William Humble Eric Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley,
MC TD (30 January 1894 – 26 December 1969), known as Viscount Ednam until 1932, was a British
Conservative Party politician.
Early life
Lord Dudley was the eldest son of
William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley
William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley, (25 May 1867 – 29 June 1932), was a British aristocrat, politician, and military officer who served as the fourth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1908 to 1911. He was previously Lord Lieu ...
, and his wife Rachel (née Gurney) CBE. Among his siblings was
George Ward, 1st Viscount Ward of Witley
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
, Lady Gladys Honor Ward (wife of Maj. Percival Cunningham Allan Bridgeman) and Lady Morvyth Lillian Ward (wife of
Constantine Evelyn Benson, a grandson of
Robert Stayner Holford
Robert Stayner Holford (1808–1892), of Westonbirt, in the village of Weston Birt, co. Gloucestershire, MP for East Gloucestershire, was a wealthy landowner, gardening and landscaping enthusiast, and an art collector. With his vast wealth, he r ...
).
His paternal grandparents were
William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley
William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley (27 March 1817 – 7 May 1885), known as The Lord Ward from 1835 to 1860, was a British landowner and benefactor.
Background and education
Ward was born on 27 March 1817 at Edwardstone, Boxford, Suffolk, Engl ...
and the former
Georgina Elizabeth Moncreiffe (third daughter of
Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, 7th Baronet
Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, 7th Baronet (9 January 1822 – 16 August 1879) was a Scottish first-class cricketer and British Army officer.
The son of Sir David Moncreiffe and his wife, Helen Mackay, he was born at Moncreiffe House in Perthshi ...
and Lady Louisa Hay, the eldest daughter of
Thomas Hay-Drummond, 11th Earl of Kinnoull
Thomas Robert Hay-Drummond, 11th Earl of Kinnoull (5 April 1785 – 18 February 1866), styled Viscount Dupplin between 1787 and 1804, was a Scottish peer. His titles were Earl of Kinnoull, Viscount Dupplin and Lord Hay of Kinfauns in the Peerage ...
). His maternal grandparents were Charles Henry
Gurney and Alice Prinsep Gurney (a daughter of
Henry Thoby Prinsep of the
Bengal Civil Service). His maternal aunt was
Laura Troubridge, Lady Troubridge
Laura Troubridge, Lady Troubridge, (née Gurney; 1867 – 8 July 1946) was a British novelist and etiquette writer. She wrote almost 60 novels and many short stories.
Life
Lady Troubridge (nee Gurney) was born in 1867 in London, England. She ...
.
He was educated at
Eton.
Career
Ward inherited a number of industrial concerns in the
Black Country region of England, notably the
Round Oak Steelworks
The Round Oak Steelworks was a steel production plant in Brierley Hill, West Midlands (formerly Staffordshire), England. It was founded in 1857 by Lord Ward, who later became, in 1860, The 1st Earl of Dudley, as an outlet for pig iron made in th ...
and
Baggeridge Colliery
Baggeridge Colliery was a colliery located in Sedgley, West Midlands England.
Colliery History
The Baggeridge Colliery was an enterprise of the Earls of Dudley, whose ancestors had profited from mineral extraction in the Black Country area of ...
. In 1937, he set up
Dudley Zoo
Dudley Zoological Gardens is a zoo located within the grounds of Dudley Castle in the town of Dudley, in the Black Country region of the West Midlands, England. The Zoo opened to the public on 18 May 1937. It contains 12 modernist animal encl ...
within the grounds of
Dudley Castle
Dudley Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands, England. Originally a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortification during the twelfth century but su ...
, once the seat of the Barons of Dudley.
Military service
Dudley was commissioned into the
Worcestershire Yeomanry
The Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1794, it participated in the Second Boer War and World War I as horsed cavalry before being converted to an anti-tank regiment of the Royal Artill ...
in 1912. In 1914 he transferred to the regular
10th Hussars
The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars (Prince Al ...
. He was promoted
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
in 1915 and ended the
World War I
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 ...
as a
Captain, and had been awarded the
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
The MC ...
.
After the war, he joined the
Staffordshire Yeomanry, becoming a
Major and receiving the
Territorial Decoration
__NOTOC__
The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...
. In 1933 he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the
51st (Midland) Medium Brigade, Royal Artillery.
Political career
Dudley sat as the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for
Hornsey
Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood and Alexandra Park to the ...
from 1921 to 1924 and for
Wednesbury
Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of 3 ...
from 1931 to 1932 and served as
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the
Under-Secretary of State for India
This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the British India, period of British rule be ...
,
Lord Winterton, between 1922 and 1924. He also held the honorary post of
High Sheriff of Worcestershire
This is a list of sheriffs and since 1998 high sheriffs of Worcestershire.
The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of t ...
in 1930.
