Roderick Sinclair, 19th Earl of Caithness


Brigadier James Roderick Sinclair, 19th Earl of Caithness, CVO, CBE, DSO was a British Army officer during World War II, hereditary peer and chief of Clan Sinclair.

Early life and education

Sinclair was born in 1906, the only son of the Rev and Hon Charles Augustus Sinclair, third son of James Augustus Sinclair, 16th Earl of Caithness, and his wife Mary Ann Harman. He was educated at Marlborough College.
Sinclair succeeded to the earldom and its subsidiary titles in 1947 upon the death of his uncle, Norman Macleod (Sinclair) Buchan, 18th Earl of Caithness, who had no son.

Military service

Sinclair joined the Gordon Highlanders and rose to the rank of Brigadier and as such led his regiment through France, Belgium, the Netherlands into Germany during World War II and was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order and made Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
In 1949 he was appointed the first Commander of the Ceylon Army and played a major role in establishing it as a regular army from the volunteer Ceylon Defence Force till 1952. On returning to the UK he was given various postings in England and Scotland before in 1955 being appointed land agent and manager of Her Majesty The Queen's private Estate at Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire where he lived until his death. After leaving the army, he was appointed Colonel of his old Regiment the Gordon Highlanders.

Marriages and children

Sinclair married Grizel Margaret Miller-Cunningham on 29 April 1933. They had three daughters:
His first wife died during World War II. In 1946, he married secondly a widow Madeline Gabrielle Ormerod, whose husband had been killed on active service in Africa leaving her with a daughter. They had two children:

Death

Lord Caithness died on 8 May 1965 at the age of 58. He was succeeded in the earldom and its subsidiary titles and as chief of Clan Sinclair by his only son, Malcolm.