On the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Bootle-Wilbraham joined the 3rd Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. He then entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, as a wartime cadet in 1915 and passed out the same year, being commissioned into the Coldstream Guards. He served with the regiment for the rest of the war, being awarded a Military Cross in 1917. Postwar, Bootle-Wilbraham saw service in Turkey during the Chanak Crisis of 1922, and then went to India to serve as Aide-de-Camp to the Governor of Madras. He went to China during the Shanghai crisis of 1927, later returning to Madras as the Governor's Military Secretary. He also served in Egypt and Sudan in 1932. Early in the Second World War Bootle-Wilbraham commanded the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, in the Battle of France, which played an important part in holding the Dunkirk perimeter. He was acting-commander of 1st Guards Brigade during the final evacuation and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. On 20 September 1940, Bootle-Wilbraham took command of the 126th Infantry Brigade, part of the 42nd Infantry Division, a Territorial Army formation which had fought in France and been evacuated at Dunkirk. A year later the division was converted to armour, and Bootle-Wilbraham briefly transferred to command the 215th Independent Infantry Brigade, and then to form and command a new 32nd Guards Brigade in October 1941. This formation was part of London District, charged with guarding some of the most vital locations in the capital; later it became the infantry component of the Guards Armoured Division. Bootle-Wilbraham attended the Staff College, Camberley, in 1942 and was then appointed Brigadier, General Staff, in Eastern Command in 1943. In April 1945, as the war in Europe ended, Bootle-Wilbraham formed a new 137th Brigade headquarters to administer reception camps, selection and training battalions for wounded and temporarily unfit troops returning from overseas.
Postwar career
Bootle-Wilbraham served as a regimental lieutenant colonel of the Coldstream Guards 1946–49, and then retired with the rank of brigadier. After retiring from the army, Bootle-Wilbraham joined the Associated British Oil Engine Company as a director and became its representative in the Caribbean and Latin America 1949–59.
Hon. Daphne b 14 October 1946, married Jocelyn Peter Gore Graham, and has issue
Lionel Bootle-Wilbraham succeeded as 6th Baron Skelmersdale in 1969 on the death of his cousin. He died on 21 July 1973 and was succeeded by his son Roger as 7th Baron Skelmersdale.
