John Cavendish Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham, (23 October 1881 – 31 July 1949), was a British peer, soldier, and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician from the

Lyttelton family The Lyttelton family (sometimes spelled Littleton) is a British nobility, British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Lyttelton family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Lyttelton family inclu ...

Biography

Cobham was the eldest son of Charles Lyttelton, 8th Viscount Cobham, and the Hon. Mary Susan Caroline Cavendish, daughter of William Cavendish, 2nd Baron Chesham.

Alfred Lyttelton Alfred Lyttelton KC (7 February 1857 – 5 July 1913) was a British politician and sportsman from the Lyttelton family who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sport ...

was his uncle. He was educated at Eton. Like his father and his uncle, Cobham was a successful cricketer. He represented

Worcestershire County Cricket Club Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Worcestershire. Its Vitality Blast T20 team has been rebranded ...

in three first-class matches during 1924–5. He was President of

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

in 1935, again emulating his father and uncle. Lyttelton was commissioned a second lieutenant in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

on 4 December 1901, and served with the regiment in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He returned home with the ''SS Kinfauns Castle'' after the war had ended, leaving

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

in early August 1902. After a couple of months on leave, during which there were formal celebrations as he attained his majority, he re-joined the regiment in South Africa in late 1902, but soon returned home on the SS ''Ortona'' with 900 officers and men of the 4th battalion as they were ordered home in January 1903. From 1905 to 1908 he was again back in South Africa as aide-de-camp to the High Commissioner. Lyttelton was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

for Droitwich in the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 UK general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a constitutional crisis after the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the People's Budget, the Liberal government, seeking a mandate, los ...

, a seat he held until his resignation 1916 (being appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead). During the

First World War 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 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 in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, the Sinai and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. He succeeded his father as ninth Viscount Cobham in 1922 and entered 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 ...

. In 1939 he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for War in the government of

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from ...

, a position he retained until May 1940. Apart from his political and military career, he was also Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire from 1923 to 1949.

Marriage and children

Cobham married Violet, daughter of Charles Leonard, on 30 June 1908. They had five children together: * Charles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham (8 August 1909 – 20 March 1977) * The Hon Meriel Catherine Lyttelton (1 May 1911 – 11 November 1930) * The Hon Viola Maud Lyttelton (10 June 1912 – 3 May 1987), married Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster * The Hon Audrey Lavinia Lyttelton (3 August 1918 – 3 March 2007) * The Hon Lavinia Mary Yolande Lyttelton (21 August 1921 – 4 July 2007) Cobham died in July 1949, aged 67, and was succeeded in his titles by his son

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, who later served as

Governor-General of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand () is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and lives in the United Kingdom, he, on the Advice ...

. Lord Cobham is buried in the Lyttleton family plot at

St John the Baptist Church, Hagley Hagley is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is on the boundary of the West Midlands and Worcestershire counties between the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and Kidderminster. Its estimated population was 7,162 in 2019. ...

. Lady Cobham died in 1966.

Notes

References

* * * * contains his Wisden obituary from the

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cobham, John Lyttelton, 9th Viscount 1881 births 1949 deaths Rifle Brigade officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Lyttleton, John Lyttleton, John Lord-lieutenants of Worcestershire People educated at Eton College Lyttleton, John Lyttleton, John Lyttleton, John Lyttleton, John UK MPs who inherited peerages Lyttleton, John British Army personnel of World War I John Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham War Office personnel in World War II 9 Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940