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 colone ...

John Henry Guy Nevill, 5th Marquess of Abergavenny, (8 November 1914 – 23 February 2000) was a

British peer The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the British honours system. The term '' peerage'' can be used both coll ...

Biography

The eldest son of the 4th Marquess of Abergavenny, Lord Abergavenny was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. In 1936, he became an officer in the service of the Life Guards and fought 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 opposin ...

, was invested as an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

in 1945, and rose to 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. ...

in 1946. On 4 January 1938, he married (Mary) Patricia Harrison, by whom he had five children: * Lady Anne Patricia Nevill (b. 25 October 1938), married Captain Martin Whiteley and had issue. * Lady Vivienne Margaret Nevill (15 February 1941 – 10 September 2018), married Alan Lillingston and had issue. * Lady Jane Elizabeth Nevill (1944–1946), died in infancy. * Henry John Montague Nevill, Earl of Lewes (1948–1965), educated at Eton, died without issue. * Lady Rose Nevill (b. 15 July 1950); a bridesmaid at the wedding of

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

and

Antony Armstrong-Jones Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017), was a British photographer and filmmaker. He is best known for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in ''Vogue'', ''Vanity Fai ...

. Lady Rose married George Clowes and had issue. Lord Abergavenny was an Honorary Colonel of the

Kent Yeomanry The Kent Yeomanry was an artillery regiment of the Territorial Army (TA) formed in 1920 by the amalgamation of the Royal East Kent (The Duke of Connaught's Own) Yeomanry (Mounted Rifles) and West Kent Yeomanry (Queen's Own). For the Second Wor ...

1949–1961, and of the

Kent and County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) The Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry was a unit of the Territorial Army ('TA') that was formed in 1961 as the Kent and County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) by the amalgamation of 297 (Kent Yeomanry) Regiment, Royal Artillery and 3rd/4th Cou ...

1961–1962. He was a member of

East Sussex County Council East Sussex County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex. East Sussex is divided into five local government districts. Three are larger, rural, districts (from west to east: Lewes; Wealden; and Rother). T ...

between 1947 and 1954 and County

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

for East Sussex between 1954 and 1962. He was also Deputy Lieutenant of Sussex in 1955, Vice-Lieutenant of Sussex between 1970 and 1974 and later the first Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex from 1974 to 1989. Aside from his army and political career, Lord Abergavenny was also a Director of

Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson Limited is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in T ...

between 1955 and 1985; a Director of

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...

between 1962 and 1985; Chairman of Lloyds Bank South-East Regional Board between 1962 and 1985; and a Director of Whitbread Investment. Lord Abergavenny became a Knight of St John in 1976, a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

in 1974, and was Chancellor of that Order between 1977 and 1994. In 1986, he was awarded an honorary

Doctorate of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

from the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

. Abergavenny was also involved in

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

. He rode in

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

s between 1935 and 1939, and was elected to the

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

Committee in 1942, acting as a steward from 1948 to 1950, 1952–54 and 1960–62. He became a member of the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amo ...

in 1950 and vice-chairman of the Turf Board in 1967. He was also a director of both

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

and

Fontwell Racecourse Fontwell Park Racecourse is a horse racing course located in the village of Fontwell in West Sussex, England, owned by ARC Racing. It features an oval hurdles course. Fontwell Park was founded by Alfred Day who trained racehorses at The Hermi ...

s. He served as a Trustee to the Ascot Authority in 1952 and became the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's representative at Ascot. His racing colours were scarlet with white cross-belts.

Death

Lord Abergavenny died in 2000, aged 85. As he had no surviving male children, he was succeeded by his nephew,

Christopher Nevill, 6th Marquess of Abergavenny Christopher George Charles Nevill, 6th Marquess of Abergavenny, (born 23 April 1955) is a British peer and current head of the House of Neville. He is the only surviving son of the late Lord Rupert Nevill and his wife Lady Camilla Anne Evelyn W ...

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abergavenny, John Nevill, 5th Marquess Of 1914 births 2000 deaths 05 People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War II Chancellors of the Order of the Garter Knights of the Garter Knights of the Order of St John Officers of the Order of the British Empire Members of East Sussex County Council Deputy Lieutenants of Sussex

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Lord-Lieutenants of East Sussex British Life Guards officers 20th-century British landowners

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...