_. Prudence Elizabeth Coats [nee Strettel], died 26 October, 2020, aged 95. She was born in 1925, a daughter of Colonel Eric Francis Dashwood Strettel, OBE [1894-1970], by his wife the former Margaret Scrimgeour [1901-81]; married in London, 18 Apr, 1952, Major Archibald James Coats [1916-1989], scion of the Coats baronets, son of Ernest Symington Coats [1873-1938], by his wife the former Nora Pountney, & leaves a daughter, Lucy Margaret [born 1961].
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_. The engagement was announced 29 October, 2020, between Alexander William Harcourt Winterbotham [born 1988], son of James John Winterbotham, of Reydon, co Suffolk, by his wife the former Hon Emmeline Veronica Louise Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone [born 3 Nov 1958], & Emily C. Keen, daughter of the late Colonel Michael Keen, and Mrs Keen, of Upton Lovell, Wiltshire.
Alexander Winterbotham is a grandson maternally of the 5th Baron Derwent, LVO [born 30 Oct, 1930].
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_. The Hon Catherine Ellen-Jane [Kitty] Haughton [nee Flight, born 1975], wife of Giles Henry E. Flight [born 1973], gave birth to a son, Christopher Henry Emerson [Kit], 14 October, 2020, a brother for Mathilda Anna Beatrice, who was born 1 Aug, 2014.
The Hon Kitty Flight is a daughter of Howard Emerson Flight, the Baron Flight, Conservative peer [born 16 June, 1948], who served as Conservative MP for Arundel and South Downs, 1997-2005, by his wife the former Christabel Diana Beatrice Norbury [born 1946].
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_. Cecilia Mary Veronica Beddows, who died 9 October, 2020, was a scion of the Vardon landed gentry family. Born in 1931, daughter of Henry George Evelyn Vardon [1888-1951], by his wife Cecilia Laura Lenox-Conyngham [1899-1991], scion of that landed gentry family; married 1959, Maj. Ian Alexander Beddows, TD [1920-2005], son of Col. William John Beddows, MC, TD, by his wife the former Esme Lesa McBean [1887-1961], by whom she had issue, two sons, Patrick and Philip, and a daughter, Diana.
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_. The engagement was announced 17 October, 2020, between James William R. Blanshard [born 1992], son of Nigel Grove Blanshard [born 1958], of Walchwil, Zug, Switzerland, by his wife the former Christine Hilda Oliver [born 1959], & Flora Katharine Louise Bowring [born 1994], younger daughter of Thomas Geoffrey Bowring [born 1949], of Halton Park, Lancaster, by his wife the former Amanda Jane Graham Moon [born 1958], scion of the Moon baronets, daughter of Major John Cecil Graham Moon [1916-2006], &c.
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_.[Francis] Conor ffrench-Davis died 18 October, 2020, aged 79.
Mr ffrench-Davis was descended from the ancient Barons Stourton. His ancestor was Charles Philip Stourton, 17th Baron Stourton [1752-1816], seated at Allerton Park, co York. His peerage was created in 1448.
He was born 30 June, 1941, son of Capt. Francis Holdsworth ffrench-Davis [1908-44], by his wife the former Ingrid Margaret Mary MacDermot [1914-2003]; married 21 July, 1962, Prudence Mary Fiona [Prue] Smith-Wright [born 1944], daughter of John Evelyn Smith-Wright, by his wife the former Cicely Nolan, by whom he had four sons and two daughters.
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_.The engagement was announced 24 October, 2020, between Francis Augustus Roderick North [born 9 June, 1990], scion of the North baronets, the younger son of Sir Jeremy William Francis North, 3rd Baronet [born 5 May, 1960], of Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, and Mrs Lucy North [nee van der Meulen], of Wilsford, Wiltshire, and Courtney E Jevons, younger daughter of Mr and Mrs Mark Jevons, of Clapham, London.
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_. Viscountess Hall, third wife, and widow, of the 2nd Viscount Hall, has died aged 78.
She was the former Marie-Colette Bache, and married William George Leonard Hall, 2nd Viscount [who was born 1913], in 1975. He died 24 July, 1985, when his peerage became extinct.