In the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
, Dudley was notable for opposing the
Sexual Offences Act 1967
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom (citation 1967 c. 60). It legalised homosexual acts in England and Wales, on the condition that they were consensual, in private and between two men who had attained t ...
, which partially decriminalized male homosexuality. He stated,
:"I cannot stand homosexuals. They are the most disgusting people in the world... Prison is much too good a place for them; in fact, that is a place where many of them like to go—for obvious reasons."
Gay rights activist
Peter Tatchell
Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is a British human rights campaigner, originally from Australia, best known for his work with LGBT social movements.
Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party's parliamentary candidate for Bermondsey ...
said, "The Earl of Dudley's contribution in the Lords sums up the level of the opposition's argument
o the bill"
Personal life
![Lady Rosemary Millicent Sutherland-Leveson-Gower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Lady_Rosemary_Millicent_Sutherland-Leveson-Gower.jpg)
Dudley married firstly Lady Rosemary Millicent Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1893–1930), only surviving daughter of
Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland
Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland, (20 July 1851– 27 June 1913), styled Lord Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower until 1858, Earl Gower between 1858 and 1861 and Marquess of Stafford between 1861 and 1892, was a Britis ...
, on 8 March 1919. She died in
a plane crash in 1930, aged 36. Their children were:
*
William Ward, 4th Earl of Dudley (1920–2013), who married Stella Carcano y Morra, a daughter of Don
Miguel Angel Carcano, who was the Argentine Ambassador to the U.K. They divorced in 1960 and he married the Scottish actress and socialite
Maureen Swanson.
* John Jeremy Ward (1922–1929), who died in childhood.
* Peter Alistair Ward (1926–2008), who married Claire Leonora Baring, a granddaughter of
Guy Baring, in 1956. They had several children including the actress and environmentalist
Tracy Louise Ward and actress
Rachel Ward
Rachel Claire Ward (born 12 September 1957) is an English-Australian before divorcing.
He married secondly
Viscountess (Frances) Laura Long née Charteris (1915–1990), daughter of Guy Lawrence Charteris and former wife of
Walter Long, 2nd Viscount Long, on 25 February 1943. The marriage was childless and they were divorced in 1954. Laura went on to marry
Michael Temple Canfield in 1960 and, after his death in 1969,
John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough
John Albert Edward William Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough, (18 September 1897 – 11 March 1972), styled Marquess of Blandford until 1934, was a British military officer and peer.
Early life
He was born in London on 18 September ...
shortly before his death. The Dowager Duchess of Marlborough died in 1990.
In 1961, Dudley married thirdly to Grace Maria (
née Kolin)
Radziwill (1923–2016), daughter of Dr. Michael Kolin and Anna Tironi of
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
,
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. Grace was the former wife of
Prince Stanislaus Radziwill (The Prince's third wife,
Lee Radziwiłł, was formerly married to
Michael Temple Canfield, the third husband of Ward's second wife,
Laura). This marriage was also childless.
Dudley died in December 1969, aged 75, and was succeeded by his eldest son
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
.
After his death, his widow lived with the American editor
Robert B. Silvers for nearly four decades from 1975 until her death in 2016.
Other relationships
He is said to have fathered a daughter, Judy Montagu, in 1923 with the aristocrat and socialite
Venetia Stanley
Venetia Anastasia Digby (née Stanley) (December 1600 – 1 May 1633) was a celebrated beauty of the Stuart period and the wife of a prominent courtier and scientist, Kenelm Digby. She was a granddaughter of Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Nort ...
, although the legal father was her husband
Edwin Samuel Montagu
Edwin Samuel Montagu PC (6 February 1879 – 15 November 1924) was a British Liberal politician who served as Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922. Montagu was a "radical" Liberal and the third practising Jew (after Sir Herber ...
. She grew up to befriend
Princess Margaret during
World War II
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 opposing ...
and marry the American photographer
Milton Gendel, with whom she created an artistic salon in Italy.
["A Six-Decade Roman Holiday". ''Vanity Fair'' November 2011.]
Mandy Rice-Davies
Marilyn Rice-Davies (21 October 1944 – 18 December 2014) was a Welsh model and showgirl best known for her association with Christine Keeler and her role in the Profumo affair, which discredited the Conservative government of British Prime Mi ...
claimed that the Earl was one of the customers at Murray's Cabaret Club, where she worked as a showgirl, and that he proposed to her when she was 17. "I could have been a dowager duchess by the time I was 22." she said.
Notes
References
* ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953.
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, William Ward, 3rd Earl of
1894 births
1969 deaths
Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1918–1922
UK MPs 1922–1923
UK MPs 1923–1924
UK MPs 1931–1935
UK MPs who inherited peerages
People educated at Eton College
British Army personnel of World War I
10th Royal Hussars officers
Recipients of the Military Cross
High Sheriffs of Worcestershire
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
Worcestershire Yeomanry officers
Staffordshire Yeomanry officers
English industrialists
Zoo owners
20th-century English businesspeople