George St John Brodrick, 2nd Earl of Midleton MC (21 February 1888 – 2 November 1979) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

aristocrat, landowner and soldier.

Early life

He was the eldest son of five children born to

St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton William St John Fremantle Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton, KP, PC, DL (14 December 185613 February 1942), styled as St John Brodrick until 1907 and as Viscount Midleton between 1907 and 1920, was a British Conservative and Irish Unionist Alli ...

by his first wife, Lady Hilda Charteris. His siblings included Lady Muriel Brodrick (wife of

Dudley Marjoribanks, 3rd Baron Tweedmouth Lieutenant-Colonel Dudley Churchill Marjoribanks, 3rd Baron Tweedmouth, CMG, MVO, DSO (2 March 1874 – 23 April 1935) was a British army officer and courtier. Early life Marjoribanks was the son of Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth ...

), Lady Sybil Brodrick who was

Maid of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen ...

to Queen Mary from 1911 to 1912 (wife of Sir

Ronald William Graham Sir Ronald William Graham (24 July 1870 – 26 January 1949) was a British diplomat and the British Ambassador to Italy from 1921 to 1933. Early life Graham was born in London 24 July 1870 the eldest son of Sir Henry John Lowndes Graham and was ...

), Lady Aileen Brodrick (wife of Charles Francis Meade), Lady Moyra Brodrick (wife of Gen. Sir

Charles Loyd General Sir Henry Charles Loyd, (12 February 1891 – 11 November 1973), nicknamed "Budget Loyd", was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the world wars, most notably during the Second World War as General Officer Commanding (GOC) ...

of Geldeston Hall) After his mother's death in 1901, his father remarried, in 1903, to Madeleine Stanley, a daughter of The Baron St Helier. From his father's second marriage, his younger-half siblings were Maj. Hon. Francis Alan Brodrick (who married Margaret Letitia Lyell, only daughter of Maj Hon Charles Henry Lyell) and Maj. Hon. Michael Victor Brodrick. Both of his brothers were killed in action in Italy in September 1943. His paternal grandparents were

William Brodrick, 8th Viscount Midleton William Brodrick, 8th Viscount Midleton (6 January 1830 – 18 April 1907), was an Irish peer, landowner and Conservative politician in both Houses of Parliament, entering first the Commons for two years. Early life Midleton was born on 6 Janua ...

and the former Hon. Augusta Mary Fremantle (a daughter of

Thomas Fremantle, 1st Baron Cottesloe Thomas Francis Fremantle, 1st Baron Cottesloe, 2nd Baron Fremantle, (11 March 1798 – 3 December 1890), known as Sir Thomas Fremantle, Bt, between 1821 and 1874, was a British Tory politician. Early life Cottesloe was the eldest son of ...

). His paternal grandparents were

Francis Richard Charteris, 10th Earl of Wemyss Francis Richard Charteris, 10th Earl of Wemyss GCVO DL (pronounced ''weems'', rhyming with seems) GCVO (4 August 1818 – 30 June 1914), styled as Lord Elcho between 1853 and 1883, was a British Whig politician. He founded the Liberty and Pr ...

and Lady Anne Anson (a daughter of

Thomas Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield Thomas William Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield PC (20 October 1795 – 18 March 1854), previously known as The Viscount Anson from 1818 to 1831, was a British Whig politician from the Anson family. He served under Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne as ...

). He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and Balliol College, Oxford.

Career

From 1914 to 1918, he served in

World War A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

as '' aide-de-camp'' on the personal staff of

Sir Ian Hamilton Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, (16 January 1853 – 12 October 1947) was a British Army general who had an extensive British Imperial military career in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Hamilton was twice recommended for the Victoria Cro ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

and Gallipoli. In 1918, he was Staff Officer and was awarded

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 ...

. During

World War II 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 opposing ...

, he served as ''aide-de-camp'' to the

Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces was a senior officer in the British Army during the First and Second World Wars. The role of the appointment was firstly to oversee the training and equipment of formations in preparation for their deployment ove ...

. On 2 February 1920, his father was created Earl of Midleton and the Viscount Dunsford, of Dunsford in the County of Surrey. Thereafter, and until his father's death in 1942, he was referred to by the courtesy title of Viscount Dunsford. He succeeded his father, who had served as Secretary of State for War and

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India Secretary or the Indian Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of th ...

, as the Earl of Midleton in 1942. In 1944, he sold the family seat, Peper Harow House (which had been built by

Sir William Chambers __NOTOC__ Sir William Chambers (23 February 1723 – 10 March 1796) was a Swedish-Scottish architect, based in London. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, and the pagoda at Kew. Chambers was a founder member of the Royal Academy. Bio ...

for

George Brodrick, 3rd Viscount Midleton George Brodrick, 3rd Viscount Midleton (3 October 1730 – 22 August 1765) was a British nobleman. Origins Brodrick was the first and only surviving son of Alan Brodrick, 2nd Viscount Midleton and Mary Capell, the second daughter of Algernon Ca ...

in 1765), and the entire village, to property developers. Both are now owned by a trust.

Personal life

Lord Midleton was married three times to three actresses, but did not have any children from any of his marriages.

First marriage

His first marriage was to the stage actress Margaret "Peggy" Rush, a daughter of J. Rush, of

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are Nor ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, on 23 June 1917. They divorced in March 1925LADY DUNFORD'S DIVORCE
Malaya Tribune, 11 March 1925, Page 2. Retrieved 12 July 2021. before he succeeded to the Earldom.

Second marriage

On 28 July 1925, when he was known as Viscount Dunsford, he married Guinevere Jeanne ( née Sinclair) Gould (1885–1978) at the American Presbyterian Church in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. Guinevere, an actress at the Gaiety Theatre, was the widow of George Jay Gould, and a daughter of Alexander Sinclair of Dublin. Her grandfather was Sir Edward Sinclair,

provost of Trinity College, Dublin The following persons have been provost of Trinity College Dublin. References {{University of Dublin, Trinity College Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxt ...

, and her cousin was Sir George McMunn, High Commissioner of Palestine. They were divorced in 1975.

Third marriage

In the 1950s he met film actress Irene Lilian Creese (1911–1993), better known by her stage name

Rene Ray Irene Lilian Brodrick, Countess of Midleton (née Creese, known as Rene Ray, 22 September 1911 – 28 August 1993) was a British stage and screen actress of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and also a novelist. Acting career Ray made her screen début ...

, who was born in London and made her London acting debut at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy P ...

in 1930. Lord Midleton and Ray, whose first husband was composer

George Posford George Posford, born Benjamin George Ashwell (23 March 1906 – 24 April 1976), was an English composer and conductor. Early life Benjamin George Ashwell was born in 1906 in Folkestone, Kent. He was educated at Downside School in Somerset a ...

, moved to

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

together in 1963. Immediately after his 1975 divorce from his second wife, Guinevere, he married for the third, and final, time to Ray on 24 April 1975.

Death

Lord Midleton died on 2 November 1979. Upon his death, the Earldom of Midleton and the Viscountcy of Dunsford became extinct, but the Viscountcy of Midleton passed to his second cousin, Trevor Lowther Brodrick. The Countess of Midleton died in 1993.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

George St John Brodrick, 2nd Earl of Midleton (1888-1979), Landowner
at the National Portrait Gallery, London
Peggy Rush, Actress; wife of George St John Brodrick, Viscount Midleton (later 2nd Earl of Midleton)
at the National Portrait Gallery, London {{DEFAULTSORT:Midleton, George Brodrick, 2nd Earl Of 1888 births 1979 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Recipients of the Military Cross