John Eustace Vesey, 6th Viscount de Vesci (25 February 1919 – 13 October 1983), was an Irish peer. He was the son of Lt. Col. Hon. Thomas Eustace Vesey and Lady Cecily Kathleen Browne, daughter of

Valentine Browne, 5th Earl of Kenmare Valentine Charles Browne, 5th Earl of Kenmare (1 December 1860 – 14 November 1941), styled Viscount Castlerosse from 1871 to 1905, was an Irish peer who served in the Senate of Southern Ireland, and was Lord Lieutenant of Kerry. Public life ...

. He became the Viscount de Vesci of Abbey Leix on 16 August 1958. He succeeded his paternal uncle, the 5th Viscount, who was survived by his widow, Lois (daughter of Sir Cecil Edmund Lister-Kaye, 4th Bt., and widow a first time of the 5th Earl of Rosse and mother of the 6th Earl of Rosse). He was the great-grandson of

Thomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount de Vesci Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount de Vesci and 4th Baron Knapton (21 September 1803 – 23 December 1875), was an Anglo-Irish peer and Conservative politician. Background de Vesci was the son of The 2nd Viscount de Vesci and Frances ...

. His father was an

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

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

-educated

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 ...

in the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has parti ...

who fought and was wounded twice in 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 himself was also in the

, fighting 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 ...

and being captured. He lived at Abbey Leix House on the

River Nore The River Nore ( ga, An Fheoir ) is one of the principal rivers (along with the River Suir and River Barrow) in the South-East Region of Ireland. The river drains approximately of Leinster and Munster, that encompasses parts of three counti ...

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

. In 1967, he sold the De Vesci Collection that was housed at Abbey Leix House to the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

. This acquisition added 1648 books (about 2900 volumes) and 54 serials (about 390 volumes) to the National Library of Australia.

Marriage and children

He was the brother-in-law of

Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon 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 Fa ...

, having married Snowdon's older sister, Susan Anne Armstrong-Jones, on 20 May 1950. She was the daughter of barrister

Ronald Armstrong-Jones Major Ronald Owen Lloyd Armstrong-Jones, (''né'' Jones; 18 May 1899 – 27 January 1966) was a British barrister and soldier. He was the father of Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, and father-in-law of Princess Margaret, younger da ...

and of

Anne Parsons, Countess of Rosse Anne Parsons, Countess of Rosse (''née'' Messel, previously Armstrong-Jones; 8 February 1902 – 3 July 1992), was an English socialite and one of the founders of The Victorian Society. She was the mother of Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of ...

. When she married Lord de Vesci, she converted to Catholicism. Her wedding dress was designed by her mother. The reception was held at the home of her paternal grandmother, Lady Armstrong-Jones, in

Lancaster Gate Lancaster Gate is a mid-19th century development in the Bayswater district of central London, immediately to the north of Kensington Gardens. It consists of two long terraces of houses overlooking the park, with a wide gap between them openi ...

. # Hon. Emma Frances Vesey (born 17 March 1951) # Hon. Catherine Anne Vesey (born 19 May 1953) # Thomas Eustace Vesey, 7th Viscount de Vesci (born 8 October 1955) # Hon. Georgina Mary Vesey (2 September 1963 – 14 March 1965) Miss Catherine Vesey was one of the bridesmaids 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 Fa ...

on 24 March 1960. Lady de Vesci died from cancer three years after her husband, in May 1986.

Other titles

He was the 8th baronet of the Vesey of Abbey Leix, which

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

was created on 28 September 1698.

References

External links

Cracrofts Peerage: de Vesci, Viscount (I, 1776)
1919 births 1983 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland British World War II prisoners of war Irish Guards officers British Army personnel of World War II {{Ireland-viscount-stub