Arms of Wyndham, Baron Leconfield and Egremont

John Edward Reginald Wyndham, 6th Baron Leconfield, 1st Baron Egremont

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(5 June 1920 – 6 June 1972) was a British peer, art collector and author.

Career

John Wyndham was the son of Edward Wyndham, 5th Baron Leconfield, and Gladys Mary Farquhar, and a direct descendant of Sir John Wyndham. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He served as Private Secretary to

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...

in various appointments that the latter held between 1940 and 1945, then again in 1955 when Macmillan was Foreign Secretary, and finally during his time as Prime Minister from 1957 to 1963. He was also a Trustee of the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along w ...

between 1953 and 1972. In 1963, four years prior to succeeding his father as Baron Leconfield, he was raised to the peerage in his own right in Macmillan's resignation honours as Baron Egremont of

Petworth Petworth is a small town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chichester (district), Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 road, A272 east–west road from Heathfield, East Sussex ...

in the County of Sussex. This was a revival of the Egremont title held by his ancestors the

earls of Egremont Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749, along with the subsidiary title Baron of Cockermouth, in Cumberland, for Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, with remainder to his nephews Sir Charles W ...

. He and his father took their seats in the House of Lords on the same day.

Marriage and children

Lord Leconfield and Egremont married his second cousin once removed, Pamela Wyndham-Quin (29 April 1925 – 4 November 2013), daughter of the Hon. Valentine Wyndham-Quin and great-granddaughter of the Hon. Blanche Julia Wyndham, (daughter of

George Wyndham, 1st Baron Leconfield George Wyndham, 1st Baron Leconfield (5 June 1787 – 18 March 1869), was a British soldier and peer. A direct descendant of Sir John Wyndham, he was the eldest natural son of George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont, and Elizabeth Ili ...

), in 1947. They had two sons and a daughter,

Carlyn Carlyn is an English feminine given name and surname. As a given name it is form of Caroline derived from Karl. As an English surname it derives from the Irish surnames O'Carlain and O'Caireallain. Notable people with this name include the follow ...

. In 1952, he inherited significant property from his uncle, Charles Wyndham, 3rd Baron Leconfield. He and his bride moved into the magnificent

Petworth House Petworth House in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century Grade I listed country house, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Sa ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. He died of cancer in June 1972, aged 52, and was succeeded in the baronies by his eldest son Max. Macmillan wrote the entry on him for the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' and dedicated his ''War Diaries'' (1984) to him. Lord Egremont himself wrote an engaging autobiography, ''Wyndham and Children First'' (Macmillan, London, 1968) which covers his service with Macmillan in North Africa during the Second World War.

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, Thorpe, D.R. ''Supermac: the life of Harold Macmillan'' (2010), p. 687 n. 15. {{DEFAULTSORT:Egremont, John Edward Reginald Wyndham, 1st Baron 1920 births 1972 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Eton College

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 ...

Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II