Sir Keith Fraser, 5th Baronet

Major Sir Keith Alexander Fraser, 5th Baronet JP DL (24 December 1867 – 21 September 1935) was a British cavalry officer, and a Conservative Member of Parliament for Harborough from 1918 until 1923. He was also a breeder and trainer of racehorses.

Early life

Keith Fraser was born on 24 December 1867. He was the eldest son of Gen. James Keith Fraser and Amelia Alice Julia Ward. His sister, Helena Violet Alice Fraser, was the wife of George Rous, 3rd Earl of Stradbroke, and his younger brother, Hugh Craufurd Keith-Fraser, married Dorothy Villiers (a daughter of Rt. Hon. Sir Francis Hyde Villiers).

His father was the third son of Sir James John Fraser, 3rd Baronet, and the former Charlotte Anne Craufurd (a granddaughter of Sir Alexander Craufurd, 1st Baronet). His maternal grandparents were the Hon. Humble Dudley Ward (a younger son of the 10th Baron Ward) and the former Eleanor Louisa Hawkes (a daughter of Thomas Hawkes, MP for Dudley).

He was educated at Eton.

Career Fraser joined the 7th Queen's Own Hussars and as a captain saw active service with his regiment in Southern Africa. He fought in the First Matabele War (in what is now Zimbabwe) and was awarded the British South Africa Company Medal in 1893. He also saw action in the Second Matabele War and was awarded the clasp in 1897.

Fraser succeeded his cousin Sir William Augustus Fraser, 4th Baronet to the title of baronet in 1898. He contested the Parliamentary seat of Caithness-shire in 1906, and the Bosworth division of Leicestershire in January 1910. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for Harborough from 1918 until 1923.

Horse breeding and training Fraser was a friend of Baden Powell and presented the Fraser Shield to the Boy Scouts in 1912 and the Fraser Shield Camping Competition is now thought by the organisers to be the longest running camping competition in Scouting. Fraser was a "famous breeder and trainer of racehorses under both National Hunt and Jockey Club Rules." He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his only son, Keith.