Sir George Orby Wombwell, 4th Baronet (23 November 1832 – 16 October 1913)[1] was a British baronet.
Wombwell was born on 23 November 1832. He was the son of Sir George Wombwell, 3rd Baronet and educated at Eton College and Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
He joined the 17th Lancers in 1852 as a cornet and served as an aide-de-camp to Lord Cardigan. He was a survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade. When he had reached the guns, his horse was killed under him and he was shortly after pulled off and taken prisoner, his sword and pistols being taken from him by some Russian Lancers. He managed to escape, catch another loose horse and ride back to the British lines, hotly pursued by Russians.[2]
He retired from the Army as a lieutenant in 1855, when he inherited his title and Newburgh Priory, the old seat of the Belasyses, in Coxwold, North Yorkshire, on the death of his father. Included in this estate was Over Silton Manor, where Wombwell's initials (GOW) can still be seen on one of the manor cottages, and High House, at Thornton-on-the-Hill.
He was appointed High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1861.[3]
He married Lady Julia Sarah Alice Child-Villiers, daughter of George Child-Villiers, 6th Earl of Jersey and Julia Peel, on 3 September 1861. They had two sons, who both died on active service, and three daughters:[4]
At his death he was the last surviving officer of the Charge of the Light Brigade and was buried in Coxwold churchyard. His title and 12,000 acre estate passed to his younger brother Henry Herbert Wombwell.
| Escutcheon: | Gules a bend between six unicorns' heads couped Argent. |
| Crest: | A unicorn's head couped Argent. |
| Motto: | In Well Beware[9] |