Vernon Henry St John, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke (1896–1974) was the fourth child of the 5th Viscount and his wife Mary Elizabeth Emily, a former domestic. The couple's

secret marriage Clandestinity is a diriment impediment in the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It invalidates a marriage performed without the presence of three witnesses, one of whom must be a priest or a deacon. History It was promulgated in the 16th ...

and the existence of an heir was revealed only after the death of the 5th Viscount in 1899. It came as a huge shock to the locals and went on to become a national scandal. Although the couple had three boys, Vernon Henry was the only one who was legitimate and thus inherited the title of

Viscount Bolingbroke Viscount Bolingbroke is a current title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1712 for Henry St John. He was simultaneously made Baron St John, of Lydiard Tregoze in the County of Wilts. Since 1751, the titles are merged with the titles of ...

Early life

Vernon Henry was born in Bath in 1896. After the 5th Viscount's death and the revelation of the marriage and children, Mary Howard, now the dowager Viscountess Bolingbroke, moved to live permanently at

Lydiard Park Lydiard Park is a country park at Lydiard Tregoze, which was its former name, about west of central Swindon, Wiltshire, England, near Junction 16 of the M4 motorway. The park, which is included on the Historic England Register of Historic Par ...

, the Bolingbroke family seat outside the Wiltshire village of

Lydiard Tregoze Lydiard Tregoze is a small village and civil parish on the western edge of Swindon in the county of Wiltshire, in the south-west of England. It has in the past been spelt as Liddiard Tregooze and in many other ways. The parish includes the small ...

, with her sons and her cousin Edward Hiscock, whom she installed as her confidant and estate manager. None of the children was to have any formal education and they were looked after by a procession of nurses and nannies. Vernon Henry spent the whole of his childhood at Lydiard, while his older brothers moved away in the early years of the 20th century.

Army service

St John enlisted in 1917, soon after his

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

party. He joined the 6th Dorsetshire Regiment and saw service in a variety of conflicts – including Reux and Passchendaele – before being invalided out a week before the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

Peerage claim (1922–1926)

The case again made national headlines in 1922 when St John petitioned the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

to be recognized as the 6th Viscount Bolingbroke. During the House of Lords hearing, witnesses were cross-examined and many of the family's details were revealed. After a long intervening period, St John was officially recognized as the 6th Viscount Bolingbroke in 1926. 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 opposin ...

, Lydiard Park was requisitioned for a variety of military uses. After the death of his mother, Vernon moved away from the ancestral home which was in the process of being sold to

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

Corporation. He took up residence in Ringwood, Hampshire, during which time he was befriended by the art historian

Rupert Gunnis Rupert Forbes Gunnis (11 March 1899 – 31 July 1965) was an English collector and historian of British sculpture. He is best known for his ''Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851'', which "revolutionized the study of British sculpture, pr ...

Marriage

In 1950 Vernon married Valezina Frohawk, the daughter of renowned lepidopterist William Frohawk, in

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

, Surrey. The marriage was annulled two years later after Valezina's claims of her husband's unreasonable behaviour,Frohawk, Valezina: ''I Remember'', Feather Press 2001 which many speculated was due to

shell shock Shell shock is a term coined in World War I by the British psychologist Charles Samuel Myers to describe the type of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) many soldiers were afflicted with during the war (before PTSD was termed). It is a react ...

from his army service.

Death

The 6th Viscount died on 1 May 1974 at Crow Hill, just outside Ringwood in Hampshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolingbroke, Vernon Henry St John, 6th Viscount Viscounts in the Peerage of Great Britain Vernon 1896 births 1974 deaths