On This Day 80 Years Ago – VE Day
In Commemoration of 80 years since VE Day
May 8, 2025
Today marks eighty years since VE Day, the end of the Second World War in Europe.
As we remember those who both served and laid down their lives in conflict, today we share the story of Charles Hope Petty-Fitzmaurice, 7th Marquess of Lansdowne, who was killed in action in 1944.
Charles was the third child and second son of the 6th Marquess and Marchioness of Lansdowne. Born on the 9th January 1917, Charles became his father’s successor after his older brother Henry Maurice died in an accident in 1933. In 1936, just before the outbreak of war, the 6th Marquess passed away and Charles became the 7th Marquess of Lansdowne.
In September 1939, Britain and France declared war upon Germany after the invasion of Poland. This was the beginning of the Second World War, which lasted six years and became the bloodiest conflict in history. Both Charles and his younger brother Edward (Ned) (1922-1944) fought in the conflict.
Whilst Ned served in the Irish Guards, Charles became a Captain in the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry. The Yeomanry fought in the Middle East, North Africa and Italy.
In 1942, they were a crucial unit in the El Alamein campaign. The Axis invasion of Egypt had threatened the Suez Canal and Persian oil fields, but at El Alamein, soldiers from across the British Empire, France, Poland and Greece fought back against the Axis powers through Operation Lightfoot and Operation Supercharge, resulting in the first unreserved Allied victory of the war. It was during this campaign that Charles was injured, but he recovered and continued to serve with the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, going on to fight in Italy.
On the 11th August 1944, Charles’ younger brother Ned lost his life fighting in Normandy. Only a few days later, on the 20th August, Charles was killed in action in Italy. He was 27 years old. Their younger sister, Lady Elizabeth (1927-2016), wrote to their cousin George Mercer-Nairne in despair: “first our Ned, then our Charlie, and we loved them, loved them, oh! So much”. [Read more Edward Norman (Ned) Petty-Fitzmaurice here].
Charles is not only commemorated in the family Mausoleum at Bowood (in today’s Woodland Garden) and the Derry Hill War Memorial, but at the Cassino War Cemetery, south-east of Rome, Italy. Cassino is the site of over 4,000 Commonwealth graves, with a Memorial at its centre displaying the names of more than 3,100 Commonwealth servicemen who fought in Italy whose graves remain unknown, in addition to 900 Indian soldiers who were cremated. Charles’ name – as Charles Hope Fitzmaurice Lansdowne – is commemorated on Panel 2 of the Memorial.
At the time of Charles’ death, he was not married, nor did he have any children. The marquessate and estates passed to his cousin George Mercer-Nairne (1912-1999), who became the 8th Marquis of Lansdowne.