Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Michael Guy Percival Willoughby, 11th Baron Middleton (21 October 1887 – 16 November 1970), was a British

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

and soldier.

Early life and barony

Born on 21 October 1887, Willoughby was the second son of

the Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

Ernest Willoughby and Ida Eleanora Constance Willoughby ( Ross); his father would become the 10th

Baron Middleton Baron Middleton, of Middleton in the County of Warwick, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, created in December 1711 for Sir Thomas Willoughby, 2nd Baronet, who had previously represented Nottinghamshire and Newark in Parliament. It wa ...

in 1922, following the death of his elder brother in 1916. He was educated at Wellington College, then an all-boys public school (i.e.

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

) in Berkshire, and at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

. His elder brother had been killed at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

in 1916 and so on the death of his father on 11 November 1924, Willoughby inherited the barony, becoming the 11th

. In 1925, he sold one of the family's estates,

Wollaton Hall Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuilding ...

and

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

, to the Nottingham Corporation for £200,000 (equivalent to £ million in ). That same year, Willoughby and his wife established their home as Wood Brow in Malton, Yorkshire, in addition to the family seat of Birdsall House, near Malton. In 1936, Willoughby was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant for the East Riding of Yorkshire. The office was established after the English Restoration in 1660, when a Lord Lieutenant was appointed for each Riding of Yorkshire. Since 1721, all Lor ...

. From 1931, he was President of

University College, Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

(later the University of Hull), and was its first

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

from 1954 to 1970. The 11th Baron Middleton died on 16 November 1970. A memorial service was held at

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

on 3 December and was attended by a number of representatives of the royal family.

Military career

Graduating from the Royal Military College on 9 October 1907, Willoughby was commissioned a second lieutenant in the South Lancashire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Volunteers). He transferred to the

17th Lancers The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regim ...

26 October 1907 and on 26 October 1909 to the 10th Duke of Cambridge's Own Lancers (Hodson's Horse) of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. He was promoted lieutenant 9 January 1910. Willoughby was stationed in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

at the outbreak of 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 ...

, as the regiment was not selected to go overseas, but in March 1915 he was sent to

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

attached to the 16th Cavalry, being promoted acting captain on 1 June 1915 and temporary captain 1 September 1915. He also served as the 6th Cavalry Brigades Machine Gun officer January to June 1916 before returning to the 16th Cavalry. In July 1916 he was attached to the 12th Cavalry until August when he returned to India to take over the 10th Duke of Cambridge's Own Lancers (Hodson's Horse) depot at Multan, that regiment now being selected for active service. In December 1916, it was announced that he had been awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

(MC) for "distinguished service in the Field in Mesopotamia". He was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

three times: published in the ''The London Gazette'' on 5 April 1916, 19 October 1916 and 12 June 1917. He was promoted from acting captain to captain 9 October 1916, later to be antedated to 1 September 1915. While at Multan he led two scratch squadrons of the regiment on the Marri punitive expedition between March and April 1918 and appointed acting major commanding the depot 28 January to 12 August 1918. He was relieved of command of the depot in August 1918. He was acting major again whilst second in command of a regiment 26 October 1918 to 11 February 1919 and promoted brevet major 3 June 1919 and major 9 October 1922. He resigned his army commission 1 November 1923. Lord Middleton rose through the ranks and became associated with

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

regiments of the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

. He first joined the

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under variou ...

as a lieutenant colonel and was promoted

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1928. He commanded the 5th and 30th Battalions of the

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

during 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 ...

Marriage and children

On 28 April 1920, Lord Middleton married Angela Florence Alfreda Hall, a daughter of Charles Hall, of Eddlethorpe. The couple had four children: * (Digby) Michael Godfrey John Willoughby, 12th Baron Middleton (1921–2011) *

The Hon. ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...

Angela Hermione Ida Willoughby (b. 1924) * The Hon. Jean Elizabeth Mary Willoughby (1928–2008), who married Sir Fergus Matheson, 7th Baronet and had issue. *

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

the Hon. Henry Ernest Christopher Willoughby (1932–2009) In 1925, Middleton discovered an early portrait of French painter Eugene Juillerat by

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...

, which Sargent had created when both were students of

Carolus-Duran Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917), was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of Upper class, high society in French Third Republic, Third Rep ...

in Paris. In 1957, Lord Middleton was appointed a Knight Companion of the Garter (KG). On his death in 1970, the barony passed to his elder son.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Michael Willoughby, 11th Baron 1887 births 1970 deaths British Indian Army officers Indian Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II East Yorkshire Regiment officers Knights of the Garter Knights of the Order of St John Lord-lieutenants of the East Riding of Yorkshire Recipients of the Military Cross South Lancashire Regiment officers 17th Lancers officers Green Howards officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Michael 11 British colonels Younger sons of barons