Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Edmund Castell Bacon, 13th and 14th Baronet (18 March 1903 – 30 September 1982), was a British landowner and businessman.

Baronetcy

As the Bacon baronetcy of Redgrave in the County of Suffolk is the oldest extant English baronetcy (created in the Baronetage of England on 22 May 1611), Sir Edmund was the

Premier Baronet 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 ...

of England. He was both the 13th and 14th Baronet of Bacon, since the 8th Bacon Baronet of Mildenhall in the County of Suffolk (created in the Baronetage of England on 29 July 1627), had succeeded as the 7th Bacon Baronet of Redgrave in 1755 when his third cousin, the 6th Bacon Baronet of Redgrave, died without heirs.

Family

Sir Edmund was born in 1903 at

Raveningham Hall Raveningham Hall is a country house in Norfolk, England, about south-east of Norwich. There are 10 acres of gardens, and it has a rural estate of 5,500 acres. It is home to Sir Nicholas Bacon, 14th and 15th Baronet, and his family.

, the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, 12th Baronet and Constance Alice Leslie-Melville. He was educated at

Wixenford Wixenford is an area of the civil parish of Wokingham Without in which Ludgrove School stands. It adjoins Wokingham and is in the English county of Berkshire. Name The area was developed by the former Wixenford School, which closed in 1934. That h ...

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

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. On 15 January 1936, he married Priscilla Dora Ponsonby (1913–2000), daughter of Sir Charles Ponsonby, 1st Baronet, and they had five children.Joanna Constance Bacon (b. 12 March 1937), Lavinia Winifred Bacon (b. 7 June 1939), Elizabeth Albinia Bacon (b. 15 January 1944), Sarah Bacon (b. 1 June 1947), and the 14th and 15th Baronet, Sir Nicholas Hickman Ponsonby Bacon. Bacon's daughter, Sarah, is married to Sir Paul Nicholson.

Career

Sir Edmund was appointed deputy lieutenant of Norfolk in 1939. He commanded the 55th (Suffolk Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment of the

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 ...

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 he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He became Honorary Colonel of the 308 (Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery between 1961 and 1967. He was appointed as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Norfolk in 1944. He succeeded to the family baronetcies on 1 January 1947 and he was

Lord-Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

of Norfolk between 1949 and 1982. Sir Edmund held several

quango A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi-NGO", where NG ...

and business positions: chairman of

British Sugar Corporation British Sugar plc is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods and the sole British producer of sugar from sugar beet, as well as medicinal cannabis. British Sugar processes all sugar beet grown in the United Kingdom, and produces about two-thir ...

(1957–1968); Pro-Chancellor of

the University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income o ...

(1964–1973); chairman of the Agricultural North East Development Council (1966–1982) and director of

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...

. Sir Edmund died on 30 September 1982, aged 79.

Awards and decorations

* Knight of the

Venerable Order of Saint John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

* Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(1965) * Knight of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

(1970)

References

1903 births 1982 deaths

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

People from South Norfolk (district) People educated at Eton College People educated at Wixenford School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People associated with the University of East Anglia Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II Baronets in the Baronetage of England Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights of the Garter Knights of the Order of St John Lord-Lieutenants of Norfolk English justices of the peace {{England-baronet-stub

Baronetcy

Family

Career

Awards and decorations

Further reading

References