Background
He was the son of Hugh Barklie Blundell McCalmont, and was educated at Eton College before gaining a commission in the 6th Regiment of Foot in 1881.
He was the son of Hugh Barklie Blundell McCalmont, and was educated at Eton College before gaining a commission in the 6th Regiment of Foot in 1881.
Eton College.
He subsequently transferred to the Scots Guards four years later. Under the conditions of his will, a trust fund was established paying Harry McCalmont 2,000 pounds a year for seven years, after which he would inherit the remainder of the estate. He used this income to purchase the Cheveley Park estate and stud farm near Newmarket from the Duke of Rutland.
There he established a successful stable of racehorses.
He retired from the regular army in 1889, becoming colonel of the 6th (Militia) Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. In 1895 a general election was called, and McCalmont was selected as Conservative candidate for the Newmarket constituency, then held by the Liberals.
The Second Boer War broke out in 1899, and in the following year McCalmont"s battalion went to South Africa, serving in the Cape Colony and Orange River Colony. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath for his services in the war.
A general election was held in 1900, and McCalmont, who was still in South Africa, was re-elected with an increased majority.
His opponent in the election was C Doctorate Rose, owner of the racehorse Ravensbury which had been a rival to Isinglass. He died suddenly at his London home from heart failure in December 1902.
26th United Kingdom Parliament. 27th United Kingdom Parliament]
He was also a keen yachtsman and member of the Royal Yacht Squadron. He was successful, unseating the sitting member of parliament, Sir George Newnes.