John Godfrey Huggins, 2nd Viscount Malvern of Rhodesia and of Bexley (26 October 1922 – 28 August 1978) was a British peer and officer in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during 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 was a member of 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 ...

from 1971 until his death in 1978.

Early life and education

Huggins was the son of

Godfrey Huggins Godfrey Martin Huggins, 1st Viscount Malvern (6 July 1883 – 8 May 1971), was a Rhodesian politician and physician. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1933 to 1953 and remained in office as the first Prime Minis ...

, an English doctor working in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

, later prime minister of Southern Rhodesia and first

Viscount Malvern Viscount Malvern, of Rhodesia and of Bexley in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 18 March 1955 for the first Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Sir Godfrey Huggins. S ...

, and his wife Blanche Elizabeth Slatter. He arrived in England on 23 September 1938 on the RMS ''Windsor Castle'', from

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa, and was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

Career

In 1940, Huggins joined the

and was promoted to

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

in 1944. He retired in 1945, but re-joined the Air Force in 1952. He inherited his father's peerage on 8 May 1971.

Personal life

On 1 January 1949, Huggins married Patricia Marjorie Bower, a daughter of Frank Renwick Bower. They had three children: Michael Paul John (born 1946); Ashley Kevin Godfrey Huggins, 3rd Viscount Malvern (born 1949); and Haoli Elizabeth Jane (born 1953).''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great Br ...

'', vol. 2 (2003), p. 2580

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malvern, John Godfrey Huggins, 2nd Viscount 1922 births 1978 deaths People educated at Winchester College Royal Air Force officers Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom