John Gerard de Forest (31 March 1907 – 10 April 1997) was an English amateur golfer. He won the

Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

in 1932 and was in the

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

team the same year.

Golf career

de Forest reached the final of the

in 1931, losing to Eric Martin Smith by 1 hole. The following year he reached the final again, this time beating Eric Fiddian 3&1. Both de Forest and Fiddian were selected for the 1932 Walker Cup team following their semi-final wins. The Walker Cup was held at

The Country Club The Country Club, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, is the oldest golf-oriented country club in the United States. (The Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, was the first country club for any sport.) It holds an important place in ...

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

on 1 and 2 September. De Forest lost his foursomes match and was not selected for the singles.

Personal life

De Forest was the younger son of

Maurice de Forest Maurice Arnold de Forest (9 January 1879 – 6 October 1968) was an early motor racing driver, aviator and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician in the United Kingdom. He held noble titles as a baron in Austria and later as Count de Bendern in ...

. In the 1930s, Maurice de Forest was granted the title Count Maurice de Bendern, and in early 1937 John de Forest adopted the name John de Bendern. His first wife was Lady Patricia Sybil Douglas, daughter of

Francis Douglas, 11th Marquess of Queensberry Francis Archibald Kelhead Douglas, 11th Marquess of Queensberry (17 January 1896 – 27 April 1954), styled The Honourable Francis Douglas until 1900 and Viscount Drumlanrig between 1900 and 1920 was a Scottish soldier, stockbroker and author. ...

. Their children were: * Caroline de Bendern (b. 1940), who married saxophonist Barney Wilen.Divenni la Marianna del '68 Oggi le modelle vanno a destra
orriere della Sera She was a political activist, who became symbol of May 1968 protests when she was photographed in Paris. * Simon Frederick de Bendern (b. 1946), who married Ethel von Horn in 1974. * Emma Magdalen de Bendern (1950-2021), who married firstly journalist

Nigel Dempster Nigel Richard Patton Dempster (1 November 1941 in Calcutta, India – 12 July 2007 in Ham, Surrey) was a British journalist, author, broadcaster and diarist. Best known for his celebrity gossip columns in newspapers, his work appeared in the '' ...

, secondly Giles Trentham, and thirdly Prince George

Galitzine The House of Golitsyn or Galitzine was one of the largest princely of the noble houses in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire. Among them were boyars, warlords, diplomats, generals (the Mikhailovichs), stewards, chamberlains, the richest m ...

. He had two other children after his divorce from Patricia Douglas. * Michael Fulke de Bendern (b.1954) * Samantha Grace de Bendern (b.1965), international civil servant, political journalist and writer. De Forest had an elder brother, Alaric (1905–1973), who also adopted the Bendern name. Alaric was also a useful golfer, and reached the semi-final of the

in 1937, losing 4&3 to

Lionel Munn __TOC__ Lionel may refer to: Name * Lionel (given name) Places *Lionel, Lewis, a village in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland * Lionel Town, Jamaica, a settlement Brands and enterprises * Lionel, LLC, an American designer and importer of toy trains and ...

. John and Alaric met in the final of the 1937 Dutch Open Amateur Championship, with Alaric winning by one hole.

Amateur wins

*1931 Surrey Amateur Championship *1932

*1937 Austrian Open Amateur Championship *1949 Surrey Amateur Championship

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Note: de Forest only played in the Open Championship and the Masters.''
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain):

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

England–Scotland Amateur Match The England–Scotland Amateur Match was an annual men's amateur golf competition between teams representing England and Scotland. It was played from 1902 to 1931, although the match lapsed between 1913 and 1921. The match continued after 1931 but ...

(representing England): 1931 *England–Ireland Amateur Match (representing England): 1931 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Forest, John English male golfers Amateur golfers Golfers from London 1907 births 1997 deaths