The Hon Rosemary 'Romaire' Maitland, who died 27 March, 2024, aged 93, was the last surviving daughter of the 1st (and last) Baron Abertay, KBE, JP, DL (1875-1940).
She was born Rosemary Ethel Coupar Barrie in 1931, middle daughter of the 1st Baron Abertay and his wife the former Ethel Broom, and married 1952, John Stuart Maitland (who died 2008), by whom she had issue, three sons and one daughter.
The barony of Abertay became extinct with her father's death, 6 Dec, 1940.
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Clementine Mary R. Lowe (born 1991, née Francklin), wife of Frederick James Lowe (born 1991), gave birth to a son, Harry Alexander, 12 March, 2024.
Clementine Lowe is a daughter of William Alexander Mavourn Francklin (born 1958), scion of that landed gentry family, and his wife the former Celina Lucinda Palmer (born 15 May, 1961), scion of the Palmer baronets, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Christopher John Palmer, 12th Baronet (born 30 June, 1936).
Fred Lowe is descended from the Baker baronets:-
Sir George Edward Dunstan Sherston Baker, 4th Baronet > Henrietta Baker > Michael Chapman > Nicola Chapman > Fred Lowe
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Rosie Jean B. Macpherson [née Atkinson, born 1989], wife of Charles Edward Ian Macpherson [born 1989], gave birth to a daughter, Clover Coco Bewley, 25 March, 2024, a sister for Milo (born 2020), and Albie (born 2022).
Rosie is a daughter of Nigel Atkinson. Charles Macpherson is a son of Nigel Charles Blake Macpherson, and his wife the former Georgina Lily Fleur Mountain [born 1 Aug, 1959], scion of the Mountain baronets, daughter of Sir Denis Mountain, 3rd Baronet [1929-2005].
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Major Tom Wills, Coldstream Guards, scion of the Wills baronets, died 20 March, 2024. He was 83.
He was owner of Miserden Park, a grand Jacobean manor with expansive, intricately laid out grounds near Stroud in Gloucestershire. He was High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1985, and appointed Exon HM Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard in 1993
He was born 31 May, 1940, (twin with a brother Frederick), a son of Major Michael Desmond Hamilton Wills, MC (1915-1943), Coldstream Guards, and his wife Mary Margaret Mitford (1916-2006), scion of that landed gentry family. His mother married 2ndly, 1947, Colonel Sir Martin St John Valentine Gibbs, KCVO, CB, DSO (1917-1992, of The Manor House, Ewen, near Cirencester.
Wills married in 1982 (div 1992), Penelope Howard-Baker (born 1953), daughter of Benjamin Howard-Baker, of Glascoed Hall, Llansilin, Shropshire, by his wife the former Ann Layfield, by whom he had issue, a son, Nicholas James Noel Hamilton Wills (born 1983), now of Miderden, and a daughter, Camilla Jane Hamilton Wills (born 1985).
Miserden was built in the early 17th century by the Sandys family. The natural scenery of Miserden, where it’s situated, is spectacular: its gardens overlook the River Frome and a deer park, while its grounds incorporate woodland and farmland. This magical, multifaceted estate in a Cotswolds hamlet, also called Miserden, has evolved gradually as successive owners have left their mark on it.
In the 1920s, Edwin Lutyens made a significant contribution to Miserden, which scooped the Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award in 2018; this has been presented annually since 1984 and is sponsored by Christie’s. In 1919, (Frederick) Noel Hamilton Wills (1887-1927), (grandfather of Maj Tom), bought the property in 1913 — and commissioned Lutyens to design a new east wing with an arched loggia after the house was badly damaged by a fire. He also created a loggia and a striking topiary yew walk featuring crenellations echoing those of the loggia.
It seems to run in the Wills family to be green-fingered. Tom Wills, a grandson of Noel and his wife the former Margery Fraser moved into the estate after his grandmother died in 1980 and devoted himself for 40 years to maintaining her legacy, while making his own additions, largely inspired by his passion for trees and forestry. In 2013, he planted a circle of lime trees opposite the house to mark the centenary of the Wills family owning Miserden. He also established its arboretum, planting about 75 per cent of its trees.
Maj Tom Wills was appointed LVO by Queen Elizabeth II.
A private funeral for family and those of Miserden village, by invitation, will be held on Wednesday 10 April, 2024. There will be a Memorial Service at the Parish Church of St John Baptist, Cirencester on Wednesday 15 May, 2024.
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Elisabeth, Baroness Amherst of Hackney, who died 18 March, 2024, aged 80, was the widow of the 4th Baron Amherst of Hackney.
She was born in 1943, a daughter of Hugh Humphrey Merriman, DSO, MC, TD (1910-1983), of Letts Green, Knockholt, Kent, and his wife the former Anne Margaret Holden Illingworth (1914-1998), scion of that landed gentry family; and married 30 March, 1965, the then Hon William Hugh Amherst Cecil (born 28 December, 1940), son and heir of Major the 3rd Baron Amherst of Hackney, CBE (1912-80), and his wife the former Margaret Eirene Clifton Brown (1921-2009). Her husband succeeded his father as 4th Baron, 22 July, 1980, and died 2 April, 2009.
Lady Amherst of Hackney leaves issue, a son, William, the 5th Baron (born 17 July, 1968), and a daughter the Hon Aurelia (who was born 19 July, 1966).
