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Sir William Gordon-Cumming, 4th Baronet

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Sir William Gordon-Cumming, 4th Baronet

Sir William Alexander Gordon Gordon-Cumming, 4th Baronet (20 July 1848 – 20 May 1930), was a Scottish landowner, soldier, socialite and a notorious womaniser. He was the central figure in the royal baccarat scandal of 1891. After inheriting a baronetcy he joined the British Army in 1868 and saw service in South Africa, Egypt and the Sudan; he served with distinction for two decades and rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Something of an adventurer, he also spent time hunting in the US and India. A friend of Edward, Prince of Wales, for over 20 years, in 1890 he attended a house party at Tranby Croft in the East Riding of Yorkshire, where he took part in a game of baccarat at the behest of the prince. During the course of two nights' play he was accused of cheating, which he denied vehemently. After news of the affair leaked out, he sued five members of the party for slander; the Prince of Wales was called as a witness. The case was a public spectacle, widely reported in the UK and abroad, but the verdict went against Gordon-Cumming and he was ostracised from polite society. A handsome, arrogant man, Gordon-Cumming was a philanderer, particularly with married women. In 1891, after the court case, he married Florence Garner, an American heiress; the couple had five children, but their relationship was unhappy. He was the grandfather of the writers Katie Fforde and Jane Gordon-Cumming.

Infobox

Born
(1848-07-20)20 July 1848Forres, Morayshire, Scotland
Died
20 May 1930(1930-05-20) (aged 81)Forres, Morayshire
Spouse
mw- Florence Garner (m. 1891)
Branch
British Army
Years of service
1868–1891
Rank
Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit
Scots Guards
Battles / wars
mw- Anglo-Zulu War (1879)Anglo-Egyptian War (1882) Mahdist War (1884–1885)
Service years
1868–1891

Tables

· Notes and references › Sources
Preceded byAlexander Penrose Gordon-Cumming
Preceded byAlexander Penrose Gordon-Cumming
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded byAlexander Penrose Gordon-Cumming
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Baronet(of Altyre) 1866–1930
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Succeeded byAlexander Penrose Gordon-Cumming
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded byAlexander Penrose Gordon-Cumming
Baronet(of Altyre) 1866–1930
Succeeded byAlexander Penrose Gordon-Cumming

References

  1. According to calculations based on the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation, £60,000 in 1890 is the approximate equ
  2. Officers in the foot guards regiments held substantive regimental ranks and a higher army brevet rank.
  3. The Desert Column was part of the Nile Expedition to relieve Major-General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum, Sudan, dur
  4. Edward was such a fan of baccarat that when he travelled he took a set of leather counters, valued on one side from five
  5. Edward's biographer, Jane Ridley; and the former Lord Chancellor, Michael Havers, the lawyer Edward Grayson and the hist
  6. Also known as the masse en avant system.
  7. £5 in 1890 is approximately equivalent to £700 in 2023, according to calculations based on the Consumer Price Index meas
  8. £5,000 in 1891 is approximately equivalent to £689,700 in 2023, according to calculations based on the Consumer Price In
  9. In 1411 it was Prince Henry who was committed for contempt of court by Judge William Gascoigne.
  10. He had offered in January, once he had decided to take legal action and again after the verdict had been given.
  11. Tomes 2010.
  12. "Sir William Gordon-Cumming". The Times.
  13. Magnus 1975, p. 286.
  14. Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, p. 41.
  15. Hibbert 2007, p. 160.
  16. Clark 2023.
  17. "23336". The London Gazette.
  18. "The Scots Guards". National Army Museum.
  19. "23737". The London Gazette.
  20. Bruce 1980, p. 41.
  21. "24871". The London Gazette.
  22. Neillands 1996, pp. 117–119.
  23. "25824". The London Gazette.
  24. "Wild Men and Wild Beasts: Scenes in Camp and Jungle". WorldCat.
  25. Gordon-Cumming 1871, pp. ix–x.
  26. Gordon-Cumming 1871, p. 351.
  27. Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, p. 22.
  28. Magnus 1975, p. 280.
  29. Arnold 2017, p. 172.
  30. Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, p. 23.
  31. Ridley 2012, pp. 280–281; Hibbert 2007, p. 160; Attwood 1988, pp. 85–86.
  32. Dixon 1991, p. 89.
  33. Diamond 2004, p. 33; Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, p. 26; Attwood 1988.
  34. "The Baccarat Case". The Times.
  35. Teignmouth Shore 2006, pp. 114–115.
  36. Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, p. 31.
  37. Ridley 2012, p. 283.
  38. Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, p. 27.
  39. Teignmouth Shore 2006, p. 79.
  40. Teignmouth Shore 2006, p. 31.
  41. Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, pp. 35–37.
  42. "The Baccarat Scandal: The Truth About Tranby Croft". The Manchester Gazette.
  43. "The Baccarat Scandal". The Times.
  44. "The Baccarat Case". Pall Mall Gazette.
  45. Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, p. 69.
  46. McHugh 2008, p. 174.
  47. "Leading Article: The Baccarat Case". The Times.
  48. Clarke 1918, p. 298.
  49. "No. 26171". The London Gazette.
  50. Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, p. 248.
  51. Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, pp. 42 and 248.
  52. "Cumming Takes a Bride". The New York Times.
  53. Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, pp. 248–249.
  54. Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, p. 251.
  55. Hibbert 2007, p. 164.
  56. Havers, Grayson & Shankland 1988, p. 263.
  57. Matthew 2004.
  58. Attwood 1988, pp. 116–117.
  59. Attwood 1988, p. 88.
  60. Cavendish-Bentinck 1937, pp. 199–200.
  61. Napier 1948, p. 20.
  62. Diamond 2004, p. 33.
  63. Ridley 2012, p. 285.
  64. Ridley 2012, p. 281.
  65. Attwood 1988, p. 117.
  66. "Katie Fforde". AudioBooksOnline.
  67. "Jane Gordon-Cumming". The Richford Becklow Literary Agency.
  68. "Saturday Playhouse: The Royal Baccarat Scandal". Radio Times.
  69. "Jury Room: The Baccarat Scandal". Radio Times.
  70. "The Scandal at Tranby Croft". Radio Times.
  71. "The Verdict of the Court". Radio Times.
  72. "The Baccarat Scandal (1960)". British Film Institute.
  73. "Scandal (1975)". British Film Institute.
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