John Francis Archibald Browne, 6th Baron Kilmaine,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(22 September 1902 – 26 July 1978) was an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer and building conservationist. Browne was the son of John Browne and Lady Aline Kennedy, the daughter of the

Marquess of Ailsa Marquess of Ailsa, of the Isle of Ailsa in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 10 September 1831 for Archibald Kennedy, 12th Earl of Cassilis. The title Earl of Cassilis (pronounced "Cassels") ...

. Browne's family spent the early part of his life living in Gaulston, Mayo before moving to Kent when he was in his twenties. He was educated at

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. At Winchester he was awarded the English Speech Prize and excelled at shooting, eventually representing Ireland in the sport. After working for the

British Xylonite Company BX Plastics was a plastics engineering and production company. The company was one of three subsidiaries of the British Xylonite Company established by 1938. BX Plastics made xylonite (also known as celluloid or ivoride) and Lactoid (also known ...

from 1925 to 1929 he was Secretary to

University College, Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

until 1933. In 1933, he became a founder member of the Oxford Society and acted as Secretary until 1940. For the duration of 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 ...

he served in the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

attaining the rank of

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

and was twice

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. In 1946, Browne succeeded as the 6th Lord Kilmaine, succeeding his father and grandfather, who both died by suicide. In 1945, Browne became Secretary of the Pilgrim Trust. During his tenure as secretary, the Pilgrim Trust broadened its objects, and began to focus more on cultural heritage. As secretary, Kilmaine called for the establishment of a national organisation to organise fundraising for church repair. Kilmaine then acted as trustee of the

Historic Churches Preservation Trust The National Churches Trust, formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, is a British registered charity whose aim is to "promote and support church buildings of historic, architectural and community value across the UK". It carries out t ...

which was founded following the publication of the Church Assembly's report ''The Preservation of Our churches''. In 1949 he was made chairman of the Oxford Society and served in this capacity until 1973. As chairman he organised an exhibition of items from the collections of the Ashmolean and the Bodleian in Goldsmiths' Hall, London, to coincide with the Coronation of Elizabeth II and the twenty-first anniversary of the Society. In 1956 he was appointed a

for his services to the nation. In 1972 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in civil law from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in recognition of his work. In his other roles as public servant he was a Vice-President of the Friends of

Lambeth Palace Library Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...

, as well as a Trustee of the Dulverton Trust. He also served as the High Steward of

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

from 1966 to 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilmaine, John Francis Archibald Browne, 06 Baron 1902 births 1978 deaths People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Army Service Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II John 20th-century Anglo-Irish people