The funeral takes place at the church of Saint-Viâtre [Loir-et-Cher, France], 30 Oct, 2020.
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-. The Marchioness of Dufferin & Ava, the artist and conservationist, chatelaine of the Clandeboye estate in Northern Ireland, died 26 October, 2020, aged 79.
She was a member of the Guinness dynasty, born Serena Belinda Rosemary Guinness [always known as 'Lindy'] 25 March, 1941, daughter of Group Capt Thomas Loel Evelyn Bulkeley Guinness [1906-88], by his wife the Lady Isabel Violet Kathleen Manners [1918-2008], daughter of the 9th Duke of Rutland [1886-1940].
She married 21 Oct, 1964, Sheridan Frederick Terence Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th and last Marquess of Dufferin & Ava [1938-1988], a Trustee of the Wallace Collection, who had succeeded his father, killed in action in Burma, 25 March, 1945. The marriage was childless, and Lord Dufferin & Ava died 29 May, 1988.
Lindy Dufferin was a friend of David Hockney and Truman Capote. She poured her energy into the upkeep and preservation of Clandeboye, Co Down, one of the few great private estates in Northern Ireland that remained in the ownership of the original family.
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_. Colonel Rodney Windsor, CBE, DL, died 21 October, 2020. He was 95.
Col Windsor, late The Queen's Bays and the North Irish Horse regiments, was born in 1925, son of Maurice Windsor by his wife the former Elsie Meredith. He married 1stly, 26 April, 1951, Deirdre Willa Chichester, scion of the Marquesses of Donegall, daughter of Lt-Col Arthur O'Neill Cubitt Chichester, OBE, MC [1889-1972]; married 2ndly, 6 April, 1994, as her third husband, Mrs Margery Angela Hamilton Stainton [nee Wills] [1922-2012], a member of the Wills tobacco family, scion of the Wills baronets and Barons Dulverton, former wife of [1] Capt Anthony Tabor, and widow of [2] Thomas Stainton.
Colonel Windsor leaves two sons and a daughter from his first union.
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_. The Rev Edmund Selwyn Haviland, who died 17 October, 2020, aged 96, was born in 1924, son of the Rev Edmund Arthur Haviland [1874-1966], by his wife the former Vivienne Selwyn Brown [1894-1996]; married 1957 [div 1985] Gillian Margaret Johnstone [born 1935], scion of the Johnstone baronets, daughter of Andrew Wauchope Johnstone [1903-80], by his wife the former Eleanor Blanche Helen Margaretta Vere-Laurie [1907-80], a descendant of the Viscounts Massereene. He leaves a son, Andrew, and three daughters, Margaret, Angela and Jane.
The funeral takes place at Salisbury Cathedral, 4 Nov, 2020.
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_. The engagement was announced 27 October, 2020, between Frederick John [Freddie] Muirhead [born 1990], son of Mr & Mrs Martin Muirhead, of Whitstable, Kent, & Jessica Patricia J. Ffennell [born 1989], descended from thre Earls of Harrowby, daughter of Simon Walter Hugh Ffennell [born 10 Dec, 1956], of Martyr Worthy, Winchester, Hampshire, by his wife the former Lucinda Mary Ringrose-Voase [born 20 June, 1961], scion of that landed gentry family.
Jessica Ffennell's grandfather, Denzil Walter Hugh Ffennell [who died in 1977], married 10 June, 1955, Jane Christine Ryder [1927-2017], a great-great granddaughter of Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby [1762-1847].
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_. Luisa Edwina Howard, who died 18 October, 2020, aged 89, was a scion of the Viscounts Portman.
She was born Luisa Edwina Portman, 6 June, 1931, daughter of Brigadier Guy Maurice Berkeley Portman [1890-1961], by his wife the former Miriam Katherine Taylor [1894-1975].
