brought up by his mother, Edith Annie, daughter of Captain Horace Guest, who in 1923 married Robert Johnston Lynn.
He was educated at Hale School
, an independent
Anglican
boarding school
in Perth
, Western Australia
, but went on to work as a boilermaker, a welder's and machine-minder's assistant, as well as a butcher
at the Kalgoorlie Gold Mine
in Kalgoorlie.
In 1940, Fiennes-Clinton married Leila Ruth Fitzpatrick, née
Millen, and they had two children, Patricia Ruth Fiennes-Clinton (born 1 February 1941, from 1988 Lady Patricia Elrick), and Edward Gordon Fiennes-Clinton (7 February 1943 – 12 January 1999, also known as Lord Fynes, the courtesy title
belonging to the heir apparent
to the earldom). His first wife died on 19 July 1947, and on 3 December 1953 Fiennes-Clinton married secondly Linda Alice Creed; they had no children.
On the death on Christmas Day 1988 of a remote kinsman, Edward Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne
(1920–1988), Fiennes-Clinton inherited the Earldom of Lincoln
, although not the Dukedom which for ten generations had gone with it. That was because his claim was through his ancestor Sir Henry Clinton of Kirkstead
, Lincolnshire
, the third son of the 2nd Earl of Lincoln
, who died in 1616, but he was not descended from the first Duke of Newcastle. His ancestor
s had served in public life since John de Clinton, 1st Baron Clinton
had been summoned to Parliament
in 1299, and in the 18th century one predecessor had twice served as Prime Minister. The barony of Clinton
has also survived to the present day, but is able to pass through the female line.
The new peer heard of his title during a telephone call from a journalist on The Daily Telegraph
newspaper in London
, who began "Lord Lincoln, if I may be the first to address you so..." Fiennes-Clinton said he had known he might one day inherit the title, but had forgotten about it. On the journalist commenting that he seemed unexcited, Lincoln replied: "Young man, I have lived for seventy-five years and I have learned to take things as they come". However, he was sorry to hear there was little to inherit apart from the title itself.
The Australian press was very much more excited at the news, and three camera crews appeared outside the new peer's block of flats at Elanora Villas, Bunbury
, before more reporters arrived by helicopter
. Soon after inheriting the Earldom, the new peer travelled to England, where he was warmly received by (among others) leading citizens of the city of Lincoln
. The story was soon fiction
alized as a storyline in the Australian soap opera Neighbours
.
Lord Lincoln later wrote an autobiography
called Memoirs of an Embryo Earl, published in 1992. Although he began the formal legal procedures to establish his right to the title and thus to claim a seat in the House of Lords
, these processes were never completed. On a visit to England he visited the College of Arms
and was briefed on the working of the Lords by Lord Deedes
, stating his intention to sit on the Tory
benches there. However, as a result of the House of Lords Act 1999
, a seat no longer awaited him, as all but 92 hereditary peers
were thereby removed from Parliament. He died in Australia on 7 July 2001.
Lord Lincoln's grandson Robert Edward Fiennes-Clinton (born 19 June 1972) is the present and 19th Earl; he is the eldest son of the late Edward Gordon Fiennes-Clinton, Lord Fynes, who predeceased his father in 1999, by his wife, Julia Eleanor née Howson. The present Earl is a Fellow
of the Zoological Society of London
and lives near Kwinana
in Western Australia
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
. In 1989, on the death of the last Duke of Newcastle
Duke of Newcastle
Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is a title which has been created three times in British history while the title of Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne has been created once. The title was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1664 when William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne...
, a very distant patrilineal cousin
Patrilineality
Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well....
, he inherited the ancient Earldom of Lincoln
Earl of Lincoln
Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First Creation :*William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Lincoln and 1st Earl of Arundel Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First...
.
Life
Born MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia, in 1913, Fiennes-Clinton was the son of Edward Henry Fiennes-Clinton, a Mate
Mate
Mate may refer to one of the following meanings based on the generic dictionary definitions of the word:* One of a pair of animals involved in mating* Mate , a colloquialism used to refer to a friend* A naval officer:...
in the British Merchant Navy who had emigrated to Australia in 1912, returning to Europe to serve with the 51st Battalion the Australian Imperial Force
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
in the First World War and being killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
on 17 August 1916. Fiennes-Clinton was therefore brought up by his mother, Edith Annie, daughter of Captain Horace Guest, who in 1923 married Robert Johnston Lynn.
He was educated at Hale School
Hale School
Hale School is a selective, independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia....
, an independent
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
Anglican
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, but went on to work as a boilermaker, a welder's and machine-minder's assistant, as well as a butcher
Butcher
A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...
at the Kalgoorlie Gold Mine
Super Pit gold mine
The Fimiston Open Pit, colloquially known as the Super Pit, is Australia's largest open cut gold mine. The Super Pit is located off the Goldfields Highway on the south-east edge of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia. The pit is oblong in shape and is approximately 3.5 kilometres long, 1.5...
in Kalgoorlie.
