Anthony Louis Lovel Coke, 6th Earl of Leicester (11 September 1909 – 19 June 1994), was a
British peer
The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the British honours system. The term '' peerage'' can be used both coll ...
.
Background
Coke (pronounced ''Cook'') was the son of the
Hon
Hon or HON may refer to:
People
* Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon
* Louis Hon (1924–2008), French footballer
* Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player
Other uses
* Hon (Baltimore), a cultural stereotype of ...
Arthur George Coke and Phyllis Hermione, a daughter of Francis Saxham Elwes Drury (son of
The Rev. Henry Drury,
Archdeacon of Wilts, and the great-grandson of The Rev. Joseph Drury,
D.D.
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...
, headmaster of Harrow School and teacher of
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
).
His father was the second son of
Thomas Coke, 3rd Earl of Leicester
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
and was
killed in action in 1915 during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Anthony was educated at
Gresham's School,
Holt.
Career
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, Coke served in the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
. In the late 1950s, he became a Land Development Officer (L.D.O.) in
Rhodesia, attached to what was then known as the Native Affairs Department (later renamed the Internal Affairs Department). He and his wife, Vera, were based in the Mondoro Reserve near Hartley, where he was responsible for educating and assisting African farmers.
In 1976 he succeeded his first cousin
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
as 6th
Earl of Leicester
Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837.
Early creatio ...
, inheriting a substantial estate based on
Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall ( or ) is an 18th-century country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for the 1st Earl of Leicester,The Earldom of Leicester has been, to date, created seven times. Thomas C ...
in Norfolk, but remained living in South Africa, as his eldest son had already taken over the management of the estate.
Marriages and children
Leicester was married firstly on 11 September 1934 to Moyra Joan Crossley, daughter of Douglas Crossley. They had two sons and one daughter together:
*
Edward Douglas Coke, 7th Earl of Leicester (born 6 May 1936, died 25 April 2015)
* Lady Almary Bridget Coke (born 18 June 1939)
*
Hon
Hon or HON may refer to:
People
* Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon
* Louis Hon (1924–2008), French footballer
* Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player
Other uses
* Hon (Baltimore), a cultural stereotype of ...
Wenman John Coke (born 24 May 1940)
They were divorced in 1947 in which year Leicester married Vera Haigh in
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kno ...
. She died in 1984 and Leicester married thirdly in 1985, Elizabeth Hope Johnstone, daughter of Clifford Arthur Johnstone, of
Addo,
Eastern Province,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
.
Leicester died on 12 August 1994 at age 84 in South Africa. He was succeeded in the earldom and other titles by his son
Edward Coke, 7th Earl of Leicester.
References
Further reading
*''Who's Who 1993'' (A. & C. Black, London, 1993)
External links
*
1909 births
1994 deaths
6th Earl of Leicester
People educated at Gresham's School
Royal Air Force officers
Anthony Coke
Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
Military personnel from London
{{UK-earl-stub