Sir William Gordon Cumming, 6th Baronet...?
Michael Rhodes
Cumming, William, died peacefully at home on January 3rd 2002. Will be
sadly missed by all. Funeral has taken place.*
Does this mark the passing of Sir William Gordon Cumming, 6th Baronet,
a 73 year-old Scottish landowner, and grandson of the Baronet at the
centre of the Baccarat Scandal, in 1891?
Certainly the collaterals of the Baronetcy family contain no other
William Gordon Cumming.
The family of Cumyn or Cumming settled in Scotland in the reign of
King David I. Richard Comyn, of Northallerton, received grants of
lands in Roxburghshire. John Comyn, of Badenoch, chief of this family,
married Eleanor, sister of King John Balliol, by which marriage, Sir
John of Badenoch *Red Cumyn* was a competitor for the Kingdom of
Scotland.
Robert Cumming, 13th of Altyre, Forres, Morayshire, chief of the
family, who bore undifferenced arms, married Lucy, daughter of Sir
Ludovic Gordon of Gordonstoun, and his great-grandson, Sir Alexander
Cumming, 1st Baronet, took the name of Gordon Cumming on succeeding to
the estates of Gordon of Gordonstoun.
The second and third Baronets married members of the Clan Campbell;
but it was Sir William Gordon Cumming, 4th Baronet, (1848-1930), who
brought notoriety to the family.
During September, 1890 he stayed at Tranby Croft, the house of Arthur
Wilson, a shipowner, for the St Leger race meeting. The Prince of
Wales (later Edward VII) was also in the house party. The evenings
were given over to the popular but illegal game of baccarat and
Wilson's son noticed one of the players -Sir William- indulging in la
pousette - a device which enabled the player to vary the size of his
stake after he had seen the cards held by himself and the bank. In two
evenings Sir William had won £225 using this underhand manoeuvre. He
had been observed by five witnesses, however, and on 10 September he
was charged with cheating by Lord Coventry and Colonel Owen Williams.
The Baronet sought the advice of the Prince of Wales but was told that
there was no use denying the charge. He agreed to sign a pledge never
to play cards again, a pledge that bound all the signatories to
silence. To this document, along with the five witnesses and the other
players, the Prince put his name. Unfortunately, renewed rumours of
Gordon Cumming's conduct broke out in 1891 and he felt obliged to
bring his accusers to court in an attemmpt to clear his name.
The Prince of Wales and Lord Knollys (the Mr Bolland of his day) did
everything to hinder Sir William's efforts and tried unsuccessfully to
have the Bart brought before an army inquiry held by the Guards Club
Committee. Queen Victoria gave support to her son, condemning those
who had asked HRH to sign the document and asked only for a pledge
that he would never play baccarat again. An appearance in court by the
heir to the throne was inevitable. Cumming's solicitor, convinced of
his client's innocence, refused to forgo a cross-examination. The case
against the Prince was based on his encouragement of an illegal game
and his disregard of article 42 of Queen's Regulations, which laid
down that dishonourable conduct by an officer, if witnessed by a
fellow officer must be reported to the offender's commanding officer.
The PoW attended court regularly from 1 - 9 June, 1891, and during his
own testimony declared his confidence in those who had claimed to see
Sir William cheating. After that the result was never really in doubt
and the verdict was given in favour of the defendants. Gordon Cumming
was promptly expelled from the army, his clubs and society in general.
Immediately after the trial, Sir William married, 10 June, 1891,
Florence Josephine Gardner, daughter of the Commodore of the New York
Yacht Club.
The 6th Baronet was born 19 June, 1928, the only son of Sir Alexander
Gordon Cumming, 5th Baronet (1893-1939), and the former Elizabeth
Topham Richardson (who later married, 1961, the 5th Earl Cawdor).
He had two sisters, and the elder, Cecily Josephine, born in 1925, was
successively the wife of three Peers; (i) the 2nd Earl of Woolton,
(ii) the 3rd Baron Forres, and (iii) the 3rd Earl Lloyd George of
Dwyfor.
William succeeded to the family honours, and to the Altyre estates, at
the age of ten, 23 February, 1939.
He was educated at Eton and the Royal Military College Sandhurst, and
commissioned as a lieutenant into the Royal Scots Greys.
He was thrice married. Firstly in 1953, to Elisabeth (divorced 1972),
daughter of Major-General Sir Robert Hinde, KBE, CB, DSO, by whom he
had one son and three daughters. He married secondly, 1972 (divorced
1976), Lady Pauline Anne Illingworth, sister of the 13th Earl of
Seafield, and former wife of James Henry Harcourt Illingworth. He
married thirdly, 1989, Sheila Bates.
The heir to the Baronetcy (created 1804) is the only son, Alexander
Penrose Gordon Cumming, born 15 April, 1954.
...Michael Rhodes.
Michael Rhodes
Sir William's obituary appeared in a local paper *The Northern Scot*
on 11 January, 2002. He is called Chief of the Cummings. But was the
6th Bt Chief of the Clan Cumming? Debrett's doesn't say so...
...Michael Rhodes.