John Charles Henry Pratt, 5th Marquess Camden (12 April 1899 – 22 March 1983) was a British peer, soldier, and landowner, a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

from 1943 until his death.

Early life

The son of

John Pratt, 4th Marquess Camden John Charles Pratt, 4th Marquess Camden (9 February 1872 – 15 December 1943), briefly styled Earl of Brecknock in 1872, was a British peer. Background and education Camden was born at Eaton Square, London, the third but only surviving son of ...

, later

Lord Lieutenant of Kent This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Kent. Since 1746, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Kent. Lords Lieutenant of Kent * Sir Thomas Cheney 1551 – 1558 * William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham 3 July ...

, and his wife Lady Joan Marion Nevill, a daughter of

Henry Nevill, 3rd Marquess of Abergavenny Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Gilbert Ralph Nevill, 3rd Marquess of Abergavenny DL (2 September 1854 – 10 January 1938), styled Lord Henry Nevill between 1876 and 1927, was a British peer. Early life Neville was born in Bramham, West Yorkshir ...

, he was styled as Earl of Brecknock from birth and was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

Career

Commissioned into the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

, he rose to the rank of major and was later appointed as Honorary Colonel of the 516 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment,

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 ...

.''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

'', volume 1 (2003), p. 653 In civilian life, Brecknock was a director of

Darracq Motor Engineering Company Darracq Motor Engineering Company Limited was a London importer, retailer and wholesaler of French-made Darracq and Talbot automobiles, a coachbuilder making regular production runs of bodies for S T D group products and a property holding comp ...

, Bayard Cars Ltd, and Pobjoy Aircraft & Airmotors. On 14 December 1943, Brecknock succeeded as

Marquess Camden Marquess Camden is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1812 for the politician John Pratt, 2nd Earl Camden. The Pratt family descends from Sir John Pratt, Lord Chief Justice from 1718 to 1725. His third son from h ...

(1812), Earl of Camden (1786), Earl of Brecknock (1812), Viscount Bayham (1786), and Baron Camden of

Camden Place Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater ...

, Chislehurst, Kent (1765). In 1945 he became a Justice of the Peace and in 1957 a Deputy Lieutenant.

Personal life

On 19 October 1920, at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret the Virgin, Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Pal ...

, Lord Brecknock married firstly Marjorie Minna Jenkins (1900–1989), a daughter of Col. Atherton Edward Jenkins. Before their divorce in 1941, they were the parents of two children: * Lady Mary Clementine (1921–2002) * David George Edward Henry (born 1930). Marjorie, who retained the title Countess of Brecknock, was a Superintendent of the St John Ambulance Brigade and a lady-in-waiting to

Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (born Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, ; 27 August 1968) was a Greek and Danish princess by birth and a British princess by marriage. She was a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Gran ...

. In 1988, with Dame

Mary Fagan Lady Florence Mary Fagan (born 11 September 1939) is a former Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, who served from 1994 until her retirement on 11 September 2014. Early life and family Fagan was born at Gonalston Hall, Nottinghamshire, England. Fagan ...

and Dr Marjorie Williams, she began fundraising for a hospice in Andover. The Countess of Brecknock Hospice opened after Lady Brecknock's death, the Duchess of Kent having laid the foundation stone. On 31 January 1942 he married secondly Averil Streatfeild, daughter of Colonel H. S. J. Streatfeild. Together they were the parents of one son: * Lord Michael John Henry Pratt (born 1946). In 1978, as Lord Camden, he married thirdly Cecil Rosemary Pawle, a daughter of Brigadier Hanbury Pawle, former wife of Peter Townsend.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camden, John Pratt, 6th Marquess 1899 births 1983 deaths Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Eton College Marquesses Camden Scots Guards officers