Ralph Beauclerk

Captain
Ralph Beauclerk
Arms of Beauclerk, marqueses de Urría
Born
Raphael Charles Beauclerk

(1917-08-10)10 August 1917
Surrey, England
Died4 April 2007(2007-04-04) (aged 89)
London SW19
EducationDownside School
OccupationMerchant banker
EmployerHSBC
Political party
Conservative
Spouse
Noirine Bowen
​
(m. 1957)​
Children1 son, 1 dau
Parent(s)William Beauclerk (1864–1950)
Lola de Peñalver (1881–1972)
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch
British Army
Service years
1939–1945
Rank
Captain
Service number297759
UnitsIntelligence Corps
SOE (F Section)
Conflicts
Awards MBE
MBE insignia

Raphael Charles Beauclerk, better known as Ralph Beauclerk, MBE (1917–2007), VI marqués de Valero de Urría, was an upper-class British Army officer and secret agent, decorated for his WWII service with the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Background and early life

Of Spanish noble and English aristocratic descent, Beauclerk was via his father in remainder to the dukedom of Saint Albans, later succeeding as marqués de Valero de Urría (cr. 1852), when his mother's title was revived in his favour in 1989.

His father William Topham Sidney Beauclerk MInstCE (grandson of Charles George Beauclerk MP, only son of Topham Beauclerk by his wife Lady Diana Beauclerk (née Spencer), son of Lord Sidney Beauclerk PC MP) was a civil engineer in the Argentine who, in 1910, married Dolores (aka Lola) de Peñalver y Zamora (1881–1972), V condesa de Peñalver later VII marquesa de Arcos.

His mother, the only surviving child of Enrique de Peñalver y Zamora, VII marqués de Arcos and María Zamora y Pérez de Urría, daughter and heiress of María Pérez de Urría y de la Cuesta, II marquesa de Valero de Urría (by Rafael Zamora y Quesada), succeeded to her family titles.

Beauclerk was educated first at Downside School, Somerset, then at Bayonne in France, becoming a fluent linguist.

Military service and later life

Commissioned into the Intelligence Corps at the outbreak of WWII, Beauclerk served in France on attachment to the SOE, being promoted Captain.[citation needed]

During World War II, code named Casimir, Beauclerk worked as an agent for the clandestine British Special Operations Executive (SOE), conducting espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in Nazi-occupied Europe. SOE agents allied themselves with French Resistance maquis and supplied them with weapons and equipment.[citation needed]

After his distinguished military service, Beauclerk joined Hong Kong and Shanghai Merchant Bank working in Asia until 1970 and then with the Banque Privée de Luxembourg.[citation needed]

In 1989, the Spanish marquisate of Valero de Urría devolved upon Beauclerk; among his cousins was the Marchioness of Cárdenas de Montehermoso, with kinsmen including the Duke of St Albans and the Duchess of Alba.

Personal life

On 24 August 1957 at Saigon, Vietnam, Beauclerk married Noirine Mary Bowen (died 20 January 1997), daughter of James Bowen, of Bowen's Court, County Cork; the Marquis and Marquesa had two children:

Capt Beauclerk's granddaughter, doña Charlotte Beauclerk, is heiress apparent to the marquisate and her younger brothers are in remainder to the dukedom of Saint Albans. His son, the present Marquis and Marquesa de Valero de Urría live at Médan, near Paris.

Honours and decorations

The 6th Marquis de Valero de Urría's distinguished services were recognised by being appointed :

See also

References

  1. ↑ www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Burke's Peerage & Baronetage. – 106th Ed. – Burke's Peerage Ltd., 1999. – ISBN 2-940085-02-1. – p. 2495.
  3. ↑ www.boe.es
  4. ↑ www.cubangenclub.org
  5. ↑ www.boe.es