Robert William Herbert Watkin Williams-Wynn (1862 - 1951)

Born 3 Jun 1862 in St Asaph, Flintshire, Wales, United Kingdom [uncertain]

Ancestors

Died 23 Nov 1951 at age 89 in Aled, Denbighshire, Wales, United Kingdom

Biography

Sir Robert Williams-Wynn was a member of the aristocracy in England.

Robert Williams-Wynn is Notable.

Robert was born^[1]on 3 June 1862 to Herbert Williams-Wynn and Anna Williams-Wynn and was registered^[2][3]during the fourth quarter of 1862 in St Asaph, Flintshire, Wales, United Kingdom.

Sir Robert William Herbert Watkin Williams-Wynn, 9th Baronet KCB DSO, of Bodelwyddan in the County of Flint, and of Gray's Inn in the county of Middlesex (1862 – 23 November 1951), was a Welsh soldier and landowner.

He was Master of the Flint and Denbigh Foxhounds for fifty-eight years and also Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire from 1928 until his death in 1951.

He was the son of Colonel Herbert Watkin Williams-Wynn, a younger son of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 5th Baronet (1772–1840), and was educated at Wellington and Christ Church, Oxford.

One of the few members of the surviving ancient Welsh nobility, at the time of his death Williams-Wynn was the closest certain heir of the House of Aberffraw, the former ruling family of Gwynedd and Wales, who were deposed in the English Conquest of 1282. The Williams-Wynn baronets were an important family of Denbighshire landowners, whose 17th century ancestor had married into the Wynn family of Gwydir, the patrilineal descendants of Owain Gwynedd, Prince of Gwynedd (1137–1170), and in time they became the senior surviving branch of his family. On the death of Sir John Wynn in 1719, his heiress Jane Thelwall inherited both the Wynnstay estate and the Wynn claim to Aberffraw. Her husband Watkin Williams then added the Wynn family name to his own.

The April 1881 census^[4]shows Robert boarding as a Scholar at Wellington College, Sandhurst, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom.

In 1886, after Oxford, Williams-Wynn joined the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry, and on 13 August 1887 he was promoted to captain. He volunteered for service in the Second Boer War, and was appointed a captain in the Imperial Yeomanry on 24 February 1900, serving in the 31st Company of the 9th Battalion. After arrival in South Africa, he saw active service in the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony and was on the staff of Lord Chesham.

The April 1891 census^[5]shows Robert, a local Justice of the Peace living with his brother Herbert Williams-Wynn, Baronet and local Justice of the Peace, sister-in-law Louise Williams-Wynn, niece Gladys, nephew Owen Williams-Wynn, mother Anna Williams-Wynn, a widow, cousin Owen Williams, a Justice of the Peace, visitors Maurice Rowley-Conwy, a Student and John Donnor, a Lieutenant in the Militia, and Domestic Servants Margaret Jordan, a Nurse, May Skinner, a Nursemaid, Catherine Thomson, a Lady's Maid, Helen Duncan, a Medical Nurse, Freerdick Langham, a Footman, Minnie Price, a Lady's Maid, George Clipston, a Butler, Sydney Neale, an Under Butler, George Ballard, a Footman, Netta Longman, a Cook, John Williams, a Steward's Room Boy, Anna Roberts, a Scullery Maid, Ellen Sellick and Lizzie Peel, oth Kitchen Maids, Annie Thorne, a Housekeeper, Barbara McGougan and Lizzie Jones, both Stillroom Maids, Harriet Jordan, Maegaret Roberts, Mary Jones and Mary Pritchard, all Housemaids, Elizabeth Phillips, Laura Parry and Alice Platt all Laundry Maids, William Owen, a Baker and Arthur Lintoff, a Valet, in Wynnstay, Ruabon, Denbighshire, Wales.

Robert was promoted to Major on 14 May 1902. For his service during the war, he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in the South Africa Honours list published on 26 June 1902.
From 1905 to 1917 he was the colonel commanding the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry and saw further active service in Egypt during the First World War, when he was three times mentioned in dispatches and held two district commands.

