Geoffrey Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave

Coat of Arms of Geoffrey Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave: Per pale argent and gules.

Geoffrey Noel Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave, KG, GCVO, TD (21 November 1905 – 23 May 1995), known as Viscount Chewton from 1933 to 1936, was a British peer and agriculturist.

Background and education

Waldegrave was the only son of the Rev. Henry Waldegrave, 11th Earl Waldegrave and was educated at Winchester and graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1928.

Political career

In 1936, he succeeded to his father's titles and became a member of Somerset County Council in 1937. During World War II, he served with the Royal Artillery (Territorial Army) and was afterwards awarded the Legion of Merit and the Territorial Decoration.

Lord Waldegrave's career thereafter was as: chairman of the Agricultural Executive Council 1948–51; a member of the Prince's Council of the Duchy of Cornwall 1951–58; and 1965–76; a Liaison Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire 1952–57; a Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1958–62; chairman of the Forestry Commission 1963–65; a member of the BBC General Advisory Council 1963–66; a director of Lloyds Bank 1964–76; Lord Warden of the Stannaries 1965–76; chairman of the Advisory Committee on Meat Research 1969–73 and President of Somerset Trust Nature Conservation 1964–80.

In 1976, he was made an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Bristol and was awarded the Garter and the GCVO in 1971 and 1976, respectively.

Family

On 22 October 1930, he married Mary Hermione Grenfell (a great-niece of Francis Grenfell, 1st Baron Grenfell); the couple had seven children:

• Lady Sarah Waldegrave (born 23 October 1931) she married Ernest Wright (d. 2012) on 19 February 1955. They have two sons:
  • Thomas Geoffrey Wright (b. 15 January 1956)
  • David Wright (b. 22 July 1957)
• Lady Jane Waldegrave (b. 25 January 1934) she married Euan Howard, 4th Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal on 20 February 1954 and they were divorced in June 1977. They have six children. She remarried Duncan McIntosh on 22 September 1977
• Lady Elizabeth Waldegrave (4 April 1936 – 19 February 2003) she married John James Evelyn Dewar, 4th Baron Forteviot on 17 October 1963. They have four children:
  • Hon. Mary Emma Jeronima Dewar (b. 1 June 1965)
  • Hon. Miranda Phoebe Dewar (b. 1 March 1968)
  • Hon. Henrietta Cynthia Dewar (b. 27 January 1970)
  • Hon. Alexander John Edward Dewar (b. 4 March 1971)
• Lady Anne Waldegrave (b. 24 December 1937) she married Sir Jack Boles (25 June 1925 – 1 July 2013) in 1971.
• Lady Susan Waldegrave (b. 1 May 1939) she married Marmaduke, Lord Hussey of North Bradley (29 August 1923 – 27 December 2006) on 25 April 1959. They have two children:
  • James Arthur Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley (b. 15 August 1961)
  • Hon. Katharine Elizabeth Hussey (b. 1 February 1964)
• James Waldegrave, 13th Earl Waldegrave (b. 8 December 1940) he married Mary Furness in 1986, and they were divorced in 1996. They have two sons:
  • Edward Robert Waldegrave, Viscount Chewton (b. 10 October 1986)
  • Hon. Robert Arthur Riversdale Waldegrave (b. 1989)
• William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill (b. 25 August 1946) he married Caroline Linda Margaret Burrows in 1977. They have four children:
  • Hon. Katherine Waldegrave
  • Hon. Elizabeth Waldegrave
  • Hon. James Waldegrave
  • Hon. Harriet Waldegrave

Lord Waldegrave died in 1995, aged 89 and was succeeded by his eldest son.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl Waldegrave