Mervyn Horatio Herbert, 17th Baron Darcy de Knayth, styled Viscount Clive (7 May 1904 – 23 March 1943), was a British peer and

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 ...

officer.

Early life

Styled the Honourable Mervyn Horatio Herbert from birth, he was the second son of George Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis, and his wife Violet, ''suo jure'' 16th Baroness Darcy de Knayth. His elder brother Percy, twelve years his senior, died of wounds received in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

in 1916, at which point Mervyn became heir to his father's title

Earl of Powis Earl of Powis (Powys) is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 in favour of William Herbert, 3rd Baron Powis, a descendant of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (c. 1501–15 ...

and took 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 ...

Viscount Clive. In 1929, at the death of his mother, he inherited the title of Baron Darcy de Knayth, making him a peer in his own right (while retaining the higher title of Viscount Clive by courtesy).

Career

Mervyn was educated at

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 ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, graduating as

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

He then studied law at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

and was called to the bar as a barrister in 1929. He was also a justice of the peace for the county of Shropshire, where he owned Styche Hall near

Market Drayton Market Drayton is a market town and civil parish on the banks of the River Tern in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is close to the Cheshire and Staffordshire borders. It is located between the towns of Whitchurch, Shropshire, Wh ...

, birthplace home of his direct ancestor

Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British East ...

. Mervyn followed in his brother's footsteps by fighting for Britain, gaining the rank of

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

. A recreational

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

, he enlisted at the outbreak of 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 ...

in 1939 as an Aircraftsman, was promoted

Flight Sergeant Flight sergeant (commonly abbreviated to Flt Sgt, F/Sgt, FSGT or, currently correctly in the RAF, FS) is a senior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structur ...

and later commissioned. At time of his death, he was serving with No. 157 Squadron RAF, a

Mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

night fighter squadron then based at

RAF Bradwell Bay Royal Air Force Bradwell Bay or more simply RAF Bradwell Bay is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Maldon, Essex, England and south west of West Mersea, Essex. History The central area of the current airfield was first laid do ...

, Essex. He died in 1943, aged thirty-eight, while flying on active service, and was buried in the churchyard of Christ Church, Welshpool. He was participating in a training night exercise when his Mosquito intercepted a Stirling bomber returning from a leaflet dropping raid in Europe, following which the Mosquito crashed into the ground near

Manningtree Manningtree is a town and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England, which lies on the River Stour. It is part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Smallest town claim Manningtree has traditionall ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, killing both Herbert and his navigator Albert Eastwood. There were suggestions friendly fire from the Stirling or anti-aircraft guns caused the crash.

Personal life

In 1934, he married Vida Cuthbert (1910–2003), daughter of Capt. James Cuthbert DSO, later lady-in-waiting to the

Duchess of Gloucester Duchess of Gloucester is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Gloucester. There have been five titles referring to Gloucester since the 14th century. The current duchess is Birgitt ...

. They had a daughter, Davina (1938–2008). Upon his death, Lord Clive's barony passed to his four-year-old daughter. His father was left without a son so on his death his earldom passed to a distant cousin. In 1946, the widowed Lady Clive remarried, to Brigadier Derek Schreiber, chief of staff to the Governor-General of Australia.

References

External links

ThePeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clive, Mervyn Herbert, Viscount, 17th Baron Darcy De Knayth 1904 births 1943 deaths Clive Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Heirs apparent who never acceded People educated at Eton College Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Mervyn 17 Royal Air Force squadron leaders 20th-century English nobility Younger sons of earls