Sybil Rachel Betty Cecile Cholmondeley, Marchioness of Cholmondeley ( , born Sybil Rachel Betty Cecile Sassoon; 30 January 1894 – 26 December 1989), styled Countess of Rocksavage from 1913 to 1923, was a British socialite, patron of the arts, and Chief Staff Officer in the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the World War I, First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in ...

(WRNS) 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 ...

. She belonged to the prominent Sassoon and

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families.

Family and life

Sybil Sassoon was born in London, to a

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family. She was the daughter of Sir Edward Sassoon (1856–1912), 2nd Bt., and Baroness Aline Caroline de Rothschild (1865–1909). Her brother was Sir Philip Sassoon. On 6 August 1913, she married George Cholmondeley, Earl of Rocksavage (19 May 1883 – 16 September 1968). He later succeeded as the 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley. They had two sons and one daughter: * Lady Aline Caroline Cholmondeley (5 October 1916 – 30 June 2015) * George ''Hugh'' Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley (24 April 1919 – 13 March 1990) * Lord John George Cholmondeley (15 November 1920 – October 1986) Houghton Hall 01

Lady Cholmondeley was largely responsible for restoring her husband's family estate,

Houghton Hall Houghton Hall ( ) is a country house in the parish of Houghton in Norfolk, England. It is the residence of the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley. It was commissioned by the '' de facto'' first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, in 1722, ...

, to its former glory. She was a generous patron of the arts and had an extensive art collection by the time of her death. The Sybil Sassoon Gardens at Houghton were opened to the public in 1996. Lady Sybil's grandson, the current marquess, developed the gardens in honour of his grandmother. In 2008, the garden was named

Historic Houses Association Historic Houses (formerly, and still for legal purposes, known as the Historic Houses Association or HHA) is a not-for-profit organisation that represents well over a thousand independently owned historic English country house, country houses, ...

and

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Garden of the Year. In "the pool garden", the entwined initials "SS" are represented in the outlines of the clipped box-hedge which surrounds plantings of lavender and rosemary. She is buried in the Church of St Martin on the Houghton Hall estate. Through her son George Hugh Cholmondeley, Sybil is the great-grandmother of actor Jack Huston. The Countess of Rocksavage 1922

She was Chief Staff Officer to Director WRNS from 12 November 1939 until 1946. On 9 February 1945 she was appointed as Superintendent of the

(WRNS) and the following year was made

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Titles

She was identified by a number of changing titles during the several phases of her life: * 1894–1913: ''Miss'' Sybil Sassoon * 1913–1923: Countess of Rocksavage * 1923–1946: ''The Most Honourable'' The Marchioness of Cholmondeley * 1946–1968: ''The Most Honourable'' The Marchioness of Cholmondeley,

* 1968–1989: ''The Most Honourable'' The Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley,

Honours

* 1939–1945 ''Superintendent'' in ''Women's Royal Naval Service'' * 1939–1946 ''Chief Staff Officer'' in ''Women's Royal Naval Service'' *

1946 Birthday Honours The 1946 King's Birthday Honours, celebrating the official birthday of King George VI, were announced on 13 June 1946 for the United Kingdom and British Empire. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new ...

Commander of Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

'' (CBE)

Notes

References

* Mosley, Charles Mosley. (2003). ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage.'' Stokesley : Burke's Peerage & Gentry, 2003. ; * Stansky, Peter. (2003)
''Sassoon: the Worlds of Philip and Sybil.''
New Haven:

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External links