Sir Arthur P D Lushington; Major, 3rd Reserve Regiment Cavalry.

Major Sir Arthur Lushington lived at the Hermitage in Melton before taking
over the family seat, Aspenden Hall in 1926 when his first wife, Florence died.
(IWM HU124408)

Arthur Patrick Douglas Lushington was born on 19th January 1861 in Ghazipur, a town in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. He was the youngest child of Sir Henry Lushington and his wife, Elizabeth. After attending Harrow School, Arthur was commissioned into the 3rd (The Prince Of Wales's) Dragoon Guards as a Lieutenant in 1880. By 1887, he had been promoted to Captain and five years after that, to Major. On 21st January 1892, Arthur married Florence Burness, daughter of James Burness of the Lodge, Melton. Arthur and Florence’s daughter, Florence Lisette, was born later that same year. In 1898, Arthur’s father died and he inherited the title of 5th Baronet Lushington, of South Hill Park, Berkshire.

Sir Arthur served in the South African War between 1900 and 1902. He was in command of the 1st Brigade of the Rhodesian Field Force and then the Commandant at Rustenburg. For his service during the Boer War, he received the Queen’s South Africa Medal with clasps for Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Rhodesia and the King’s South Africa Medal with the 1901 and 1902 Clasps.

On return from South Africa, the family moved into the Hermitage, Melton, next door to Florence’s father’s property, The Lodge. They were living here when the war was declared and Sir Arthur was recalled to the army and placed in the 3rd Reserve Regiment of Cavalry. His position with them was an advisory one, although he did make one trip to France for which he received the British War Medal.

Sir Arthur and Lady Florence continued to live between the family seat of Aspenden Hall, Buntingford, in Hertfordshire and the Hermitage until Lady Florence’s death in 1926. Sir Arthur then returned to Aspenden Hall. In 1929, he married his second wife, Mabel Marie Purcell Fitzgerald (née Gossip). He died in 1937 at Aspenden Hall.