Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster, (8 December 1907 – 29 March 1983) styled Lord Willoughby de Eresby from 1910 to 1951, was a British

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politician.

Early life

Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby was a son of Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 2nd Earl of Ancaster, and American heiress Eloise Lawrence Breese. His younger brother John died unmarried in 1970, and his two sisters, Lady Catherine and Lady Priscilla, married John St Maur Ramsden and Col. Sir John Renton Aird, 3rd Baronet, respectively. He was educated at Eton and

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

. At Cambridge, Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby was a member of the University Pitt Club.

Career

In 1933 he was elected to the

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as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutland and Stamford, and held this seat until 1950. The seat had previously been held by his uncle, Claud Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby. From 1933 to 1935, Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby was " Baby of the House", the youngest member of the House of Commons. He served 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 ...

as a major in the 153rd

Leicestershire Yeomanry The Leicestershire Yeomanry (Prince Albert's Own) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794 and again in 1803, which provided cavalry and mounted infantry in the Second Boer War and the First World War and provided two fie ...

Regiment of 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 ...

in the 5th Guards Armoured Brigade, and was

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. Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby was awarded the Territorial Decoration (TD) in 1945 and in 1971 became a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO). In 1951, he was summoned to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Willoughby de Eresby. Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby succeeded as third Earl of Ancaster later that year upon the death of his father. Apart from his political career, he was also

Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire The Lord-Lieutenant of Lincolnshire () is the British monarch's personal representative in the county of Lincolnshire. Historically, the lord-lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lord-lieutenant's responsibi ...

from 1950 to 1975 and Joint

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from 1951 to 1983. He was appointed a county Justice of the Peace (JP) in 1937 and in 1977 a Deputy Lieutenant for Lincolnshire.

Personal life

On 27 July 1933, Lord Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby married Nancy Phyllis Louise Astor (1909–1975), the only daughter of Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor and Nancy Astor (the American-born British politician who was the first female Member of Parliament to take her seat). Together, James and Nancy were the parents of two children, one son and one daughter: * Nancy Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby (born 1 December 1934) * Timothy Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby (born 19 March 1936), his son and heir who went missing at sea off

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in 1963. His wife died on 2 March 1975. Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby died in March 1983, aged 75. On his death, the earldom of Ancaster and barony of Aveland became extinct, while he was succeeded in the ancient barony of Willoughby de Eresby by his daughter Nancy, who also succeeded him as joint

. His Heathcote baronetcy was inherited by his distant relative Gilbert Simon Heathcote.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th Edition, edited by Charles Mosley, Wilmington, Delaware, 2003, vol III, p. 4196, .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ancaster, James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of 1907 births 1983 deaths Astor family Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Barons Willoughby de Eresby Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British Army personnel of World War II Earls of Ancaster Heathcote baronets Heathcote family Livingston family Lord-lieutenants of Lincolnshire People educated at Eton College Royal Artillery officers UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs who inherited peerages