Kenneth Robert Balfour

Lieutenant-Colonel Kenneth Robert Balfour (14 December 1863 – 7 September 1936) was a British Conservative Party politician. Background and personal life Balfour purchased Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour in 1891. Following the introduction of electric lighting, the castle was gutted by fire in 1896. It was later rebuilt - with modern fire hydrants - and in 1901 Balfour put the island up for sale. Military career Balfour was commissioned in the 1st Dragoons, where he was appointed a lieutenant on 6 May 1885, and promoted captain on 1 August 1892. He was placed on the reserve list, and volunteered for service with the Imperial Yeomanry following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899. He was appointed second in command of the 11th battalion Imperial Yeomanry, with the temporary rank of major in the Army, on 10 February 1900, and left Liverpool for South Africa on the SS Cymric in March 1900. He was later promoted to lieutenant-colonel.