William Gerald Charles Cadogan, 7th Earl Cadogan, MC, DL (13 February 1914 – 4 July 1997) was a British peer and professional soldier.

Early life

Born on 13 February 1914, he was the eldest son of Gerald Cadogan, 6th Earl Cadogan and his wife Lilian Cadogan. He 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 ...

, an all-boys

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

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 ...

Eton, Berkshire Eton ( ) is a town in Berkshire, England, on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor, connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The civil parish, which also includes the village of Eton Wick two miles west of the town, had ...

. He inherited his titles on the death of his father on 4 October 1933, his family seat at Culford Park was sold in 1935 and became

Culford School Culford School, formerly the East Anglian School for Boys, is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils age 1–18 in the village of Culford, north of Bury St Edmunds in ...

. On 12 May 1937, as a peer of the realm, he attended the

Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Elizabeth, as King of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realm, ...

Military service

Having attended

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 ...

, Cadogan was commissioned on 1 February 1934 as a second lieutenant in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. He transferred to the Supplementary Reserve of Officers on 3 June 1936, thereby becoming a part-time soldier. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 1 February 1937. On 12 April 1937, he transferred from the Coldstream Guards to the

Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was a Yeomanry regiment of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom established in 1794. It was disbanded as an independent Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when t ...

, Territorial Army, in the rank of second lieutenant. Cadogan saw active service 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 ...

. On 4 February 1943, as a lieutenant ( temporary

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

), he was 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) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East". On 1 May 1947, he transferred from the Reserve of Officers to the

, a Territorial Army unit of the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He relinquished his commission on 1 May 1948 and was granted the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel.

Later life

Cadogan held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of the County of London in 1958 and was Mayor of Chelsea in 1964. On his death in 1997 his titles passed to his son Charles Gerald John Cadogan, 8th Earl Cadogan.

Personal life

Cadogan married twice; firstly, on 11 June 1936 Primrose Lilian Yarde-Buller, daughter of John Reginald Lopes Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston of Churston Ferrers and Lupton and secondly Cecilia Margaret Hamilton-Wedderburn (10 March 1916 – 31 March 1999), daughter of Lt-Col. Henry Kellerman Hamilton-Wedderburn, on 13 January 1961. With his first wife he had four children, the eldest son of whom was his heir Charles Gerald John Cadogan, 8th Earl Cadogan. He was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and served as the Pro Grand Master of the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

from 1969 until 1982.

References

External links

* * Cadogan, William Charles, 7th Earl Cadogan, William Charles, 7th Earl Cadogan, William Charles, 7th Earl Cadogan, William Charles, 7th Earl People educated at Eton College W Members of Chelsea Metropolitan Borough Council Mayors of places in Greater London Coldstream Guards officers Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry officers British Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Military Cross Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England {{GB-earl-stub