Background and early life Born in
Dublin, Longford was the second but eldest surviving son of
William Pakenham, 4th Earl of Longford and his wife
the Hon Selina Rice-Trevor, daughter of
George Rice-Trevor, 4th Baron Dynevor. He succeeded in the earldom on his father's death in 1887. Educated at
Winchester College, he served in the
2nd Life Guards, into which he was commissioned as a
second lieutenant in February 1887, achieving the rank of
colonel, and also held the honorary post of
Lord-Lieutenant of County Longford from 1887 to 1915. In 1901 he was made a
Knight of the Order of St Patrick.
Second Boer War and aftermath Following the outbreak of the
Second Boer War in late 1899, Lord Longford was instrumental in forming a company of volunteers from the Irish Hunt for the
Imperial Yeomanry, serving in
South Africa. He was formally seconded for service with the Imperial Yeomanry and appointed a captain of the 45th (Dublin) Company on 3 February 1900. The company left for South Africa in the middle of March 1900, and on arrival was attached to the 13th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry. He was wounded and returned home the following year. In January 1902 he was again seconded for service with the Imperial Yeomanry. He was appointed in command of the 29th Battalion (composed primarily of officers and men from the
Irish Horse), with the temporary rank of
lieutenant colonel (antedated to 1 January 1902), and left Ireland for South Africa in May 1902. As the senior officer, he was in command of almost 1,150 officers and men on board the transport ship
Bavarian for the journey. They arrived in South Africa after the end of hostilities, as the
Peace of Vereeniging was signed on 31 May, and returned home only four months later, leaving
Cape Town on the SS
Dilwara which arrived at Southampton in late October. Lord Longford relinquished command of the 29th battalion on their return, and returned to the 2nd life Guards, where he was promoted to the substantive rank of
major on 12 January 1903. He was promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel in March 1906 and lieutenant colonel in January 1907. While serving on
half-pay Longford was promoted to colonel in January 1911. He was placed in command of the
2nd South Midland Mounted Brigade, a
Territorial Force (TF) formation, in April 1912.
World War I and death During
World War I, Lord Longford took command of his brigade, which formed part of the
2nd Mounted Division, a
yeomanry formation, with the temporary rank of
brigadier general, a rank he had been promoted to in August 1914. The division was initially based in
Egypt but was sent dismounted to
Suvla on the
Gallipoli peninsula as reinforcements during the
Battle of Sari Bair. On 21 August 1915 the Division was in reserve for the final attack on
Scimitar Hill. When the initial attack by the
29th Division failed, the yeomanry were ordered to advance in the open across a dry salt lake. Raked by
shrapnel fire, most of the brigades halted in the shelter of Green Hill but Longford led his brigade in a charge which captured the summit of the hill. As he continued to advance, he was killed. His last words before his death were, reputedly, ''"Don't bother ducking, the men don't like it and it doesn't do any good…"'' Longford's body was never recovered as the British made no further advances before the evacuation of Suvla on 20 December. His grave is marked as a special memorial in Green Hill Cemetery at
Suvla. In
Dublin, he was a member of the
Kildare Street Club. ==Marriage and children==