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In 1914, the 27th Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, premier Earl of Scotland, was a public figure of some stature. He was the richest man in Wigan; Chairman of the Wigan Coal & Iron Company, which employed over 10,000 people; he held the title of Baron Wigan of Haigh Hall. Moreover, he had been MP for Chorley for 18 years.

But by March 1915, he wanted to be in France, close to the action. At the time he was acting as a special constable outside Buckingham Palace. So, although he was overaged to enlist – aged 43 – he enlisted as a private in the Royal Army Medical Corps. This is despite the fact that he could have been commissioned as an officer.

During his period at the front he kept a diary chronicling his daily life as a medical orderly, setting up and maintaining three operating theatres, stretcher bearing, being a porter, unpacking and packing for ill or wounded soldiers, guarding stores and delivering laundry. The diary shows how attached he was to his fellow Tommies but by July 1916 he was unexpectedly summoned back to London to serve in Asquith’s coalition cabinet as Minister of Agriculture.

At first he was repelled by the idea, but his senior officers told him it was his duty to take the job, as he would be the only cabinet minister who had served as an ordinary soldier in France. He remained in government for another six years.

Location: Haigh Hall, Wigan WN2 1PE
Image: Earl of Crawford, Museum of Wigan Life

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