Mark Sykes
| Sir Mark Sykes, Bt | |
|---|---|
Photo 1918 approximately
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| Born |
Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes 16 March 1879 Westminster, London, England |
| Died | 16 February 1919 (aged 39) Hôtel Le Lotti, Paris, France |
| Cause of death | Cyanosis, Spanish Flu |
| Resting place | St Mary's Church, Sledmere, East Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation | Soldier, Diplomat, Middle Eastern adviser to War Cabinet |
| Known for | Sykes-Picot Agreement, Conservative Party politician, diplomatic adviser, and traveller |
| Spouse(s) | Edith Gorst; 6 children |
Colonel Sir Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet (16 March 1879 – 16 February 1919) was an English traveller, Conservative Party politician and diplomatic adviser, particularly with regard to the Middle East at the time of the First World War. He is associated with the Sykes–Picot Agreement, drawn up while the war was in progress, regarding the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire by Britain, France and Russia.
Born in Westminster, London, Mark Sykes was the only child of Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet, who, when a 48-year-old wealthy bachelor, married Christina Anne Jessica Cavendish-Bentinck, 30 years his junior. Several accounts suggest that his future mother-in-law essentially trapped Tatton Sykes into marrying Christina. They were reportedly an unhappy couple. After spending large amounts of money paying off his wife's debts, Tatton Sykes published a notice in the papers disavowing her future debts and legally separating from her.
Lady Sykes lived in London, and Mark divided his time between her home and his father's 34,000 acre (120 km²) East Riding of Yorkshire estates. Their seat was Sledmere House. Lady Sykes converted to Roman Catholicism and Mark was brought into that faith from the age of three. Sledmere Hall "lay like a ducal demesne among the Wolds, approached by long straight roads and sheltered by belts of woodland, surrounded by large prosperous farms...ornamented with the heraldic triton of the Sykes family...the mighty four-square residence and the exquisite parish church." The family farm also had a stud, where Sykes bred his prized Arabs.
Mark Sykes was left much to his own devices and developed an imagination, without the corresponding self-discipline to make him a good scholar. Most winters he travelled with his father to the Middle East, especially the Ottoman Empire.
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