William Henry Lawrence Peter Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 8th Earl Fitzwilliam, DSO (31 December 1910 – 13 May 1948), styled Viscount Milton before 1943, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

soldier,

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, and peer, with a seat in 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 ...

Early life

The fifth child and only son of the

William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 7th Earl Fitzwilliam William "Billy" Charles de Meuron Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 7th Earl Fitzwilliam, (25 July 1872 – 15 February 1943), styled Viscount Milton from 1877 to 1902, was a British Army officer, nobleman, politician, and aristocrat. Early life and cont ...

and his wife Lady Maud Dundas (a daughter of

Lawrence Dundas, 1st Marquess of Zetland Lawrence Dundas, 1st Marquess of Zetland, (16 August 1844 – 11 March 1929), known as Lawrence Dundas until 1873 and as the Earl of Zetland from 1873 to 1892, was a British hereditary peer and Conservative statesman. He was Lord Lieutenant ...

), he was born at the family's seat of

Wentworth Woodhouse Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Wentworth, South Yorkshire, Wentworth, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is currently owned by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation T ...

. On 20 July 1929, after serving as a Cadet in the

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 ...

Contingent (June Division) of the

Officer Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

Royal Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England, continuing until 1971 when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of ...

on the Supplementary Reserve of Officers.

Second World War

During the Second World War, Lord Milton (as he then was) served with distinction in the

Commandos A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as opp ...

and later with the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

, gaining a

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

Family life

Milton married, on 19 April 1933, Olive Dorothea "Obby" Plunket (died 1975), a daughter of

Benjamin Plunket Benjamin John Plunket was a 20th-century Anglican bishop in Ireland. Plunket was the son of William Plunket, 4th Baron Plunket, and Anne Lee Guinness (sister of the Lord Ardilaun). Born in Bray on 1 August 1870, he was educated at the Harrow Scho ...

Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry The Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry is the Church of Ireland Ordinary of the united Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry in the Province of Armagh.''Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). Th ...

, and a granddaughter of

William Plunket, 4th Baron Plunket William Conyngham Plunket, 4th Baron Plunket (26 August 1828 – 1 April 1897) was Dean of Christ Church Cathedral and Archbishop of Dublin in the Church of Ireland. Life Born in Dublin, he was the eldest son of John Plunket, 3rd Baron Plun ...

, who was

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

. They had one daughter, Lady Anne Juliet Dorothea Maud Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, born on 24 January 1935. In 1943 he inherited the Earldom and a great fortune in land, houses, and art, from his father. In Lord Fitzwilliam's later years his marriage was in disarray, partly due to Olive's

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

, and at the time of his death he was seeking a divorce in order to marry someone else. From 1946 he had been romantically linked with the widowed

Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington Kathleen Agnes Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington (; February 20, 1920 – May 13, 1948), also known as "Kick" Kennedy, was an American socialite. She was the second daughter of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald, a sister of U.S. P ...

, sister of the future U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. She was killed with him in an air crash on 13 May 1948, although the nature of their relationship was not made clear in the newspaper accounts at the time. On his death, leaving no son, Fitzwilliam's peerages passed to his second cousin once removed, Eric Spencer Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, but his fortune, then estimated at £45 million, including half of the Wentworth Woodhouse estate, the Coollattin estate in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

, Ireland, and a large part of the Fitzwilliam art collection, were inherited by his thirteen-year-old daughter, the present

Lady Juliet Tadgell Lady Ann Juliet Dorothea Maud Tadgell (''née'' Wentworth-Fitzwilliam; born 24 January 1935), previously Marchioness of Bristol, is a British heiress, race horse breeder, and landowner. She consistently appears on the ''Sunday Times'' Rich Lis ...

In popular culture

* Fitzwilliam is portrayed by

Thomas Gibson Thomas Ellis Gibson (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and director best known for his roles as Aaron Hotchner on ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–16), Greg Montgomery on '' Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002) and Daniel Nyland on '' Chicago Hope'' ...

in the

television mini-series In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. "Limited series" is a ...

The Kennedys of Massachusetts ''The Kennedys of Massachusetts'' is a 1990 television miniseries that aired on ABC. Focusing mainly on the fifty-four-year marriage of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy. The events depicted in the series are based upon the book by Dori ...

'' (1990) and by Larry Carter in the film ''Lives and Deaths of the Poets'' (2011).

Ancestry

References

External links

Peter Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 8th Earl Fitzwilliam
{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzWilliam, Peter Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 8th Earl 1910 births 1948 deaths Military personnel from South Yorkshire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Scots Greys officers British Army personnel of World War II British Special Operations Executive personnel Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in France British Army Commandos officers Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain Earls Fitzwilliam Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1948