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Charles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, (8 August 1909 – 20 March 1977) was the
ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
Governor-General of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and li ...
and an English
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
er from the
Lyttelton family The Lyttelton family (sometimes spelled Littleton) is a British nobility, British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Lyttelton family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Lyttelton family inclu ...
.


Background and education

Lyttelton was born in
Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, the son of John Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham, and Violet Yolande Leonard. He was a cousin of the musician
Humphrey Lyttelton Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008), also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family. Having taught himself the trumpet at school, Lyttelton became a professional ...
. He was educated at
Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
and
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, graduating with a law degree in 1932. He had a family connection with New Zealand, where he became governor-general, through his great-grandfather
George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton George William Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton, 4th Baron Westcote, (31 March 1817 – 19 April 1876) was an English aristocrat and Conservative politician from the Lyttelton family. He was chairman of the Canterbury Association, which encourag ...
, who was chairman of the
Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch. ...
and contributed financially to the early development of
Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
. Hagley Park is named after their family estate ( Hagley Park, Worcestershire), and the port town of Lyttelton bears his great-grandfather's name. He visited New Zealand in 1950 in relation to property holdings in Christchurch.


Military service

Lyttelton joined the Territorial Army in 1933. He served in 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 opposin ...
with the British Expeditionary Force in France from 1940. He was commander of the 5th Regiment from 1943. Lyttelton was made Honorary Colonel of
Queen's Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry The Queen's Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry (QOWWY) was a regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps, forming part of the Territorial Army (TA). Following reductions in 1969 and 1971 respectively the regiment was reduced to two and late ...
on 1 April 1969.


Political career

After the war, Lyttelton wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and enter the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
. However, his father died in 1949 and he succeeded as Viscount Cobham, precluding a career in the Commons. Cobham became the
ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
Governor-General of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and li ...
on 5 September 1957. Although from an aristocratic background, he proved popular. He was seen as an outdoors man with a sporting prowess in cricket, and golf, and a competent rugby judge. He was good with a gun and an enthusiastic fly fisherman, all attributes that resonated well with New Zealanders. Significant events during his tenure included the independence of Western
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
and the opening of the
Auckland Harbour Bridge The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote on the North Shore side. It is part of State Highway 1 and th ...
. Cobham was served by three
Prime Ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...
:
Sidney Holland Sir Sidney George Holland (18 October 1893 – 5 August 1961) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 25th prime minister of New Zealand from 13 December 1949 to 20 September 1957. He was instrumental in the creation and consolidation o ...
(1949–1957),
Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, (; 11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 ...
(1957 and 1960–1972) and
Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havin ...
(1957–1960). He was most careful to not comment on controversial matters, and had a good working relationship with all three. He was instrumental in setting up the
Outward Bound Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...
outdoor education organisation in New Zealand, opening the Outward Bound school in
Anakiwa Anakiwa is a coastal residential village in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. It sits at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound/Tōtaranui, one of the Marlborough Sounds, west of Picton and east of Havelock. At the 2018 census, the village ...
near Picton in September 1962, which bears his name. He visited the school in 1966 and was pleased with the progress that had been made. Cobham served until 13 September 1962. He was a skilled orator and a book of his speeches sold 50,000 copies – he donated the £10,000 profit to Outward Bound.
Cobham Oval Cobham Oval is a cricket ground in Whangarei, New Zealand, next to the Okara Park rugby stadium. It stages daytime-only first-class and List A matches. It is the home ground and headquarters of the Northland cricket team and one of the home ...
in Whangarei and Cobham Court in Porirua are named after him.


