Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster, (8 December 1907 – 29 March 1983) styled Lord Willoughby de Eresby from 1910 to 1951, was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician.

Early life

Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby was a son of Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 2nd Earl of Ancaster, and American heiress Eloise Lawrence Breese. His younger brother John died unmarried in 1970, and his two sisters, Lady Catherine and Lady Priscilla, married John St Maur Ramsden and Col. Sir John Renton Aird, 3rd Baronet, respectively. He was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby was a member of the University Pitt Club.

Career

In 1933 he was elected to 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. T ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for Rutland and Stamford, and held this seat until 1950. The seat had previously been held by his uncle, Claud Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby. From 1933 to 1935, Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby was "

Baby of the House Baby of the House is the unofficial title given to the youngest member of a parliamentary house. The term is most often applied to members of the British parliament from which the term originated. The title is named after the Father of the Hous ...

", the youngest member of the House of Commons. 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 opposi ...

as a major in the 153rd Leicestershire Yeomanry Regiment of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in the 5th Guards Armoured Brigade, and was mentioned in despatches. Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby was awarded the Territorial Decoration (TD) in 1945 and in 1971 became a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO). In 1951, he was summoned to 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 ...

through a

writ of acceleration A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father ...

in his father's junior title of

Baron Willoughby de Eresby Baron Willoughby de Eresby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1313 for Robert de Willoughby. Since 1983, the title has been held by Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby. History The ...

. Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby succeeded as third Earl of Ancaster later that year upon the death of his father. Apart from his political career, he was also

Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire The Lord-Lieutenant of Lincolnshire () is the British monarch's personal representative in the county of Lincolnshire. Historically, the lord-lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lord-lieutenant's responsibi ...

from 1950 to 1975 and Joint

Lord Great Chamberlain The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable of England, Lord Hi ...

from 1951 to 1983. He was appointed a county

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

(JP) in 1937 and in 1977 a Deputy Lieutenant for Lincolnshire.

Personal life

On 27 July 1933, Lord Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby married Nancy Phyllis Louise Astor (1909–1975), the only daughter of

Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, DL (19 May 1879 – 30 September 1952) was an American-born English politician and newspaper proprietor. He was a member of the Astor family. He was active in minor political roles. He was devoted to charitab ...

and

Nancy Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...

(the American-born British politician who was the first female Member of Parliament to take her seat). Together, James and Nancy were the parents of two children, one son and one daughter: * Nancy Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby (born 1 December 1934) * Timothy Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby (born 19 March 1936), his son and heir who went missing at sea off

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

in 1963. His wife died on 2 March 1975. Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby died in March 1983, aged 75. On his death, the earldom of Ancaster and barony of Aveland became extinct, while he was succeeded in the ancient barony of Willoughby de Eresby by his daughter Nancy, who also succeeded him as joint

. His Heathcote baronetcy was inherited by his distant relative Gilbert Simon Heathcote.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th Edition, edited by Charles Mosley, Wilmington, Delaware, 2003, vol III, p. 4196, .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ancaster, James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of 1907 births 1983 deaths *27 Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Willoughby de Eresby, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Lord Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

Lord-Lieutenants of Lincolnshire Willoughby de Eresby, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Lord Willoughby de Eresby, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Lord Willoughby de Eresby, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Lord UK MPs who inherited peerages People educated at Eton College Astor family Livingston family