Her father was a great-grandson of the 1st Viscount Portman [1799-1888], and a great-great grandson of the 2nd Earl of Harewood [1767-1841]. Her mother, was a daughter of George William Taylor [1864-1929], by his wife the former Lady Elizabeth Emma Geraldine Egerton [1865-1953], daughter of the 4th Earl of Wilton [1839-98]. She married 29 May, 1952, Christopher David Howard [1928-1991], by whom she had two daughters, Davina Elizabeth [born 1953], and Belinda Jane [born 1956].
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_. Lavinia Patricia Courage, who died 23 October, 2020, was the wife of Major-General Walter James Courage, CB, MBE [b 25 Sept, 1940, who assumed the surname of Courage in lieu of his patronymic]. She was the former Lavinia Patricia Wood, daughter of John Emerson Crawhall Wood. Her husband was a son of Walter Henry Phipps [1905-1982], by his former wife Nancy Mary Reeves, who married as her 2nd husband, Lieutenant-Colonel Nigel Anthony Courage, MC [1906-65], of that landed gentry family. She leaves two children, a son, Sebastian and a daughter Camilla, wife of Alexander Stanier [born 1970], heir to the Stanier baronetcy.
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_. Mary Arden McDermot, who died 19 October, 2020, aged 96, was a grandaughter of the 5th Baron Norton.
She was born Mary Arden Norton, in 1924, a daughter of Major-General Sir Alan John Hunter, KCVO, CB, CMG, DSO, MC [1881-1942], by his wife the Hon Joan Adderley [1889-1988], daughter of the 5th Baron Norton [1854-1945]; and married in 1949, Brian Charles McDermot, CBE, LVO [1914-2003], son of Percy John Vincent McDermot [1875-1955], by his wife the former Eveleen Mary Blanche O'Connor [1892-1925], by whom she had seven sons and two daughters.
Her husband, a member of HM Diplomatic Service, was HM Consul General, Oporto, 1962-68, and Ambassaor and Consul-General, Paraguay, 1968-72.
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_. Gerard Lionel Gordon Noel, who died 20 October, 2020, aged 93, was a scion of the Earls of Gainsborough.
He was born 9 April, 1927, son of Commander Montague Wriothesley Noel, RN [1892-1941], by his wife the former Christabel Florence Arthur Startin [died 1965]; he was educated at Marlborough, served as a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, &c. He was descended from the Noel baronets, who in turn descended from Baptist Noel, 4th Earl of Gainsborough [1708-51].
He married 28 June, 1965, Caroline Patricia Griffith-Williams [died 2009], daughter of Brigadier Eric Llewellyn Griffith Griffith-Williams, by whom he had five children.
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_. The marriage took place 24 October, 2020, in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, Palace of Westminster, between the Hon Robert Carington [born 7 December, 1990], only son and heir of the 7th Baron Carrington [born 2 Dec, 1948], by his wife the former Daniela Diotallevi, & Olga Litchman, daughter of Mr & Mrs Victor Litchman, of Tallin, Estonia.
Robert is a grandson of the Tory grandee, Peter, the 6th Baron Carrington, KG [1919-2018].
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_. Jonathan Crown, who died 16 September, 2020, was born in 1964, son of Leon Crown [formerly Cohen]; married 1962, Jennifer Bridget Vyvyan-Robinson, the operatic soprano, scion of the Vyvyan baronets.
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_. The engagement was announced 21 October, 2020, between Charles Case, son of Mr & Mrs Nicholas Case, of Wigginton, co Oxfordshire, & Alice Diana Maltby [born 1992], daughter of William John Maltby [born 1959], of Baughurst, Hampshire, by his wife the former Sarah Catherine Ekins [born 1961].
Alice Maltby is a granddaughter of John Newcombe Maltby, CBE [1928-1998], by his wife the former Lady Sylvia Veronica Anthea Harris [born 1934], daughter of the 6th Earl of Malmesbury [1907-2000].
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_. The engagement was announced 22 October, 2020, between Christopher John Calvocoressi [born 1988], scion of that landed gentry family, youngest son of James Melville Ion Calvocoressi [born 1948], of Markbeech, Kent, by his wife the former Richenda Victoria Hanson [born 1949], & Sophie Louise Avent [born 1989], daughter of Martin D.S. Avent [born 1962], and Mrs Jane Avent [nee Turtle, born 1960], of Castle Hedingham, co Essex.
