He was the son of Hugh Barklie Blundell McCalmont, and was educated at
Eton College before gaining a commission in the
6th Regiment of Foot in 1881. He subsequently transferred to the
Scots Guards four years later. There he established a successful stable of
racehorses. Among his horses were
Timothy, a winner of the
Ascot Gold Cup and
Alexandra Plate and
Isinglass winner of
The Derby,
St. Leger Stakes and Epsom Gold Cup. He was a keen yachtsman and member of the
Royal Yacht Squadron. He also commissioned SY
Banshee and the 1265 ton SY
Geralda (1894, one of the first steam yachts to exceed 1000 tons) built by
Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company. In
1895 a general election was called, and McCalmont was selected as Conservative candidate for the
Newmarket constituency, then held by the
Liberals. He was successful, unseating the sitting
Member of Parliament, Sir
George Newnes. A
general election was held in 1900, and McCalmont, who was still in South Africa, was re-elected with an increased majority. His opponent in the election was
C. D. Rose, owner of the racehorse
Ravensbury which had been a rival to
Isinglass. He died suddenly at his London home from heart failure in December 1902. ==Family==