Overview
The following newspaper report records the death of Major George Peacocke, husband of Elinor (“Nell”) McClintock and father of Rosemary Peacocke, whose later marriage connected the Peacocke family to the Stewart baronets of Athenree.
The account provides a stark illustration of the personal and financial difficulties faced by former officers in the years following the First World War.
Newspaper Report (1923)
AN OFFICER’S SUICIDE.
Major’s Disagreement With War Office.
BENTLEY TRAGEDY.Inquiries into the antecedents of Major Peacock, who shot himself on the roadside at Bentley, near Beverley, on Wednesday, show that he came from Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland, where his wife and daughter reside.
He served in a West Indian regiment from 1899 to 1909, when he retired. He was called up for the late war, but was unable to proceed abroad owing to ill health, and was attached to the Humber Garrison as land agent.
He was later transferred to the Northern Command, but remained stationed at Hull, a condition of the transfer being that he should receive military pay and allowances and not civilian pay.
Instead, however, of receiving military pay, was given civilian pay. He could not get a satisfactory reason for this for several years, and then he discovered he was being credited at Cox’s bank with military pay in addition to the civilian pay he was receiving.
Later the War Office demanded the return of the military pay, which he refused to do, but offered to return the civilian pay after deducting allowances. The War Office, however, would not give way, and in 1921 the matter was placed in the hands of the Treasury solicitor.
In the early part of this year Peacock found that for the past two years he had only been receiving half retired pay, and he wrote the War Office asking for a readjustment, but received no reply.
Peacock a few days ago came to the end of his resources. He said he could not live on the amount he was receiving, and left a letter stating that his end would call attention to his grievance.
The jury returned a verdict that Peacock shot himself while temporarily insane.
Context and Family Connection
Major George Peacocke was married to:
- Elinor (“Nell”) Harriett Woodrop McClintock,
of the McClintock family of Seskinore
They had one daughter:
- Rosemary Elinor Dorothy Peacocke
Following the breakdown of the marriage, Nell McClintock returned to Seskinore House, where Rosemary was raised within the McClintock family circle.
In 1929, Rosemary married:
- Sir Hugh Charlie Godfray Stewart, 6th Baronet of Athenree
This document therefore forms part of the background to the Peacocke–McClintock–Stewart connection.
Historical Context
The report reflects wider post-war conditions:
- financial hardship among former officers
- disputes over military pensions and pay
- difficulties in reintegration into civilian life
Such cases were not uncommon in the years following the First World War and illustrate the human consequences of administrative and economic pressures.
Note on Sources
This report is reproduced from a contemporary newspaper account (1923).
As with all such sources, it reflects the language, assumptions, and reporting style of its time.
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