William Humble David Ward, 4th Earl of Dudley (5 January 1920 – 16 November 2013), styled Viscount Ednam from 1932 to 1969, was a British peer, a member of 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 ...

from 1969 to 1999.

Early life

Ward was the son of

William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley William Humble Eric Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley, MC TD (30 January 1894 – 26 December 1969), known as Viscount Ednam until 1932, was a British Conservative Party politician. Early life Lord Dudley was the eldest son of William Ward, 2nd Earl o ...

, and Lady Rosemary Millicent Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, only surviving daughter of

Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland (20 July 1851– 27 June 1913), styled Lord Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower until 1858, Earl Gower between 1858 and 1861 and Marquess of Stafford between 1861 and 1892, was a British ...

. He was a godson of the

Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his Abdication of Edward VIII, abdication on 11 December 1936. The Duchy, dukedom takes its name from ...

and was brought up at Himley Hall at a time when the family owned 30,000 acres in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

and

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

. In July 1930, his mother was killed in the

Meopham air disaster The Meopham Air Disaster occurred on 21 July 1930 when a Junkers F.13ge flying from Le Touquet to Croydon with two crew and four passengers crashed near Meopham, Kent, with the loss of all on board. The report of the inquiry into the accident w ...

. His father was a close friend of the Prince of Wales, later

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

, who spent his last weekend as king at Himley Hall, before his abdication in 1936. Educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, the future 4th Earl was commissioned into the Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own), and was wounded on active service in 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 ...

. Between 1942 and 1943 he served as aide-de-camp to Field Marshal Archibald Wavell the

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

After the war

Dudley ceased to sit as a member of the Lords on 11 November 1999, following the retirement of many of the hereditary seats from the legislature by the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

. He was the paternal uncle of actress and former model

Rachel Ward Rachel Claire Ward (born 12 September 1957) is an English-Australian actress,

and the environmental activist

Tracy Louise Ward Tracy Louise Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort (née Ward; born 22 December 1958) is a British duchess, environmental activist, and former actress. She is usually known as Tracy Worcester, the married Style (form of address), style that she often ...

(now Duchess of Beaufort) who are the daughters of the 4th Earl's youngest brother, the Hon. Peter Alistair Ward.

Family

Lord Dudley married firstly Stella Carcano y Morra, daughter of Dr. Don Miguel Angel Carcano. They married on 10 January 1946 and had three children: * (William Humble) David (Jeremy) Ward, 5th Earl of Dudley (born 27 March 1947). He married Sarah Mary Coats, on 3 July 1972.; they were divorced in 1976. He then married Debra Louise Pinney, in 1976. They had a daughter, Bethany Rowena Ward, in 1977, and were divorced in 1980. He succeeded his father as 5th Earl of Dudley and 15th Baron Ward upon his father's death, where at that time he was living in France. * Lady Rosemary Millicent Ward (born 26 May 1955), twin, married on 26 April 1980 Castor Cañedo. Lady Rosemary has one daughter, and lives in Spain. * Lady Anne-Marie Ines Ward (born 26 May 1955), twin, married in 1978 Laureano Pérez-Andújar y Gimena. They were divorced in 1993. Lord and Lady Dudley divorced in 1960. Lord Dudley remarried in

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, south-east of Aylesbury and north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There ar ...

on 24 August 1961. His second wife was

Maureen Swanson Maureen Ward, Countess of Dudley (25 November 1932 – 16 November 2011), was a British actress. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, she was the daughter of James Swanson. As Maureen Swanson, she featured in British pictures during the 1950s and retired ...

the Scottish actress and socialite (25 November 1932 – 16 November 2011). Together they had seven children: * Hon. William Ward (

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can often result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. T ...

21 October 1961) * Lady Susanna Louise Ward (born 23 May 1963), * Lady Melissa Patricia Eileen Ward (born 18 July 1964), married in 1991 to Simon Puxley; has daughter (India Ward Puxley) * Lady Victoria Larissa Cecilia Ward (born 28 May 1966), Has son (George Ward-Carstairs) * Lady Amelia Maureen Erica Ward (born 5 September 1967), * Lady (Emma Sophia) Cressida Ward (born 7 January 1970), married to Dr Ludovic Toro (civil service in July 2011 in London and on 1 October 2011 in Sicily in a Roman Catholic wedding), whom she met while working in Paris and where she now lives. They have a son William Raffaele Vittorio Toro born 26 June 2012; Lady Cressida Ward has a daughter from a prior relationship (Lily Rose Ward Davis; born 2 November 2004). She works in medical PR. * Hon. Leander Grenville Dudley Ward (born 31 October 1971), film-maker, married British journalist Laura Sevier on 23 July 2011. They had a daughter, Leyla Atalanta Ward, on 14 October 2012, and a second daughter, Alana Mae Ward, on 8 May 2014.

Death

The 4th Earl died on 16 November 2013 and was laid to rest in the private burial ground of the Earls of Dudley at the rear of the parish church at

Himley Himley is a small village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, west of Dudley and southwest of Wolverhampton. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 802. Himley Hall was the home of the Lords of Dudley. History Himley parish b ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, William Ward, 4th Earl of 1920 births 2013 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 4 People educated at Eton College Royal Hussars officers

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...