Evelyn Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset

The son of Edward Seymour, 16th Duke of Somerset, by his marriage to Rowena Wall, Seymour was born in Colombo, Ceylon. His maternal grandfather, George Wall, was a coffee merchant and botanist.

He was educated at Blundell's School, Tiverton, and later at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Seymour was gazetted a second lieutenant on the Unattached List in January 1901,^[2] before being attached to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.^[3] He served throughout the Second Boer War (1901–02) and received the Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps. He took part in the operations in the Aden Protectorate in 1903.

In April 1913, Seymour, then of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, was appointed adjutant of the 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion of the London Regiment,^[4] in which posting he continued until 1916, before returning to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers to take command of its 10th Battalion. In December 1917, he was promoted Acting Lieutenant Colonel.^[5] In 1918, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and in 1919 he served in the Adjutant-General's department of the War Office. He was appointed to the Order of the British Empire in 1919 and retired from the service in 1920. He succeeded to his father's dukedom in 1931.

On 12 May 1937, he bore the Sceptre with the Cross at the coronation of King George VI.^[6]

During the Second World War, Somerset returned to the army. With effect from 1 November 1939, he was appointed a Lieutenant Colonel of the Devonshire Regiment,^[7] in which he commanded a battalion, and he later held an appointment as a full Colonel on the General Staff.

Later life

On his retirement from active service with the Army, Somerset returned to Maiden Bradley to take charge of his estates in Wiltshire and Somerset. On 4 May 1942 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, succeeding Ernest Wills.^[8]

On 19 March 1949, "having exceeded the age limit", he relinquished his commission as an honorary Colonel of the Devon Regiment on retired pay.^[9] In 1950, he was appointed a knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John.^[10]

He was a member of the Army and Navy Club, the Naval & Military Club, and the Marylebone Cricket Club.^[11]

In London on 3 January 1906, he married Edith Mary Parker (d. Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire, 19 April 1962), daughter of William Parker (1816–1893), of Whittington Hall, Derbyshire, England, and Lucinda Steeves (1842–1920), daughter of William Steeves. Evelyn and Edith had four children:

• Francis William Seymour (1906–1907), who died young.
• Algernon Francis Edward Seymour (1908–1911), who died young.
• Percy Hamilton Seymour, 18th Duke of Somerset (1910–1984)
• Lady Susan Mary Seymour (1913–2004), who died unmarried and without issue.

Somerset was a member of The Magic Circle for many years, having first joined it in 1907, after becoming a pupil of the magician Ernest Noakes. He became the organization's president in 1935, after the death of Lord Ampthill.

The Duke died in London on 26 April 1954, and was succeeded by his only surviving son Percy, Lord Seymour as 18th Duke of Somerset. The 17th Duke had placed the bulk of the family estate in a Trust for the benefit of his son in 1952; however, as he did not survive this settlement by five years the estates were still subjected to estate tax. The Duke's personal estate was valued at £20,248 gross (£18,227 net), upon which £12,026 in estate duty was levied. The settled lands, comprising of approximately 13,000 acres, were estimated at £250,000 for probate in December 1954.^[12]