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_. Rose Katharine Lucy Dashwood [nee Langley, born 1988], wife of James Gordon Robert Dashwood [born 1984], gave birth to a son, Peregrine 'Reggie' Christopher Gordon, 13 Oct, 2020.
James Dashwood is a son of Robert Thomas Dashwood [1955-2015], by his wife the former Georgina M. Harris [born 1956]. He married in 2019, Rose Langley, daughter of Christopher J.M. Langley [born 1946], by his wife the former Diana Constance Mary Crewdson [born 1959], daughter of Wilson Peregrine Nicholas Crewdson [1926-2014], by his wife the Hon Lucy Clare Beckett [1926-1999], daughter of the 3rd Baron Grimthorpe [1891-1963].
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_. Jill Paton Walsh, who died 18 October, 2020, aged 83, was a novelist ranging from children’s stories to Dorothy Sayers mysteries, and wife, for only a month, of the 3rd Baron Hemingford.
Her novel Knowledge of Angels was turned down by 19 British publishers, but the Booker Prize judges thought differently and shortlisted it.
She was born Gillian Bliss, in North Finchley, 29 April, 1937, the oldest of four children of John Llewellyn Bliss, an engineer and pioneering television cameraman, and his wife Patricia (Patsy).
At Oxford she met Antony Paton Walsh, whom she married in 1961.
The journalist Jan Moir once observed that her no-nonsense “leader of the local Brownie pack” appearance belied a “volcanic love-life”. In the 1970s she fell deeply in love with John Rowe Townsend, but refused to leave her husband for some years until her younger daughter had turned 18.
She and Townsend finally married in 2004 after her first husband’s death. She was devastated when Townsend died in 2014, but found renewed happiness with the journalist and peer Dennis Nicholas [Nick] Herbert, the 3rd Baron Hemingford [born 25 July 1934], Deputy Chief Executive of Westminster Press, 1992-95 [Editorial Director, 1974-92]. The couple broadcast their nuptials last month, on YouTube, with family members around the world attending virtually via Zoom on a big screen.
Jill Paton Walsh, who was appointed CBE in 1996, is survived by her husband and the son and two daughters of her first marriage.
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Sir John Sykes, 10th Baronet, has died at the age of 78.
Francis John Badcock Sykes was born 7 June, 1942, son of Sir Francis Godfrey Sykes, 9th Baronet [1907-1990], by his wife the former Eira Betty Badcock [1907-70]. he succeeded to the baronetcy on his father's death, 19 April, 1990.
Sir John [Baronetcy cr GB, 1781] married 30 Apr, 1966, Susan Alexandra Ashmore, daughter of Admiral Sir Edward Ashmore, GCB, DSC [1919-2016], by his wife the former Elizabeth Mary Doveton Sturdee, scion of the Sturdee baronets, by whom he had issue, three sons, Francis, Edward and Alexander. The eldest son, Francis Charles Sykes [born 18 June, 1968], succeeds to the baronetcy.
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_. The Lord Churchill, 6th Baron, died 19 October, 2020, aged 94.
Richard Harry Ramsay Spencer was born 11 October, 1926, the son of Colonel Richard Augustus Spencer [1888-1956], by his wife the former Maude Evelyn Ramsay [died 1989], scion of the Earls of Dalhousie.
He married firstly, 19 April, 1958, Antoinette Rose-Marie de Charrière [1928-1994], daughter of Godefroy de Charrière,of Perverenges, Lausanne, Switzerland ; he married secondly, in 1999, Cressida Josephine Alice de Hallé.
He succeeded to the barony of Churchill [created in 1815], on the demise of his kinsman, the 3rd and last Viscount Churchill, 18 October, 2017.
The peerage was created for his ancestor, Francis Almeric Spencer [1779-1845], a younger son of George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough [1738-1817].
Lord Churchill had two sons from his first marriage, the Hon Michael Spencer and the Hon David Spencer. The peerage now passes to the elder son, Michael Richard de Charrière Spencer, who was born 9 November, 1960.
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