Commander Francis Lawrance William Venables-Vernon, 9th Baron Vernon DL (6 November 1889 – 18 March 1963), styled The Honourable Francis Venables-Vernon from 1889 to 1915, was a British soldier.

Early life

Lord Vernon was born on 6 November 1889 into the prominent

Vernon family The Vernon family was a wealthy, prolific and widespread English family with 11th-century origins in Vernon, Normandy, France. Their extant titles include Baron Vernon and Vernon baronets of Shotwick Park. Vernon of Shipbrook, Cheshire William ...

. He was the son of George Venables-Vernon, 7th Baron Vernon, and Frances Margaret Lawrance (a daughter of Francis C. Lawrance, of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

). His sister, Frances Lawrance Venables-Vernon, married

Maurice Raoul-Duval Maurice Raoul-Duval (27 April 1866 – 5 May 1916) was a French polo player who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics. Early life Raoul-Duval was born on 27 April 27, 1866 in Le Pecq. He was the son of Fernand Raoul-Duval (1833–1892), a mi ...

and his elder brother, George Francis Augustus Venables-Vernon, 8th Baron Vernon, died in 1915 from illness contracted while on service in

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

before attending

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

Career

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he fought in the North Sea and Mediterranean, gaining the rank of Lieutenant-Commander in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. He retired from the Navy during March 1919 and was promoted to Commander on the retired list in 1929. Upon the death of his elder brother on 10 November 1915, he succeeded as the 9th Baron Vernon, along with around of land in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

and

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of Derbyshire.

Personal life

On 9 February 1915, he married Violet Miriam Nightingale Clay (–1978), daughter of Col. Charles Herbert Clay of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

and Violet Harriet Nightingale (a daughter of Sir Henry Nightingale, 13th Baronet). Together, they were the parents of: * Hon. Avice Irene Venables-Vernon (1919–1964), who married Lt.-Col. Francis William Marten, son of

Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Sir Francis Arthur Marten, in 1940. * John Lawrance Venables-Vernon, 10th Baron Vernon (1923–2000), who married Sheila Jean Clark, a daughter of William Marshall Clark, in 1955. They divorced in 1982 and he married Sally June Stratford, a daughter of Robin Stratford, in 1982. Lord Vernon died at Sudbury Hall on 18 March 1963 at age 73. Four years after his death, his son John gifted the family seat,

Sudbury Hall Sudbury Hall is a country house in Sudbury, Derbyshire, England. One of the country's finest Restoration mansions, it has Grade I listed building status, and the garden is Grade II listed in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens. T ...

, to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

in 1967.Sudbury Hall information at the National Trust
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Descendants

Through his daughter Avice, he was a grandfather of Michael Francis Marten, who married Lady Caroline St Clair-Erskine (only daughter of Anthony St Clair-Erskine, 6th Earl of Rosslyn) in 1991.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, U.S.A.:

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 3, pps. 3999-4000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Francis Venables-Vernon, 9th Baron 1889 births 1963 deaths Francis 9 People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Deputy lieutenants of Derbyshire