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John Ian Robert Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford (24 May 1917 – 25 October 2002), styled Lord Howland until 1940, and styled Marquess of Tavistock from 1940 until 1953, was a writer and a British peer. As a businessman, the Duke and J. Chipperfield founded Woburn Safari Park, a commercial addition and expansion of the tourist business of
Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...
, the family seat.


Background and education

John Ian Robert Russell was born the son of Hastings Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford and Louisa Russell, Duchess of Bedford. Russell had a strained relationship with his father and grandfather for their refusing him an allowance that he (Ian) felt would be suitable and sufficient for a future Duke of Bedford. In youth, the 13th Duke of Bedford was known as ''Ian'', and addressed with the
courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...
''Lord Howland''. At his father's succession to the dukedom of Bedford in 1940, and his consequent adoption of the courtesy title "Lord Howland", Ian then acquired the courtesy title ''Marquess of Tavistock'' until he became Duke of Bedford in the 1950s.


Career

Ian Russell began as a rent collector in 1938, in
Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...
. In 1939, he joined the
Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...
and fought in the
Second World War 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 ...
between 1939 and 1940, but left the army after being invalided. In 1940, he became a reporter for the ''
Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
''. In 1948, he emigrated to the
Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...
where he farmed in the
Paarl Paarl (; ; derived from ''parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a city with 294,457 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the largest city in the Boland, Western Cape, Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni ...
area, before returning to the UK upon succeeding to his father's estates. In 1953, at the death of his father, the 12th Duke of Bedford, Russell then faced death-duty taxes of $14 million, but paid that tax debt by commercialising the house and lands of
Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...
, and charging admission to the local public and foreign tourists, in 1955, instead of handing over the family estates to the
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty 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 ...
, and later expanded the Woburn Abbey business with the creation and addition of the Woburn Safari Park, in 1970. Russell's commercialisation of his Woburn Abbey property alienated some peers from being his friends and neighbours. In response to the aristocratic scorn about the commercial vulgarity of a profitable safari park, Russell said that: “I do not relish the scorn of the peerage, but it is better to be looked down on than
o be O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...
overlooked”. As a writer of books, Russell has published: *''A Silver-Plated Spoon'' (1959) *''The Duke of Bedford's Book of Snobs'' (1965) with George Mikes *''The Flying Duchess'' (1968) about Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford *''How to Run a Stately Home'' (1971) with George Mikes Russell was one of the few UK owners of a new 1958 Edsel Citation sedan motorcar, which he bought soon after the Ford car company launched the car model in September 1957; Russell's Edsel was registered “1 MMC”. In 1958, Russell hosted the radio programme ''The Duke Disks'', transmitted on
Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
featuring " Que Será, Será" as his signature song, which also was the motto of the Russell family. He appeared in British, American, and West German feature films and television programmes, including ''
The Iron Maiden ''The Iron Maiden'' is a 1963 British comedy film. The film was directed by Gerald Thomas, and stars Michael Craig (actor), Michael Craig, Anne Helm, Jeff Donnell and Alan Hale Jr. There are minor roles for ''Carry On (series), Carry On'' stal ...
'' (filmed partially at Woburn); '' V.I.P.-Schaukel'', with '' Margret Dünser''; ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
''; and '' The Golden Shot''. He was named to the
International Best Dressed List The International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List was founded by fashionista Eleanor Lambert in 1940 as an attempt to boost the reputation of American fashion at the time. The American magazine '' Vanity Fair'' is currently in charge of the List ...
Hall of Fame in 1985.


Family

Russell married three times; his wives were: *Clare Gwendolen Hollway (1903 – 1 September 1945), daughter of Ernest John Bridgeman (
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, 22 September 1883 – 18 July 1955) and Jessica "Jessie", née Weir. Previously the wife of Major Kenneth Chamney Walpole Hollway, she had been the mistress of several men, including Sir Hugh Smiley, a brother-in-law of
Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as costume designer and set designer for stage and screen. His accolades ...
, who reportedly spent "much of his inheritance" on jewels for her. She died of an
overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. Retrieved on September 20, 2014.
of sodium amytal tablets, which she took in front of her husband. The Russells had two children: ** Henry Robin Ian Russell, 14th Duke of Bedford (1940–2003) ** Lord Rudolf Russell (b. 7 March 1944), married in 1989 (div 2008) Farah Diana Moghaddam (d. 2010) *Lydia Lyle (17 October 1917 – 25 July 2006), daughter of John Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston and Denise (''née'' Orme); this duchess was the widow of Ian Archibald de Hoghton Lyle (1909–1942), heir to a baronetcy, by which marriage she brought to Woburn two step-children. Married on 13 February 1947 and divorced in 1960, they had one child: ** Lord Francis Hastings Russell (b. 27 February 1950), married in 1971 Mrs Faith Diane Carrington (''née'' Ibrahim), a
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
-born model * Nicole Milinaire (29 June 1920 – 7 September 2012, née Schneider), a French television producer, former courier for the
French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
, and former wife of businessman Henri Milinaire on 4 September 1960; they had no issue but she brought four stepchildren to the marriage. Bedford and his last duchess became
tax exile A tax exile is a person who leaves a country to avoid the payment of income tax or other taxes. The term refers to an individual who already owes money to the tax authorities or wishes to avoid being liable in the future for taxation at what they ...
s in 1974, eventually settling in
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
. He died in Santa Fe, Santa Fe County,
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, in 2002.


References

* "Burke's Peerage and Baronetage"


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, John Russell, 13th Duke Of 1917 births 2002 deaths 20th-century British writers British Army personnel of World War II British expatriates in Monaco British expatriates in the United States British male journalists Coldstream Guards officers 413 I Journalists from London 20th-century English male writers 20th-century British non-fiction writers 20th-century English nobility
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...