William Herbrand Sackville, 10th Earl De La Warr ( 16 October 1921 – 9 February 1988) was a British peer. He inherited the earldom on 28 January 1976 on the death of his father Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr. Earl De La Warr 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 fought in

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 opposin ...

, attaining the rank of captain in the Parachute Regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. After the war, on 18 May 1946, he married Anne Rachel Devas (grandniece of a former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ( né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 19 ...

). They had three children: * William Herbrand Sackville, 11th Earl De La Warr, born 10 April 1948 * Thomas Geoffrey Sackville, born 26 October 1950 * Lady Arabella Avice Diana Sackville, 20 June 1958 – 18 June 2022 In September 1981, the Earl allowed ''Doctor Who'' to film on his large tranche of

Ashdown Forest Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is situated some south of London in the county of East Sussex, England. Rising to an elevation o ...

for the episode Black Orchid.shannonsulivan.com
/ref> In the autumn of 1987, the earl offered to sell that forest, the direct inspiration for the

Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character was the book ''Win ...

stories, to the

East Sussex County Council East Sussex County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex. East Sussex is divided into five local government districts. Three are larger, rural, districts (from west to east: Lewes; Wealden; and Rother). ...

at a below-market price of £1.2 million for the . As young children, the future earl and

Christopher Robin Milne Christopher Robin Milne (21 August 1920 – 20 April 1996) was an English author and bookseller and the only child of author A. A. Milne. As a child, he was the basis of the character Christopher Robin in his father's Winnie-the-Pooh stories a ...

had played together there. Milne himself joined conservationists to prevent the forest from being sold piecemeal to private owners, and to oppose BP's plan to prospect and extract oil there. The sale to the council was concluded after the earl's death, making the forest public land. On 9 February 1988, at age 66, Earl De La Warr died after falling under a train at the St James's Park station of the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

. An inquest ruled the death to be a suicide, with a jury finding that the earl had been "anxious and upset over

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

damage to his estate".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De La Warr, William Sackville, 10th Earl Of 1921 births 1988 suicides 10 5

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 ...

William Sackville, 10 Earl De La Warr Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Deputy Lieutenants of East Sussex People educated at Eton College British Parachute Regiment officers Suicides in Westminster British politicians who committed suicide British military personnel who committed suicide 1988 deaths Suicides by train British Army personnel of World War II