George William Reginald Victor Coventry, 10th Earl of Coventry (10 September 1900 - 27 May 1940)Hammond, P.W., ed., ''The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Vol. XIV'' (Stroud, 1998), 212. was the son of George William Coventry, Viscount Deerhurst and Virginia Bonynge (born Daniels), step- and adopted daughter of Charles Bonynge. As his father predeceased his grandfather, the 10th Earl was his grandfather's heir to the earldom. George Coventry inherited both the earldom and the viscountcy on 13 March 1930. He was educated at

Ludgrove School Ludgrove School is an English independent school, independent boys' Preparatory school (UK), preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed ...

and

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 ...

Politics

Standing as a Unionist, Coventry unsuccessfully stood in the Carmarthen Constituency in the 1922 General Election.

Military service

Coventry was a

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 ...

in the 7th Battalion,

Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regiment ...

, which was part of the original Expeditionary Force sent to France in September 1939. His regiment was subsequently evacuated during the retreat from Dunkirk; Coventry was killed in action 27 May 1940 at

La Bassée La Bassée () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry Personalities La Bassée was the birthplace of the painter and draftsman Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845). Another native was Ignace Franç ...

, during the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk () was fought around the French Third Republic, French port of Dunkirk, Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies of World War II, Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle ...

which preceded it. He is buried in the communal cemetery at

Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée (, literally ''Givenchy near La Bassée''; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village situated west of La Bassée, east of Béthune and sou ...

. A memorial service was held at Croome Church in Worcester on 21 July 1940.

Family and personal life

He married the Honourable Nesta Donne Philipps in September 1921; they had four children. His youngest child, also named George William Coventry and subsequently 11th Earl of Coventry was born at

Croome Court Croome Court is a mid-18th-century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Upton-upon-Severn in south Worcestershire, England. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown ...

on 25 January 1934. The 10th earl's daughters were Anne Donne, Joan Blanche, and Maria Alice Coventry. In 1932, he was appointed the Deputy Lieutenant for the county of

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

. He served as a

company director A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

of the London and Thames Haven Oil Wharves Limited. Coventry enjoyed hunting and was the Master of the Carmarthenshire Hounds, the Hawkstone Hounds as well as the Croome Hounds.

References

1900 births 1940 deaths Worcestershire Regiment officers British Army personnel killed in World War II Earls of Coventry Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers 20th-century English nobility Military personnel from Worcestershire Deputy lieutenants of Worcestershire People educated at Ludgrove School Burials in Hauts-de-France {{British-Army-bio-stub