Thomas Pitt Hamilton Cholmondeley (The Lord Delamere) was also known as Tom Delamere.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coleshill House, GHQ | Camp Commandant | 1943 | 1943 |
| The Transport Office | Motor Transport Officer | 1942 | 1943 |
Eton
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30 Sep 1939 2nd Battalion Welsh Guards Theydon Bois Camp, Ajdutant, Welsh Guards Training Battalion, Roman Way Camp, Colchester
1942 Auxiliary Units Motor Transport Officer Coleshill House Camp Commandant
Captain the Honourable Thomas Pitt Hamilton Cholmondeley, 4th Baron Delamere of Vale Royal, Whitegate, Northwich, Cheshire - known to all as Tom.
He was the only son of 3rd Baron Delamere, Hugh Cholomondeley of Delamere of Vale Royal and Lady Florence Anne Cole.
Tom spent a lot of time in Kenya at the large Soysambu estate, where he became known as one of "The Happy Valley Set", a group of aristocrats and adventurers who settled in the "Happy Valley" region of the Wanjohi Valley, in colonial Kenya
He married three times; Phyillis Scott married 1924 divorced 1944, Ruth Ashley married 1944 divorced 1955 and
Diana Caldwell married 1955, she out lived Tom dying 3 Sep 1987 aged 76. Her first husband was accused of murdering her lover in 1941 and she is played by Greta Scacchi in the film "White Mischief" about the affair.
Tom attended Eton school in Windsor where he joined the Eton Contingent and was made a Lance Corporal. From here he went to Officer Training Corps.
Commissioned on 30 Jun 1923 to the Welsh Guards for a Probationary Period then to 2nd Lieutenant. He relinquished his commission on 16 Jan 1924 and his name moved to the Reserve Officers List.
Recalled to the Welsh Guards 18 Sept 1939 with an Emergency Commission.
17 Sep 1940 War Substantive Lieutenant
19 Sep 1940 Temporary Captain
Left service in April 1946
There is no record of any active service with the Welsh Guards.
He was appointed as Second Commandant by Lord Glanusk in August 1942 at Coleshill. While at Coleshill he had the Grade 1 Non Commissioned Officers downgraded, as he was worried about the old hands having too much power. He got his friend Marcus Wickham-Boynton into the Auxiliary Unit set up at Coleshill and the two of them judged the Patrols drill etc.
Eric Gray recalled he was quite generous and he personally paid for the Transport Platoon to go and see the pantomime at Christmas in Oxford.
Tom Delamere does not seem to have served anywhere else other than Coleshill, no medals were awarded.
Later in life he was Chairman of Everett Advertising Ltd. and Director of Proved Securities Ltd. Tom died in Kenya in 1979.
When the Grass Stops Growing, Carol Mather
Eric Gray