Cricket

Lyttelton enjoyed a career in
first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...
, playing more than 90 times for
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
in the 1930s and captaining the club between 1936 and 1939. He made his first-class debut, against
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
, in June 1932, but made a
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
in his only innings and did not reappear for two years. He played five times in 1934, but it was only the following season that he became established in the side, playing about 20 matches a year from then until the Second World War, with the exception of 1937 when he appeared only twice. His highest score (and only first-class century) was the 162 he made against
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
in 1938, but he made many other useful contributions, reaching 50 on 14 further occasions. His most productive year was 1938, when he scored 741 runs at an
average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
of 21.17. With the ball, his first victim (in July 1934) was Charlie Barnett, while in 1935 he produced his best innings' bowling, claiming 4–83 against the
South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...
. After 1935 his bowling became largely occasional, and with the exception of nine wickets in 1938, he never again took more than three in a season. He played ten games for
Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...
(MCC) pre-war: one against
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
in 1935, and nine on MCC's tour of Australia and New Zealand during the following winter. His cricketing career proper ended with the outbreak of war, but (now listed on the scorecard as Lord Cobham, having succeeded to the title in 1949) he played for an "MCC New Zealand Touring Team" against a strong "London New Zealand Club" side in 1954, taking two wickets including that of Bill Merritt. Remarkably, he made a one-off return to first-class action aged 51 in February 1961, more than two decades after his previous appearance at that level, when as Governor-General he captained a New Zealand side against MCC at
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
: he showed he still had ability, with a handy first-innings 44 from number ten in the order. A number of his relatives played first-class cricket. His great-grandfather
George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
played for
Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in the 1830s, his grandfather (also
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
) turned out for teams including Cambridge and MCC in the 1860s, his father
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...
made a handful of appearances for Worcestershire in the 1920s, and his uncle – another
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
– played for Worcestershire, Cambridge and MCC before the First World War. Lyttelton was a former President of the MCC when he became embroiled in what became known as the D’Oliveira affair. Bruce Murray writes that "On 12 March 1968 Vorster saw Lord Cobham, a former MCC President, in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, and told him 'quite categorically' that D’Oliveira would not be acceptable. As Cobham later recalled in a letter to
Sir de Villiers Graaff Sir De Villiers Graaff, 2nd Baronet, (8 December 1913 – 4 October 1999) (first name De Villiers, surname De Graeff, Graaff) known as Div Graaff, was a South African politician who succeeded his father, Sir David Graaff, 1st Baronet, Sir David ...
, the leader of the United Party, 'As I remember, he said that a Cape Coloured, alone of all races, castes and creeds, would be likely to provide a catalyst to the potentially explosive – or possibly one should say tricky – Cape Coloured situation'. In April Lord Cobham duly conveyed this information to
Billy Griffith Stewart Cathie Griffith, (16 June 1914 – 7 April 1993), known as Billy Griffith, was an English cricketer and cricket administrator. He played in three Test matches for England in 1948 and 1949. He played first-class cricket for Cambridge ...
when he saw him at Lord’s".


Family

Lord Cobham married Elizabeth Alison Makeig-Jones on 30 April 1942 in
Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...
. They had four sons and four daughters. He died in
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
, London, on 20 March 1977, and was survived by his wife and children. He was cremated in London; his ashes were returned to
Hagley Hagley is a large village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is on the boundary of the West Midlands and Worcestershire counties between the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and Kidderminster. Its estimated population was 7,162 in 2 ...
for burial in the Lyttelton plot at Hagley parish church. Children of Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham: * John William Leonard Lyttelton, 11th Viscount Cobham (1943–2006); childless *Hon. Juliet Meriel Lyttelton (b. 1944); married, 4 children *Hon. Elizabeth Catherine Lyttelton (b. 1946); married George Cecil Brooke Weld-Forester, 8th
Baron Forester Baron Forester, of Willey Park in the County of Shropshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 17 July 1821 for Cecil Weld-Forester, who had previously represented Wenlock in the House of Commons. Born Cecil Fores ...
, 4 children including the 9th Baron Forester *
Christopher Charles Lyttelton, 12th Viscount Cobham Christopher Charles Lyttelton, 12th Viscount Cobham, 12th Baron Cobham, 9th Baron Lyttelton, 9th Baron Westcote (born 23 October 1947) is a British nobleman and peer from the Lyttelton family in the United Kingdom. Biography The second son of the ...
(b. 1947), married, 2 children. His heir apparent is his son Oliver. *Hon. Richard Cavendish Lyttelton (b. 1949); married, 2 children. He is a Trustee of the EMI Music Sound Foundation and worked in the recording industry with
EMI Music EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
for many years. *Hon. Nicholas Makeig Lyttelton (1951–2014); married, 1 son (died 2006) *Hon. Lucy Lyttelton (b. 1954); married, 3 sons *Hon. Sarah Lyttelton (1954–2015); married Nicholas Bedford, 2 daughters His Garter banner, which hung in St. George's Chapel in Windsor during his lifetime, is now on display in the church of St John the Baptist, Hagley.


Arms


References


External links

*
Official biography
(Government House, Wellington) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyttelton, Charles, 10th Viscount Cobham Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English cricketers Governors-General of New Zealand Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Worcestershire Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Worcestershire cricketers Worcestershire cricket captains 1909 births 1977 deaths People from Kensington British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery officers
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Chancellors of the Order of the Garter 10 English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 People educated at Eton College