He stood unsuccessfully for parliament in 1894, 1895, and 1900, as a Conservative in Montgomeryshire.

In 1904, Williams-Wynn married Elizabeth Ida Lowther, the daughter of G. W. Lowther, and they had two sons, of whom Owen Watkin was heir to the title and estates, and two daughters.^[6][7]

In 1928 Williams-Wynn was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire, remaining in post until his death in 1951. He was also a Justice of the Peace for Denbighshire and Flintshire and was Master of the Flint and Denbigh Foxhounds for fifty-eight years, from 1888 to 1946.

In 1938 he was knighted by being appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB).

The September 1939 register^[1]shows Robert, his wife Elizabeth Williams-Wynn, son Owen Williams-Wynn and Margaret Hotham, living in^[8]Plas-yn-Cefn, Cefnmeiradog, Denbighshire. Robert is a Lieutenant of the KCB.

In 1949, at the age of eighty-seven, he inherited the Williams-Wynn Baronetcy and estates from a cousin, Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 8th Baronet (1891–1949), who had died without a surviving son. (The latter's namesake son, Watkin Williams-Wynn, had died while serving as Lieutenant in the 1st Royal Dragoons in 1946).

Robert passed away aged eighty nine and was registered^[9][10][11]during the fourth quarter of 1951 in the district of Aled, Denbighshire.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} 1939 Register:"1939 England and Wales Register"
   The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: Rg 101/7586i; Line Number: 40; Schedule Number: 20; Sub Schedule Number: 1
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61596 #46254785 (accessed 20 July 2022)
   Wynn R Williams (born 3 Jun 1862), married, H M's Laentenant For C of ??, at Plas Yn Cefn, Aled, Denbighshire, Wales
2. ↑ Birth Registration:"England & Wales General Register Office"
   GRO Online Indexes - Birth (accessed 20 July 2022)
   Wynn, Robert William Herbert Watkin (Mother's maiden name: Lloyd).
   GRO Reference: 1862 Oct-Nov-Dec in St Asaph Volume 11B Page 346
3. ↑ Birth Registration:"England & Wales Birth Index"
   FreeBMD Entry Information (accessed 20 July 2022)
   Wynn, Robert William Herbert Watkin.
   GRO Reference: 1862 Oct-Nov-Dec in St Asaph Volume 11b Page 346
4. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKX9-RG4L : 20 August 2016), Robert Willm Herbert Watkin Williams Wyn, Sandhurst, Berkshire, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 4, Piece/Folio 1320/69, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,572
5. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:45PR-CN2 : 1 April 2016), Robt W Williams-Wynn in household of Watkin Williams-Wynn, Ruabon, Denbighshire, Wales; from "1891 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Denbighshire county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey
6. ↑ Sir Robert William Herbert Watkin Williams-Wynn 9th Baronet Wikipedia
7. ↑ "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:26QT-5GP : 13 December 2014), Robert William H W Williams-Wynn, 1904; from “England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1904, quarter 1, vol. 9C, p. 1020, Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England
8. ↑ https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/300000154-plas-yn-cefn-cefnmeiriadog#.YtgvjzfMJD8
9. ↑ Death Registration:"England & Wales General Register Office"
   GRO Online Indexes - Death (accessed 20 July 2022)
   Williams-wynn, Robert William Herbert Watkin (Age at death: 89).
   GRO Reference: 1951 Oct-Nov-Dec in Aled Volume 08A Page 339
10. ↑ Death Registration:"England & Wales Death Index"
    FreeBMD Entry Information (accessed 20 July 2022)
    Wynn, Robert W. H. W. W. (Age at death: 89).
    GRO Reference: 1951 Oct-Nov-Dec in Aled Volume 8a Page 339
11. ↑ "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVCX-Y9YW : 4 September 2014), Robert W H W Williams-Wynn, 1951; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Aled, Denbighshire, Wales, General Register Office, Southport, England