by Susan Flantzer

• William Edward Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse
• Timeline: June 1, 1918 – June 30, 1918
• A Note About German Titles
• June 1918 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

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William Edward Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse

William Edward Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse was the eldest of the three children of Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse and The Honorable Frances Cassandra Hawke-Harvey. The Earl of Rosse was created twice in the Irish Peerage, both times for the Parsons family. The Parsons were originally an English family from Leicestershire, England. Five Parson brothers settled in Ireland during the late 16th century. William was born on June 14, 1873, at the family seat since 1620, Birr Castle, near Birr, County Offaly, Ireland.

William had two siblings:

• The Honorable Geoffrey Parsons (1874 – 1956), married Margaret Gladstone, no children
• Lady Muriel Parsons (1876 – 1927), married Brigadier-General Harold Grenfell, had three daughters

William was educated at Eton College and in 1891, started his studies at Christ Church College, University of Oxford. In 1896, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in a militia battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment. A year later he transferred to the Coldstream Guards in the regular British Army, fought in the Boer War from 1899-1900, and received the Queen’s South Africa Medal. William then joined the Irish Guards upon its formation in 1900 and was promoted to Major in 1906. In 1908, he resigned his commission with the Irish Guards. William became the 5th Earl of Rosse upon his father’s death in 1908.

On October 19, 1905, William married Frances Lois Lister-Kaye who used her middle name, Lois.

William and Lois had three children:

• Michael Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse (1906 – 1979), married Anne Messel, had two children including Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse; Anne Messel through her first marriage to Ronald Armstrong-Jones was the mother of Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, husband of Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom
• Lady Bridget Parsons (1907 – 1982), unmarried
• The Honorable Desmond Parsons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Parsons (1910 – 1937), unmarried

(Note: In 1960, Antony Armstrong-Jones took his new bride Princess Margaret to Birr Castle to visit his mother Anne, Countess of Rosse, the wife of Michael Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse who was William’s son.)

William served as an Irish Representative Peer in the House of Lords from 1911 to 1918 and Lord-Lieutenant of King’s County from 1908 to 1918.

Despite that he was 41-year-old and had already served in the Boer War, William rejoined the Irish Guards at the onset of World War I. He was second-in-command of his battalion on May 10, 1915, at the Battle of Festubert when he was very severely wounded in the head by a piece of shrapnel. He was evacuated to England to determine the extent of his wounds. The shrapnel that hit William had gouged out part of his head and left him 80% incapacitated. He was sent home to Birr Castle where his family cared for him. On June 10, 1918, William died from his wounds. His well-attended military funeral took place on June 13, 1918, and he was buried in the family vault at Birr Old Graveyard at St. Brendan’s Church in County Offaly, Ireland.

After her husband’s death, Lois married William’s close friend in the Irish Guards, Yvo Richard Vesey, 5th Viscount de Vesci. They had no children of their own but together they brought up William’s children.

Works Cited

• Chch.ox.ac.uk. (2017). Major William Edward Parsons 5th Earl of Rosse | Christ Church, Oxford University. [online] Available at: http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/fallen-alumni/major-william-edward-parsons-5th-earl-rosse [Accessed 3 Nov. 2017].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Earl of Rosse. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_of_Rosse [Accessed 3 Nov. 2017].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2017). William Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Parsons,_5th_Earl_of_Rosse [Accessed 3 Nov. 2017].
• Irish Life & Lore. (2017). Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse (b. 1936). [online] Available at: https://www.irishlifeandlore.com/product/brendan-parsons-7th-earl-of-rosse-b-1936/ [Accessed 3 Nov. 2017].

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Timeline: June 1, 1918 – June 30, 1918

• June 1 – 26 – Battle of Belleau Wood, part of the German Spring Offensive, at Belleau Wood near Marne River, France
• June 8 – Action of Arsuf near the Auju River, Jaffa (now in Israel)
• June 8 – October – Germany interferes in the Caucasus
• June 9 – 12 – Fourth phase of the Spring Offensive, Operation Gneisenau (also known as Battle of Matz) – Germans do not achieve their strategic goals.
• June 13 – Execution of Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (Unofficial Royalty article to be published June 13, 2018.)
• June 13 – 23 – Second Battle of the Piave in Piave, Italy – Austro-Hungarian offensive is repelled
• June 30 – Battle of Moreuil Wood on the banks of the Arve River, France

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A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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June 1918 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website. If a person has a Wikipedia page or a website page with biographical information, their name will be linked to that page.

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Major The Honorable George Edward Boscawen

• son of Evelyn Edward Thomas Boscawen, 7th Viscount Falmouth and The Honorable Kathleen Douglas-Pennant
• born December 6, 1888
• Aide-de-Camp to the Governor-General of Canada HRH The Duke of Connaught in 1913
• Major in the Royal Artillery
• died from wounds received in action June 6, 1918 in Liesse, France, age 29
• buried La Ville-aux-Bois British Cemetery in Picardie, France
• brother Lieutenant The Honorable Vere Douglas Boscawen killed in action October 29, 1914 at Ypres, Belgium, age 24
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p5360.htm#i53595

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William Edward Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse (see article above)

• son of Laurence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse and The Honorable Frances Cassandra Hawke-Harvey
• born June 14, 1873
• married 1905 Frances Lois Lister-Kaye, had three children including a son Michael Parsons who succeeded him as 6th Earl of Rosse at the age of twelve
• Major in the Irish Guards
• died June 10, 1918, age 44, at the family home Birr Castle in County Offally, Ireland from very severe head wounds received in action at the Battle of Festubert on May 10, 1915
• buried in the family vault at Birr Old Graveyard at St. Brendan’s Church in County Offaly, Ireland
• http://thepeerage.com/p1091.htm#i10909

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