Steuart Pringle

Lieutenant General Sir Steuart Robert Pringle KCB (21 July 1928 – 18 April 2013)[2] was a Scottish Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 1981 to 1985. He was seriously injured by an IRA car bomb in 1981, in which he lost his right leg.[1]

Sir Steuart Pringle
Birth name	Steuart Robert Pringle
Born	(1928-07-21)21 July 1928 Dover, Kent, England[1]
Died	18 April 2013(2013-04-18) (aged 84) London, England[1]
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Marines
Years of service	1946–85
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Commandant General Royal Marines 45 Commando
Battles/wars	Malayan Emergency Suez Crisis Cyprus Emergency Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation Operation Banner
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

He was styled as the 10th Baronet of Stichill from 1961 to 2016, when a court accepted DNA evidence that established he was not the biological grandson of the 8th baronet. His cousin Murray Pringle inherited the baronetcy instead of Sir Steuart's eldest son and expected heir.[3][4]

Early life and education

Pringle was born in Dover on 21 July 1928, the only child of Sir Norman Hamilton Pringle of Stichill, 9th Baronet (1903–1961), and his first wife, Winifred Olive Curran (died 1975).[3] He was educated at Sherborne School.[5]

Military career

Pringle joined the Royal Marines in 1946.[5] He was appointed commanding officer of 45 Commando in 1971 and, after a tour at Headquarters Commando Forces from 1974 in which role he was promoted from lieutenant colonel to colonel,[6] he became Major General Commando Forces in 1978.[7]

Pringle went on to be chief of staff to the Commandant General Royal Marines in 1979 and Commandant General Royal Marines in 1981.[7] On 17 October 1981, he was injured by an IRA car bomb attached to his red Volkswagen car outside his home in Dulwich, South London as he went to take his pet black Labrador, Bella to the park for a run. One of the first questions he asked was, "How's my dog?" His dog, Bella, was unscathed but Pringle lost his right leg in the incident and badly injured his left.[8]

As Commandant General of the Royal Marines, he was seen welcoming the Commandos home following the Falklands War.[9] He was named BBC Pebble Mill Man of the Year for his "outstanding achievement and bravery". He later returned to duties, and retired in 1985.[7]

Later life

In retirement he became chairman and Chief Executive of the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust.[7]

Honours

Pringle was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1982 Birthday Honours.[2]

Pringle was awarded an Honorary DSc of City University London in 1982[10] and an Honorary LLD of Exeter University in 1994. He was also an Honorary Admiral of the Texas Navy.[5]

Personal life

In 1953, Sir Steuart married Jacqueline Marie Gladwell,[5] only daughter of Wilfrid Hubert Gladwell. They had two sons, Simon Robert and Julian Andrew James, and two daughters, Shelagh Mary Frances and Nicola Ann. His eldest son had been the heir apparent to the baronetcy.[3]

DNA case

Both Norman Hamilton Pringle and his son Sir Steuart were recognised as the 9th and 10th Pringle Baronets of Nova Scotia, respectively, during their lifetimes; however, questions had existed in the family about whether Norman Hamilton was the actual biological child of Sir Norman Robert Pringle, 8th Baronet (1871–1919). The 8th Baronet had married Florence Madge Vaughan on 16 October 1902, but only seven months later, she gave birth to a son, Norman Hamilton, on 13 May 1903, leading to questions of legitimacy that were not resolved until more than a century later.[11]

In 2009, Sir Steuart agreed to DNA testing for a project launched by his first cousin Murray Pringle (born 3 August 1941), an accountant who was attempting to restore a clan chief to Clan Pringle, which has been an armigerous clan since 1737. The results indicated that Sir Steuart's paternal DNA was not consistent with that of other Pringles, but Murray Pringle heeded advice that the issue of the legitimate claimant to the baronetcy should not be contested during Sir Steuart's lifetime. After he died in 2013, both Simon Pringle (Sir Steuart's eldest son) and Murray Pringle attempted to claim the baronetcy. In 2016, a court agreed Murray Pringle was the rightful heir to the baronetcy instead of his second cousin Simon Pringle, as DNA evidence demonstrated that Sir Steuart's father was not the biological son of Sir Norman Pringle, 8th Baronet. Sir Norman Robert Pringle, 8th Baronet had three sons: Norman Hamilton (1903–1961), Ronald Steuart (1905–1968; Murray Pringle's father), and James Drummond (1906–1960), but Norman Hamilton was proven with a "high degree of probability" to be fathered by someone outside the Pringle clan, and Sir Steuart and his father were removed posthumously from the Official Roll of the Baronetage. Murray Pringle was declared the 10th Baronet and his father the de jure 9th Baronet.[4][12] However, as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, Sir Steuart is still styled as Sir.[3][13]

References

1. "Lieutenant-General Sir Steuart Pringle: Marine who survived an IRA car". The Independent. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
2. "Daily Telegraph Obituary – Sir Steuart Pringle, Bt". Retrieved 21 April 2013.
3. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. pp. 3221–3222. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
4. "Accountant wins baronetcy battle". BBC News. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
5. "Lt General Sir Steuart Robert Pringle, KCB". Retrieved 2 April 2012.
6. "No. 46440". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 December 1974. p. 13195.
7. Clan Pringle, clanpringle.org.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
8. "Once More, Terror in the Streets", Time. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
9. Britain's Small Wars Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, britains-smallwars.com. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
10. "Honorary Graduates A-Z". City University London. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
11. Russell, Judy G. (26 June 2016). "Opening a can of worms". The Legal Genealogist. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
12. Bingham, John (20 June 2016). "Accountant wins legal claim to baronetcy in 'cuckoo in the nest' case that could challenge the British class system". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
13. "JUDGMENT In the matter of the Baronetcy of Pringle of Stichill" (PDF). 20 June 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2019.

Military offices
Preceded by Sir John Richards	Commandant General Royal Marines 1981–1985	Succeeded by Sir Michael Wilkins
Baronetage of Nova Scotia
Preceded by Sir Norman Pringle, de facto 9th Baronet	Baronet (of Stichill) 1961–2013	Succeeded by Sir Murray Pringle, 10th Baronet