Edward Kenelm Digby, 11th Baron Digby, (1 August 1894 – 29 January 1964), also 5th Baron Digby in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself r ...

, was a British peer, soldier and politician.

Early life

Digby was the son of Edward Henry Trafalgar Digby, 10th Baron Digby, and Emily Beryl Sissy Hood, daughter of the Hon. Arthur Hood. Admiral Sir Henry Digby was his great-grandfather, while on his mother's side he was a descendant of another naval commander, Admiral

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (12 December 1724 – 27 January 1816) was an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral in the Royal Navy. As a junior officer he saw action during the War of the Austrian Succession. While in temporary command of , he drove a ...

Career

He succeeded his father as eleventh Baron Digby in 1920 and took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. Like his father, Digby was a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

(

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of 1st Battalion 1916–18 and acting second-in-command 1918) and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

and the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

. He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Dorsetshire Heavy Brigade, Royal Artillery (a position his father had also held) on 8 December 1929 and continued with its successor unit the 421st (Dorset) Coast Regiment in 1947. He also served as Chairman of the Dorset County Council from 1955 to 1964 and as

Lord Lieutenant of Dorset The Office of the Lord Lieutenant was created during the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547), taking over the military duties of the Sheriff of Dorset and control of the military forces of the Crown. From 1569, there was provision for the appointment o ...

between 1952 and 1964. In 1960, he was made a

Knight of the Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

. Lord Digby was Chairman of the Orchid Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society.

Personal life

In 1919, Lord Digby married the Hon. Constance Pamela Alice Bruce, daughter of

Henry Bruce, 2nd Baron Aberdare Henry Campbell Bruce, 2nd Baron Aberdare (19 June 1851 – 20 February 1929), styled The Honourable from 1873 to 1895, was a British soldier and peer. Background Bruce was the eldest son of Henry Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare, who had served as Home ...

, and granddaughter of

Henry Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare Henry Austin Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare, (16 April 1815 – 25 February 1895), was a British Liberal Party politician, who served in government most notably as Home Secretary (1868–1873) and as Lord President of the Council. Background and ...

. Their children include: *the Hon. Pamela Beryl Digby (1920–1997), who married and divorced

Randolph Churchill Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-Churchill (28 May 1911 – 6 June 1968) was an English journalist, writer, soldier, and politician. He served as Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Preston from 1940 to 1945. The only son of British ...

and later became American Ambassador to France. *the Hon. Constance Sheila Digby (1921–2014), who married Charles Arthur Moore (1909–1989). * Edward Henry Kenelm Digby (1924–2018), who married Dione Sherbrooke, daughter of Rear-Adm.

Robert St Vincent Sherbrooke Rear Admiral Robert St Vincent Sherbrooke, (8 January 1901 – 13 June 1972) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British a ...

, in 1952.'DIGBY', Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2013; online edn, Dec 201
accessed 8 April 2014
/ref> *the Hon. Jacquetta Mary Theresa James (1928–2019), who married David Guthrie-James MP. Lord Digby died in January 1964, aged 69, and was succeeded in his titles by his son

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

. Lady Digby died on 15 March 1978.

References

;Notes ;Sources * ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953. *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Digby, Edward Digby, 11th Baron 1894 births 1964 deaths Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Dorset Coldstream Guards officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross

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