Background
Cochrane was the second but eldest surviving son of Thomas Cochrane, 11th Earl of Dundonald, by Louisa Harriet Mackinnon, daughter of William Alexander Mackinnon.
General representative commander
Cochrane was the second but eldest surviving son of Thomas Cochrane, 11th Earl of Dundonald, by Louisa Harriet Mackinnon, daughter of William Alexander Mackinnon.
He was educated at Eton College.
Cochrane was commissioned into the Life Guards in July 1870, and was promoted to lieutenant the following year and captain in 1878. He served in the Nile Expedition, the Desert March and the Relief of Khartoum in 1885. He was appointed Commanding Officer of 2nd Life Guards in 1895.
He served in the Second Boer War and in November 1899 he was appointed Commander of the Mounted Brigade, part of the South Natal Field Force.
He took part in the Relief of Ladysmith in February 1900, although his South African troops, unimpressed by his leadership, referred to him as “Dundoodle”. He was appointed General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada in April 1902, serving as such for two years.
He served in the First World War as Chairman of the Admiralty Committee on Smoke Screens in 1915. Dundonald Park, in Centretown, Ottawa, is named after him.
Lord Dundonald married Winifred Bamford-Hesketh, daughter of Robert Bamford-Hesketh, in 1878.
The family lived for many years at Gwrych Castle in North Wales, the seat of the Bamford-Hesketh family. The Countess of Dundonald died in January 1924. He is buried in Achnaba Churchyard, Ardchattan near Benderloch, Lorne, Argyll & Bute.