John Herbert Meade, 7th Earl of Clanwilliam (27 September 1919 – 24 December 2009), was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

nobleman.

Meade was the second son of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sir Herbert Meade and his wife Margaret Glyn. His father inherited

Uppark Uppark is a 17th-century house in South Harting, West Sussex, England. It is a Grade I listed building and a National Trust property. History The house, set high on the South Downs, was built for Ford Grey (1655—1701), the first Earl of ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

in 1930 and adapted the additional surname of Fetherstonhaugh, and it was this estate that John considered home. Following in the naval tradition of his father and grandfather, he was educated at the

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, and sailed as a midshipman in 1934. In 1940, he was promoted from acting sublieutenant to

sublieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, but his naval career ended abruptly when he was placed on the retired list on 8 March 1942. He spent the rest of

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 opposin ...

working in a munitions factory in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. On 24 August 1946, he was gazetted a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

. However, his time in the Army was unhappy, and after World War II, he moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and ran an

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...

canning company. He reportedly sighted some of the treasure of the '' Grosvenor'' while diving for abalone. Meade returned to England for the

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

, where he served as an usher. He resigned his Army commission on 14 November 1953, retiring with the honorary rank of captain. In 1956, Meade married Maxine (d. 2004), daughter of James Adrian Hayden-Scott and former wife of Michael Levien, by whom he had three children: *Lady Rowena Katherine Meade (b. 1957), married Patrick James Crichton-Stuart in 1991 *

Patrick Meade, 8th Earl of Clanwilliam Patrick Meade, 8th Earl of Clanwilliam (born 28 December 1969), styled Baron Gillford from March 1989 to December 2009, is a businessman, government and financial communications specialist. The then Lord Gillford succeeded to the Earl of Clanwil ...

(b. 1960) *Lady Tania Frances Meade (b. 1963), married James Alwyn Compton in 1989 He lived in

Tisbury, Wiltshire Tisbury is a large village and civil parish approximately west of Salisbury in the English county of Wiltshire. With a population at the 2011 census of 2,253 it is a centre for communities around the upper River Nadder and Vale of Wardour. The ...

. On 30 March 1989, he succeeded his first cousin as

Earl of Clanwilliam Earl of Clanwilliam is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for John Meade, 1st Viscount Clanwilliam. The Meade family descends from Sir John Meade, who represented Dublin University and County Tipperary in the Irish Hous ...

, and took his seat in the

British House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in ...

(as

Baron Clanwilliam Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

). He spoke on a variety of subjects, including

soil conservation Soil conservation is the prevention of loss of the topmost layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Slash-and-burn and other unsust ...

, a topic in which he took great interest, as a gardener. Lord Clanwilliam was a political conservative. In 2000, he helped organise the Tisbus minibus service for Tisbury. After the death of the Countess, he helped complete a recipe book on which she had collaborated with

Graham Rust Graham Rust (born 1942, Hertfordshire, England) is a painter and muralist. Biography Graham Redgrave-Rust was born in Hertfordshire, England in 1942. He studied drawing and painting at the Regent Street Art School, the Central School of Arts an ...

. The Earl died on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

, 2009, and was succeeded by his son

Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, theretofore styled Lord Gillford.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clanwilliam, John Meade, 7th Earl of 1919 births 2009 deaths King's Royal Rifle Corps officers Earls of Clanwilliam Clanwilliam