Edmund Maurice Burke Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy (15 May 1885 – 8 July 1955) was a British Conservative Party politician who held a title in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

Early life

Roche was born on 15 May 1885 in Chelsea, London.Williamson, D ''The Ancestry of Lady Diana Spencer'' In: ''Genealogist's Magazine'', 1981; vol. 20 (no. 6) p. 192–199 and vol. 20 (no. 8) p. 281–282 He was the elder of twin sons of the Hon. James Roche (later 3rd Baron Fermoy) and Frances Ellen Work. The Roches separated in December 1886, later divorcing in 1891, with James Roche agreeing to relinquish custody of his sons to his wife's father, multi-millionaire stockbroker Frank Work, in exchange for Work paying Roche's debts. From his parents' marriage, he had an elder sister, Cynthia Roche (who married Arthur Scott Burden and, after his death, Guy Fairfax Cary). He was educated at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and graduated in 1909. As a condition of their

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

, Work stipulated that Maurice and his twin brother Francis "shall assume and retain the name 'Work' in place of the name 'Roche'", and must not travel to Europe or marry a European; Maurice ignored the edicts. Roche returned to England on succeeding to his father's

Irish peerage The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

in 1920. He was a naturalized American citizen, but resumed British nationality following his succession to the title.

Career

He rented Park House at Sandringham, Norfolk, from the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

. At the 1924 general election, he contested and won the local parliamentary constituency,

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

, holding the seat until he stood down at the 1935 general election.''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 9 July 1955; p. 8 col. D He was also elected the town's

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

in 1931.

Later life

Lord Fermoy joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in 1939 at the start of

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 ...

, but when the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for King's Lynn was killed on active service in 1943, he resigned his commission and stood for re-election. He retired from politics when

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

was dissolved for the 1945 general election. Lord Fermoy was a member of the shooting party organized by

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

on 5 February 1952, on the grounds of Sandringham, which was the King's last full day alive.

Personal life

On 17 September 1931, Lord Fermoy married Ruth Sylvia Gill at St. Devenick's, Bieldside,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

with a reception held at Dalhebity. Ruth was the youngest daughter of Ruth ( Littlejohn) Gill and Col. William Smith Gill Before his death, they were the parents of three children: * The Hon. Mary Cynthia Roche (19 August 1934 – 3 March 2023), who married the Hon. Anthony Berry, a son of Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley. They divorced in 1966 and she married Denis Geoghegan. They divorced in 1980 and she married Michael Gunningham. They divorced in 1989. Mary Roche later trained as a teacher. * The Hon. Frances Ruth Roche (20 January 1936 – 3 June 2004), who married John Spencer, Viscount Althorp. One of their daughters was

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

. Frances divorced Spencer in 1969 and she later married Peter Shand Kydd. * The Hon. Edmund James Burke Roche (20 March 1939 – 19 August 1984), later the 5th Baron Fermoy, who married Lavinia Pitman. Lord Fermoy collapsed in a shop at

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, in June 1955 and died three weeks later, on July 8. He was succeeded by his only son,

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

. Lord Fermoy is buried in the churchyard of St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham.

Legacy

His life was the subject of the book ''Lilac Days'', by Gavan Naden and Maxine Riddington (

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

()), where it was claimed he had a 30-year affair with an American, Edith Travis.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fermoy, Maurice Roche, 4th Baron 1885 births 1955 deaths Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea English twins Harvard University alumni Barons Fermoy Maurice English people of American descent English people of Irish descent Royal Air Force officers

Roche F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche (), is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational corporation, multinational holding healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, ...

UK MPs who inherited peerages Royal Air Force personnel of World War II People from Chelsea, London Politicians from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Mayors of King's Lynn English emigrants to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States