Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Geoffrey Alexander Rowley-Conwy, 9th Baron Langford, (8 March 1912 – 12 November 2017) was a British-Irish peer and

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer. He is the longest-lived peer on record.

Biography

The only son of two children born to Major Geoffrey Seymour Rowley-Conwy (1877 – 10 August 1915), who was killed in action at

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 ' ...

, and Bertha Gabrielle Cochran, JP (1880–1984), Langford was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

and

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

. Commissioned a second lieutenant in 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 ...

on 1 September 1932, he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 1 September 1935 and to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 1 September 1940. He served as an army officer with the Royal Artillery in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, being captured at the Japanese taking of Singapore in 1942, but escaping, before seeing further active service in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. In May 1943, by then a temporary

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for distinguished service in the South-West Pacific theatre. He reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1945, and was promoted to the substantive rank of major on 1 July 1946. On 1 April 1954, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and retired from the regular army on 31 December 1957. He was appointed an Honorary Colonel in 1967. He inherited the Bodrhyddan estate in

Rhuddlan Rhuddlan () is a town, community, and electoral ward in Denbighshire, Wales. Its associated urban zone is mainly on the right bank of the Clwyd; it is directly south of seafront town Rhyl. It gave its name to the Welsh district of Rhuddlan ...

, on the death of his unmarried and childless paternal uncle

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Rafe Grenville Rowley-Conwy RN CMG in April 1951 and succeeded to the Barony as the ninth holder of the title on the death of his childless second cousin once removed Arthur Sholto Langford Rowley, 8th

Baron Langford Baron Langford, of Summerhill in the County of Meath, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 1 July 1800 for Clotworthy Rowley, who had earlier represented Trim and County Meath in the Irish House of Commons. Born Clotworthy Ta ...

CMG in August 1953. He was Constable of

Rhuddlan Castle Rhuddlan Castle (; ) is a castle located in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, Wales. It was erected by Edward I in 1277, following the First Welsh War. Much of the work was overseen by master mason James of Saint George. Rhuddlan, which was not compl ...

and

Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

of Rhuddlan. He

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

in March 2012. He died on 12 November 2017 at the age of 105.

Marriage and children

He married, firstly, Ruth St John Murphy (died 1991), on 24 January 1939. She was the daughter of Albert St John Murphy and Rose Davis, of The Island House, Little Island,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, Ireland. They divorced in 1956. They had no children. He married, secondly, Grete von Freiesleben (11 September 1922 – 16 January 1973), on 7 February 1957. She was the daughter of Colonel Erik Theodor Christian von Freiesleben, of Hjortekaer,

Kongens Lyngby Kongens Lyngby (, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping street and the site ...

, Copenhagen, Ch Kings's Adj's Staff to His Majesty The King of Denmark. They had three children and seven grandchildren: * Peter Alexander Rowley-Conwy (1951); he married Deborah Jane Stevens in 1979. They have two children: **Gabrielle Catrin Rowley-Conwy (1984) **Eleanor Rowley-Conwy (1986) *John Seymour Rowley-Conwy (1955); he married Emma Brown in 1983. They have three children: **Katherine Grete Clare Rowley-Conwy (1985) **William Geoffrey Peter Rowley-Conwy (1988) **Huw Grenville Rowley-Conwy (1993) *Owain Grenville Rowley-Conwy, 10th Baron Langford (27 December 1958); he married Joanna Featherstone on 3 May 1986. They have two children:They divorced and he married Lorraine Hennequin on the 17th Oct 2008 (now Lady Langford) **Hon. Thomas Alexander Rowley-Conwy (20 March 1987) **Hon. Magdalene Guinevere Rowley-Conwy (9 October 1988) He married, thirdly, Susan Winifred Denham, daughter of Cyril Henry Charles Denham, of

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

, Denbighshire,

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, on 3 February 1975. Lady Langford is a patron of St Kentigern Hospice,

St Asaph St Asaph (; "church on the Elwy") is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and community (Wales), community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population ...

. They have two children: *Hon. Christopher Geoffrey Hugh Rowley-Conwy (19 March 1978); he married Robina Khan on 25 August 2007. *Hon. Charlotte Susan Gabrielle Rowley-Conwy (9 October 1980). He was succeeded by his third son (but the first legitimate son) from his second marriage, Hon. Owain Grenville Rowley-Conwy (born 1958).

References

External links

Bodrhyddan Hall website

Lord Langford visits Rhuddlan Nature Reserve

Bodrhyddan Manuscripts

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langford, Geoffrey Alexander Rowley-Conwy, 9th Baron 1912 births 2017 deaths British Army colonels Barons in the Peerage of Ireland British men centenarians Deputy lieutenants in Wales Officers of the Order of the British Empire

Geoffrey Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (given name), including a list of people with the name Geoffrey or Geoffroy * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (musician) (born 1987), Canadian ...

Royal Artillery officers Escapees from Japanese detention British people imprisoned in Japan British Army personnel of World War II People educated at Marlborough College

Biography

Marriage and children

See also

References

Further reading

External links