Earl Haig

This article is about the title "Earl Haig". For the school named after the 1st Earl, see Earl Haig Secondary School.

Arms of the Chief of Clan Haig, The Earl Haig.

Earl Haig is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. During the First World War, he served as Commander of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France and Belgium (1915–18). Haig was made Viscount Dawick and Baron Haig, of Bemersyde in the County of Berwick, at the same time he was given the earldom, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The viscountcy of Dawick is used as a courtesy title by the Earl's son and heir apparent. As of 2010 the titles are held by the first Earl's grandson, the third Earl, who succeeded his father in 2009.

The family seat is Bemersyde House, near Newtown St. Boswells, Roxburghshire.

The family motto is "Tyde what may", which refers to a 13th-century poem by Thomas the Rhymer which predicted that there would always be a Haig in Bemersyde:

'Tyde what may betyde
Haig shall be Haig of Bemersyde'.

Earls Haig (1919)

• Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (1861–1928)
• George Alexander Eugene Douglas Haig, 2nd Earl Haig (1918–2009)
• Alexander Douglas Derrick Haig, 3rd Earl Haig (b. 1961)

There is currently no heir apparent to the Earldom, Viscountcy, or Barony. Should the 3rd Earl die without an heir, the titles will go extinct.

References

• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages