Henry Valerian George Wellesley, 6th Duke of Wellington (14 July 1912 – 16 September 1943), styled as Earl of Mornington between 1912 and 1934 and Marquess of Douro between 1934 and 1941, was a British peer and politician.
He died, aged 31, on 16 September 1943, during the Second World War, from wounds received in action while leading a group of Commandos. He is buried in the British Salerno War Cemetery,[4] Bivio Pratole, in the province of Salerno, Italy. At the time of his death, he was a captain in command of a troop in No. 2 Commando, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel 'Mad' Jack Churchill.
Both No. 2 and 41 Commando were engaged at the Salerno landings, part of the Allied invasion of Italy. They switched from their initial battle area around Vietri sul Mare, west of Salerno, to a position two to three miles inland of Mercatello, then southeast of Salerno. The Germans held and were strengthening three high-ground positions. During the daytime of 16 September, No. 2 Commando moved back through a valley around the village of Piegolelle, dubbed 'Pigoletti', which had been cleared the night before, intending to capture a hill at the far end referred to as 'Pimple Hill'. However, in the early hours, the Germans had sent light forces back into the valley and also strengthened 'Pimple Hill'. On assaulting the hill two troops of commandos were exposed to well-positioned machine-gun fire. The Duke was among the fatalities: leading a charge against a machine-gun post he was hit by a sustained burst from an MG 42. His helmet was holed in three or four places. He was buried close to the place where he was killed.[5]
His probates (one for his current and future-valued interest in the settled (entrusted) land, one for the rest) were resworn the next year at a total of £90,838 (equivalent to about £5,200,000 in 2023).[6]
henry, wellesley, duke, wellington, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Henry Wellesley 6th Duke of Wellington news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message Henry Valerian George Wellesley 6th Duke of Wellington 14 July 1912 16 September 1943 styled as Earl of Mornington between 1912 and 1934 and Marquess of Douro between 1934 and 1941 was a British peer and politician Captain His GraceThe Duke of WellingtonMember of the House of LordsLord TemporalIn office 11 December 1941 16 September 1943Hereditary PeeragePreceded byThe 5th Duke of WellingtonSucceeded byThe 7th Duke of WellingtonPersonal detailsBorn 1912 07 14 14 July 1912EnglandDied16 September 1943 1943 09 16 aged 31 Salerno ItalyCause of deathKilled in actionParent s Arthur Wellesley 5th Duke of WellingtonThe Hon Lilian Maud CoatsLife and career editHe was the younger child and only son of Arthur Wellesley 5th Duke of Wellington and his wife the Hon Lilian Maud Glen Coats elder daughter of George Coats 1st Baron Glentanar 1 On 14 October 1933 he received a commission as a reserve second lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards and he received a regular commission in the same rank in the Duke of Wellington s Regiment on 13 November 1935 2 3 He died aged 31 on 16 September 1943 during the Second World War from wounds received in action while leading a group of Commandos He is buried in the British Salerno War Cemetery 4 Bivio Pratole in the province of Salerno Italy At the time of his death he was a captain in command of a troop in No 2 Commando commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mad Jack Churchill Both No 2 and 41 Commando were engaged at the Salerno landings part of the Allied invasion of Italy They switched from their initial battle area around Vietri sul Mare west of Salerno to a position two to three miles inland of Mercatello then southeast of Salerno The Germans held and were strengthening three high ground positions During the daytime of 16 September No 2 Commando moved back through a valley around the village of Piegolelle dubbed Pigoletti which had been cleared the night before intending to capture a hill at the far end referred to as Pimple Hill However in the early hours the Germans had sent light forces back into the valley and also strengthened Pimple Hill On assaulting the hill two troops of commandos were exposed to well positioned machine gun fire The Duke was among the fatalities leading a charge against a machine gun post he was hit by a sustained burst from an MG 42 His helmet was holed in three or four places He was buried close to the place where he was killed 5 His probates one for his current and future valued interest in the settled entrusted land one for the rest were resworn the next year at a total of 90 838 equivalent to about 5 200 000 in 2023 6 As he died without issue and was the only son of his father he was succeeded in the peerage by his uncle Lord Gerald Wellesley His sister Anne succeeded him as 7th Duchess of Ciudad Rodrigo References edit Websters years of birth and death Archived 12 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 6 December 2010 No 33986 The London Gazette 13 October 1933 p 6612 No 34224 The London Gazette 29 November 1935 p 7580 Casualty Details CWGC Wallis Canon John With God s Blessing and a Green Beret 1994 Firebird Books Poole p48 Calendar of Probates and Administrations Accessed 19 January 2023 External links editHansard 1803 2005 contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Wellington Duke of Wellington s Regiment West Riding Peerage of the United Kingdom Preceded byArthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington1941 1943 Succeeded byGerald Wellesley Peerage of Ireland Preceded byArthur Wellesley Earl of Mornington1941 1943 Succeeded byGerald Wellesley Dutch nobility Preceded byArthur Wellesley Prince of Waterloo1941 1943 Succeeded byGerald Wellesley Spanish nobility Preceded byArthur Wellesley Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo1941 1943 Succeeded byAnne Rhys Portuguese nobility Preceded byArthur Wellesley Duke of the Victory1941 1943 Succeeded byGerald Wellesley Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Henry Wellesley 6th Duke of Wellington amp oldid 1208392766, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