In 1940, Fiennes-Clinton married Leila Ruth Fitzpatrick, née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Millen, and they had two children, Patricia Ruth Fiennes-Clinton (born 1 February 1941, from 1988 Lady Patricia Elrick), and Edward Gordon Fiennes-Clinton (7 February 1943 – 12 January 1999, also known as Lord Fynes, the courtesy title
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
belonging to the heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to the earldom). His first wife died on 19 July 1947, and on 3 December 1953 Fiennes-Clinton married secondly Linda Alice Creed; they had no children.
On the death on Christmas Day 1988 of a remote kinsman, Edward Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne
Edward Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne
Edward Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne was an English nobleman.As he was unmarried, and there were no other direct male heirs through the 2nd Duke's line, on his death the title of Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne became extinct.He was the son of Captain Guy Edward Pelham-Clinton and...
(1920–1988), Fiennes-Clinton inherited the Earldom of Lincoln
Earl of Lincoln
Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First Creation :*William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Lincoln and 1st Earl of Arundel Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First...
, although not the Dukedom which for ten generations had gone with it. That was because his claim was through his ancestor Sir Henry Clinton of Kirkstead
Kirkstead
Kirkstead is an ancient village and former parish on the River Witham in Lincolnshire, England. It was amalgamated with the civil parish of Woodhall Spa in 1987.-History:...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, the third son of the 2nd Earl of Lincoln
Henry Clinton, 2nd Earl of Lincoln
Henry Clinton or Fiennes, 2nd Earl of Lincoln, KB was an English peer, styled 10th Baron Clinton from 1572 to 1585.-Life:...
, who died in 1616, but he was not descended from the first Duke of Newcastle. His ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
s had served in public life since John de Clinton, 1st Baron Clinton
John de Clinton, 1st Baron Clinton
John de Clinton, 1st Baron Clinton was an English peer.Clinton was summoned to Parliament as Lord Clinton in February 1299. He died in 1315 and was succeeded by his grandson John....
had been summoned to Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
in 1299, and in the 18th century one predecessor had twice served as Prime Minister. The barony of Clinton
Baron Clinton
Baron Clinton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1298 for John de Clinton. The peerage was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines. The first Baron's great-great-great-grandson, the fifth Baron, fought on the Yorkist side in the Wars...
has also survived to the present day, but is able to pass through the female line.
The new peer heard of his title during a telephone call from a journalist on The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
newspaper in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, who began "Lord Lincoln, if I may be the first to address you so..." Fiennes-Clinton said he had known he might one day inherit the title, but had forgotten about it. On the journalist commenting that he seemed unexcited, Lincoln replied: "Young man, I have lived for seventy-five years and I have learned to take things as they come". However, he was sorry to hear there was little to inherit apart from the title itself.
The Australian press was very much more excited at the news, and three camera crews appeared outside the new peer's block of flats at Elanora Villas, Bunbury
Bunbury, Western Australia
The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...
, before more reporters arrived by helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
. Soon after inheriting the Earldom, the new peer travelled to England, where he was warmly received by (among others) leading citizens of the city of Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
. The story was soon fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
alized as a storyline in the Australian soap opera Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
.
Lord Lincoln later wrote an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
called Memoirs of an Embryo Earl, published in 1992. Although he began the formal legal procedures to establish his right to the title and thus to claim a seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, these processes were never completed. On a visit to England he visited the College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
and was briefed on the working of the Lords by Lord Deedes
Bill Deedes
William Francis Deedes, Baron Deedes, KBE, MC, PC, DL was a British Conservative Party politician, army officer and journalist; he is to date the only person in Britain to have been both a member of the Cabinet and the editor of a major daily newspaper, The Daily Telegraph.-Early life and...
, stating his intention to sit on the Tory
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
benches there. However, as a result of the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
, a seat no longer awaited him, as all but 92 hereditary peers
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
were thereby removed from Parliament. He died in Australia on 7 July 2001.
Lord Lincoln's grandson Robert Edward Fiennes-Clinton (born 19 June 1972) is the present and 19th Earl; he is the eldest son of the late Edward Gordon Fiennes-Clinton, Lord Fynes, who predeceased his father in 1999, by his wife, Julia Eleanor née Howson. The present Earl is a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Zoological Society of London
Zoological Society of London
The Zoological Society of London is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats...
and lives near Kwinana
Kwinana
Kwinana may refer to:*Town of Kwinana, a Local Government Area in Western Australia*Kwinana Beach, Western Australia, a suburb in Western Australia*Kwinana Freeway, a major road in Western Australia...
in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.