Captain Robert Soame Jocelyn, 8th Earl of Roden
Robert Soame Jocelyn of Tullymore Park, Bryansford, Co. Down, was born at Clifton, Yorkshire, on 8 September 1883, the only son of Robert Julian Orde Jocelyn, 7th Earl of Roden, and Ada Maria (nee Jenyns).
He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the North Irish Horse on 28 April 1909. He resigned his commission on 23 November the following year, but rejoined in January 1912 (with seniority from 23 May 1910).
He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 August 1914 and went to France with A Squadron of the North Irish Horse on 17 August 1914. He took part in the retreat from Mons and advance to the Aisne, serving for the most part with the squadron as bodyguard and escort to the Commander-in-Chief.
There is a reference to Jocelyn in the memoires of medical officer Travis Hampson, who wrote that on 1 September 1914:
After messing about for a bit helping to get things straight - there were no billets and everyone had to doss down just anywhere - Hull and I opened a bottle of whiskey, a great treat. It had been given to me by Lord Jocelyn of the Northern Irish Horse a few days before; they ran a decent mess.
On 19 November 1914 Jocelyn left his unit for home, having become ill. Sickness kept him on home duties at the regiment's Antrim headquarters for the next few years.
On 30 August 1915 he was promoted to the rank of captain, and the following December he became the 8th Earl of Roden, following the death of his father. In June 1917 he was elected a Representative Peer for Ireland.
On 13 December 1917 he was placed on the retired list on account of ill-health contracted while on active service.
A letter written by Jocelyn to the widow of a fellow officer can be seen here.
He died at Southampton on 30 October 1956.
Silver mounted presentation plaque, Walker & Hall Sheffield 1910, reads 'To Viscount Jocelyn from the Members of his Troop on his leaving the Regiment'.
Silver presentation plaque, hallmarked 1910, mounted on a velvet covered easel, inscribed 'To Viscount Jocelyn from the Members of his Troop on his leaving the Regiment’.
Images of Jocelyn sourced from my personal collection. First plaque image sourced from the website easylive Auction. Silver plaque image sourced from the website of the British Antique Dealers' Association.