George William Reginald Victor Coventry, 10th Earl of Coventry (10 September 1900 - 27 May 1940)Hammond, P.W., ed., ''The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Vol. XIV'' (Stroud, 1998), 212. was the son of George William Coventry,

Viscount Deerhurst A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

, and Virginia Daniel. As his father predeceased his grandfather, the 10th Earl was his grandfather's heir to the earldom. George Coventry inherited both the earldom and the viscountcy on 13 March 1930. He was educated at

Ludgrove School Ludgrove School is an English independent boys preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed as a master at Elstree School, which sent boys ...

and

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 ...

Politics

Standing as a Unionist, Coventry unsuccessfully stood in the Carmarthen Constituency in the 1922 General Election.

Military service

Coventry was a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the 7th Battalion,

Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regimen ...

, which was part of the original Expeditionary Force sent to France in September 1939. His regiment was subsequently evacuated during the retreat from Dunkirk; Coventry was executed on 27 May 1940 at

La Bassée La Bassée () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry Personalities La Bassée was the birthplace of the painter and draftsman Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845). Another native was Ignace François ...

, during the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on ...

which preceded it. He is buried in the communal cemetery at

Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village situated west of La Bassée, east of Béthune and southwest o ...

. A memorial service was held at Croome Church in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

on 21 July 1940.

Family and personal life

He married the Honourable Nesta Donne Philipps in September 1921; they had four children. His youngest child, also named George William Coventry and subsequently 11th Earl of Coventry was born at

Croome Court Croome Court is a mid-18th-century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Upton-upon-Severn in south Worcestershire, England. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown for ...

on 25 January 1934. The 10th earl's daughters were Anne Donne, Joan Blanche, and Maria Alice Coventry. In 1932, he was appointed the Deputy Lieutenant for the county of

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 ...

. He served as a

company director A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the London and Thames Haven Oil Wharves Limited. Coventry enjoyed hunting and was the Master of the Carmarthenshire Hounds, the Hawkstone Hounds as well as the Croome Hounds.

References

1900 births 1940 deaths Worcestershire Regiment officers British Army personnel killed in World War II Earls of Coventry Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers 20th-century English nobility Military personnel from Worcestershire Deputy Lieutenants of Worcestershire People educated at Ludgrove School Burials in Hauts-de-France {{British-Army-bio-stub