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Charles Tottenham, 8th Marquess of Ely

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The Most Honourable
The Marquess of Ely
Coat of arms of the Marquess of Ely
Born(1913-05-30)30 May 1913
Binsted, Hampshire, England
Died1 February 2006(2006-02-01) (aged 92)
Port Hope, Ontario, Canada
Spouses
Katherine Craig
​
​
(m. 1938; died 1975)​
Elspeth Ann Hay
​
​
(m. 1978; died 1996)​
Children4, including Ann and John
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
as a hereditary peer
31 May 1969 (1969-05-31) – 11 November 1999 (1999-11-11)
Preceded byThe 7th Marquess of Ely
Succeeded bySeat abolished

Charles John Tottenham, 8th Marquess of Ely (30 May 1913 – 1 February 2006) was an English-born peer. Born in Binsted, Tottenham emigrated to Canada to attend Queen's University at Kingston in the 1930s. First working as an assistant librarian and French teacher at the Royal Military College of Canada, he later was employed to teach languages at Trinity College School in 1937, and four years later was appointed the principal of its junior school, retiring in 1981. Tottenham died in 2006 in Port Hope, Ontario, and was succeeded by his son John as the 9th Marquess of Ely.

Life and career

Tottenham was born on 30 May 1913 in the village of Binsted to George Leonard and Cécile Elizabeth Tottenham.[1][2] George was a great-grandson of Lord Robert Tottenham, the second son of the 1st Marquess of Ely.[1] Soon after the death of George, Charles and his family were brought by their mother to Geneva. There, he attended the Collège de Genève and the International School of Geneva. His mother moved to Kingston, Ontario, with Charles following suit and attending Queen's University at Kingston in the 1930s.[3][4][5]

At the Royal Military College of Canada, Tottenham became an assistant librarian and French teacher. He later worked as a translator at an insurance company before being employed as a language teacher at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario.[3] He became the principal of its junior school—Boulden House, then named Junior School—in 1941.[6][7] As principal, he taught Latin, coached association football, and resided in an apartment at Boulden House, continuing even after his retirement as principal in 1981.[3][1]

Tottenham married Katherine Elizabeth Craig in June 1938.[8] Together, they had four children: Ann, John, Timothy, and Richard. Craig died on 27 January 1975.[9] Tottenham later got engaged to Elspeth Ann Hay in July 1978;[10] they married on 28 December in the Chapel of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.[11]

In 1965, Tottenham was second in line to become Marquess of Ely. Upon the death of Guy Alvo Greville Loftus, Tottenham became the heir apparent.[12]

A title doesn’t mean a hell of a lot out here. It doesn’t open any doors for you or do anything. It gives the guys at work a few laughs sometimes, but that’s about all it does.

Tottenham's son, Richard, on why he does not use a title in Canada.[13]: D2 

On the death of his childless cousin George Loftus, 7th Marquess of Ely, Tottenham became the 8th Marquess of Ely in the Peerage of Ireland on 31 May 1969.[14][15][16] The Marquess of Ely is concurrently Baron Loftus, a title of the Peerage of England, entitling the Marquess to a seat in the House of Lords.[15][17] As a result, Tottenham sat in the House as Baron Loftus from his ascension to 11 November 1999, when the House of Lords Act 1999 was passed, excluding all but ninety-two hereditary peers from the House.[16][18] Tottenham was also the premier marquess of Ireland. Despite he and his children being entitled to use the appellation Lord in his name, they did not while in Canada.[13]: D2 

Tottenham died in Port Hope, Ontario, on 1 February 2006 following a brief illness.[5][3][19] He was succeeded by John, his eldest son, as the 9th Marquess of Ely.[1][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Morris, Susan (20 April 2020). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (2019 ed.). Debrett's. p. 2533. ISBN 9781999767051. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Deaths—Tottenham". The Daily Telegraph. London. 9 October 1980. p. 32. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e "The Marquess of Ely—Canadian prep school headmaster who taught Latin, coached soccer, loved cricket and took his seat in the Lords". The Daily Telegraph. London. 14 February 2006. p. 23. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Queen's Graduate". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario, Canada. 13 August 1965. p. 28. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "TCS mourns loss of revered former principal". Northumberland News. 3 February 2006. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Title Doesn't Mean Much to Principal". Waterloo Region Record. Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The Canadian Press. 5 June 1969. p. 15. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Building Foundations: The 100th Anniversary of Boulden House" (PDF). Vol. 70, no. 2. Trinity College School. 2023. p. 6. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Social Announcements". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario, Canada. 16 April 1938. p. 6. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Deaths—Tottenham". The Daily Telegraph. London. 30 January 1975. p. 32. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Forthcoming Marriages—The Marquess of Ely and Miss E. A. Hay". The Daily Telegraph. London. 12 July 1978. p. 16. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Weddings—The Marquess of Ely and Miss E. A. Hay". The Daily Telegraph. London. 29 December 1978. p. 10. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Whitehead, Harold (13 August 1965). "People make news". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 37. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b Cahill, Jack (27 November 1983). "Lords and Ladies -- of Ontario". Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. p. D1, D2. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "People make news". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 5 June 1969. p. 36. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b "Canada has 17 people who hold British titles". The Leader-Post. Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Canadian Press. 2 December 1983. p. C7. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b "Marquess of Ely". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Ontario Schoolmaster Heir to Irish Marquess". The Montreal Star. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 18 August 1965. p. 4. Retrieved 1 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Snowdon leads Lords converts". BBC News. London: British Broadcasting Corporation. 2 November 1999. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  19. ^ "Announcements—Deaths—Ely". The Daily Telegraph. London. 4 February 2006. p. 26. Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Marquess of Ely
1969–2006 		Succeeded by
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