Air Commodore John Henry Peyto Verney, 20th Baron Willoughby de Broke, MC, AFC (21 May 1896, London – 25 May 1986) was a British peer.

Background and education

The son of

Richard Verney, 19th Baron Willoughby de Broke Richard Greville Verney, 19th Baron Willoughby de Broke (29 March 1869 (London) – 16 December 1923) was a British peer and conservative politician. Life Verney was the son of Colonel Henry Verney, 18th Baron Willoughby de Broke and Geraldine ...

, and Marie Frances Lisette Hanbury, Verney 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 the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

. He succeeded his father in 1923.

Military career

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

(1918). At the end of hostilities, he became aide-de-camp to the Governor of Bombay, Sir George Lloyd, from 1919 to 1922 and adjutant of the

Warwickshire Yeomanry The Warwickshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794, which served as cavalry and machine gunners in the First World War and as a cavalry and an armoured regiment in the Second World War, before being amalg ...

from 1925 to 1929. In 1939 he was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire This is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire. Since 1728, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Warwickshire. Lord Lieutenants of Warwickshire *Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick 1569� ...

, a post he held until 1967. Between the wars both Lord and Lady Willoughby were keen aviators with their own aeroplane and private aerodrome at their home in

Kineton Kineton is a village and civil parish on the River Dene in south-east Warwickshire, England. The village is part of Stratford-on-Avon district, and in the 2001 census it had a population of 2,278, increasing to 2,337 at the 2011 Census. Kin ...

, Warwickshire. He was also Commanding Officer from 1936–1939 of the 605 County of Warwick squadron. 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 opposi ...

, he was a Duty Controller in the No. 11 Group

Operations Room A control room or operations room is a central space where a large physical facility or physically dispersed service can be monitored and controlled. It is often part of a larger command center. Overview A control room's purpose is produc ...

RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years ...

,Crozier 2007, p. 28 responsible for the fighter protection of the south-east (when he was mentioned in despatches) and then became Deputy Director of Public Relations at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

(1941–44) and Director from 1945-46.

Other

Joint Master of the Warwickshire Hounds (1929–35) and chairman of the Wolverhampton Racecourse Company (1947–71), he was also President of the Hunters' Improvement Society (1957–58).

Family

On 4 October 1933 Lord Willoughby de Broke married Rachel Wrey, daughter of Sir (Robert) Bourchier Sherard Wrey, 11th Baronet (1855-1917) of

Tawstock Tawstock is a village, civil parish and former manor in North Devon in the English county of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Barnstaple, Bishop's Tawton, Atherington, Yarnscombe, Horwood, ...

in Devon and

Lutterworth Lutterworth is a market town and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The town is located in southern Leicestershire, close to the borders with Warwickshire and Northamptonshire. It is located north of Rugby ...

in Leicestershire. They had two children: * David Verney, 21st Baron Willoughby de Broke (born 1938) *The Honourable Susan Geraldine Verney (born 1942).

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Crozier, Hazel. (2007) ''RAF Uxbridge 90th Anniversary 1917 – 2007''. RAF High Wycombe: Air Command Media Services * The Birmingham Post Year Book and Who's Who 1973–74, ''Birmingham Post and Mail Ltd., July 1973''

External links

Imperial War Museum Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willoughby De Broke, John Verney, 20th Baron 1896 births 1986 deaths Lord-Lieutenants of Warwickshire People educated at Eton College Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Air Force officers Warwickshire Yeomanry officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst

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 ...

20 Royal Air Force personnel of World War II British Army personnel of World War I 7th Queen's Own Hussars officers Green Howards officers 20th-century English nobility