James St Clair-Erskine, 5th Earl of Rosslyn

James Francis Harry St Clair-Erskine, 5th Earl of Rosslyn (16 March 1869 – 10 August 1939), styled Lord Loughborough until 1890, was a Scottish soldier, author and aristocrat.

Early life Lord Rosslyn was the eldest son of Robert St Clair-Erskine, 4th Earl of Rosslyn and the former Blanche Adeliza (née FitzRoy) Maynard (the widow of Col. the Hon. Charles Henry Maynard, eldest son and heir apparent of Henry Maynard, 3rd Viscount Maynard). His mother was described as "one of the last survivors of the great Victorian hostesses" and personally knew many of the most famous people of the Victorian era, including Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone. Lady Sybil St Clair-Erskine (wife of Anthony Fane, 13th Earl of Westmorland), and Lady Angela St Clair-Erskine (wife of Lt.-Col. James Stewart Forbes).

His paternal grandparents were James St Clair-Erskine, 3rd Earl of Rosslyn, and Frances (née Wemyss), Countess of Rosslyn. Through his mother, he was a direct descendant of Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton. His progress was slow: at the following year's annual training the inspecting officer noted: 'Lord Loughborough must become efficient by next training'. However he was able to obtain a Regular Army commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the prestigious Royal Horse Guards on 28 June 1890. However, on the death of his father a few weeks later he immediately gave up this career, and instead came a Lieutenant in the part-time 1st Fifeshire Light Horse Volunteers on 18 October 1890.

Lord Rosslyn succeeded his father in the earldom on 6 September 1890, inheriting the family seat, Rosslyn Castle in Midlothian, Scotland and Rosslyn Chapel, collieries at Dysart, a luxury steam yacht, and assets of £50,000. His mother, the dowager Countess of Rosslyn, survived his father by over 40 years before her death at Regent's Park, London, in December 1933.

He reached the rank of Captain in the Fifeshire Light Horse, but resigned on 24 November 1897 after his bankruptcy. However he joined Alexander Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry during the Second Boer War where he was taken prisoner twice, which he wrote about in his book Twice Captured. Lord Rosslyn was also war correspondent for the Daily Mail in 1900. In 1904, he was Secretary to the Secretary of State for Scotland and from 1915 to 1917, he was Major in the King's Royal Rifle Corps. which led to the family silver, gold and silver plate being sold at a three-day auction in Edinburgh. In 1903, he was in Court for refusing to pay a $150 draft. In 1908, Rosslyn and Sir Hiram Maxim were in the news for a gambling duel in Monte Carlo to "break the bank".

Personal life On 19 July 1890, Lord Rosslyn was married to Violet Aline Vyner (d. 1945), the second daughter and co-heiress of Robert Charles de Grey Vyner of Gautby Hall and Newby Hall by his wife Eleanor Shafto (a daughter of Rev. Slingsby Duncombe Shafto). At their wedding the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, proposed the health of bride and groom. Lord Rosslyn was a close friend of the Prince who became godfather to his son. they were the parents of: After he was killed in action in 1914, she married Lt.-Col. John Charles Brand, eldest son and heir of Maj. Hon. Charles Brand (fourth son of Henry Brand, 1st Viscount Hampden), in 1916. He married Margaret Sheila Mackellar Chisholm (d. 1969), a daughter of Harry Chisholm in 1915. They divorced in 1926 and she married Sir John Milbanke, 11th Baronet in 1928. They also divorced and she married Prince Dmitri Alexandrovich of Russia in 1954.

After their divorce, Lady Rosslyn married the English race car driver Charles Jarrott in 1903 (they were the parents of director Charles Jarrott).

On 21 March 1905, he was married to an American actress, Anna Robinson (d. 1917), the second daughter of George Robinson of Minneapolis, Minnesota. They divorced in 1907 and Anna later died on 4 October 1917. His widow, the dowager Countess of Rosslyn, died on 24 February 1975.