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The Lady Anne Elizabeth Grania Phipps, who died 18 March, 2024, aged 58, was the seventh and youngest child of the 4th Marquis of Normanby, KG, CBE (1912-1994), of Mulgrave Castle, Whitby, by his wife the former Hon Grania Maeve Rosura Guinness, OBE (1920-2018), scion of the Barons Moyne.
She was unmarried. The funeral Service and Interment take place on Thursday 4th April 2024, at St Oswald's Church, Lythe, Whitby, North Yorkshire.
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(Helen) Vernon Wallop Bruce, who has died aged 96, was a scion of the Earls of Portsmouth.
She was born 16 December, 1927, the second daughter of Vice-Admiral Sir Peveril Barton Reibey William-Powlett, KCB, KCMG, CBE, DSO (1898-1985), and his wife Helen Constance Forbes Crombie (1903-1965); and married 17 May, 1951, Lieutenant-Commander Henry Victor Bruce of Salloch, RN, DL (1924-2011), a scion of the Earls of Elgin & Kincardine, eldest son of Capt the Hon John Bernard Bruce, RN (1892-1971), and his wife the former Helen Rachel Rawstorne (who died 1983), by whom she had issue, two sons, Peveril John Bruce of Salloch (born 6 Oct, 1953), and Maj-Gen Alastair Andrew Bernard Reibey Bruce of Crionaich, OBE, Governor of Edinburgh Castle, journalist, TV correspondent and herald (born 25 June, 1960), and two daughters, Robina Helen (born 27 May, 1952), and Lucinda Jane (born 1 January, 1956).
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The engagement was announced 23 March, 2024, between Hans Husmann, only son of Mr and Mrs Uwe W Husmann of Hansestadt Stralsund, Western Pomerania, Germany, and Eliza Flora Cooke-Yarborough (born 1993), elder daughter of Sir Anthony Edmund Cooke-Yarborough, 13th Baronet (born 6 August, 1956), of Barford St Michael, Oxfordshire, and his wife the former Joanna Susan Northrop (born 1957).
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The engagement was announced 23 March, 2024, between George Edmund Hamilton Wills (born 1993), scion of the Barons Dulverton, second son of Christopher Aubrey Hamilton Wills (born 21 February, 1953), of Litchfield, Hampshire, and his wife the Lady Katharine Anne Meade (born 10 Aug, 1959), scion of the Earls of Clanwilliam, & Emma V.B. Thompson, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Michael Gavin Thompson, of Wadhurst, East Sussex.
George Wills is a grandson maternally of the late 6th Earl of Clanwilliam (1914-1989).
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The marriage took place, 2 March, 2024, between Robert Benjamin (Ben) Erskine-Hill (born 6 August, 1986), son and heir of Sir Alexander Roger Erskine-Hill of Quothquhan, 3rd Baronet (born 15 Aug, 1949), of Blairgowrie, Perthshire, and his wife the former Sarah Anne Sydenham Clarke, & Rebecca Dominique Connell (born 1988).
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The engagement was announced 21 March, 2024, between Charles Crespigny Hussey Vivian, 7th Baron Vivian (born 20 December, 1966), son of the late 6th Baron Vivian (1935-2004), and his first wife the former Catherine Joyce Hope (born 1939), scion of that landed gentry family, & Saweda Kamara, only daughter of the late Mr Alex Kamara and Mrs Jeanette Eccles-James (née Smythe-Macaulay), of Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Lord Vivian is the 7th Baron (Peerage of the UK, cr 1841), and a Baronet (cr 1828). His mother married secondly, as his 2nd wife, 5 June, 1972, the 8th Earl of Mexborough (born 16 May, 1931).
Lord Vivian married firstly in 2011 (div), Mrs M. Elizabeth Wimpress, daughter of Gregory Vatterott of St Louis, Missouri, USA. He has no children, and the heir presumptive to his peerage and baronetcy is his cousin, Thomas Crespigny Brabazon Vivian (born 17 January, 1971).
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The Hon Hyacinthe Anne Peterken, who died 9 March, 1924, aged 89, was a scion of the Barons Hatherton.
She was born Hyacinthe Anne Littleton, 14 April, 1934, daughter of then then Hon Thomas Charles Tasman Littleton (born 6 Oct, 1907), (3rd son of the 4th Baron Hatherton), and his wife the former Ann Scott McLeod (who died 1994). Her father was a younger brother of the 5th Baron Hatherton (1900-1969), and the 6th Baron (1906-1973), and he succeeded to the peerage on his brother's demise, 27 June, 1973. The 7th Baron Hatherton died 28 September, 1985, and was succeeded by his cousin.
She married 10 March, 1955, Patrick Peterken, son of A.A. Peterken, by whom she had issue, sons, Patrick and Nicholas and a daughter, Frances.
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Joanna Kate Ponsonby [nee Sutton, born 1987], wife of Frederick Edward Ponsonby [born 1986], scion of the Ponsonby baronets, gave birth to a daughter, Tessa Tiggy Elizabeth, 5 March, 2024, a sister for Archie Jonathan Charles, who was born 19 September, 2019, and for Penelope Sylvia Mary, born 5 August, 2021.
Fred Ponsonby is a younger son of Sir Charles Ponsonby, 3rd Baronet [born 1951], of Woodstock, co Oxford, by his wife the former Mary Priscilla Bromley Davenport, scion of that landed gentry family.
Joanna Ponsonby is a daughter of Robert Hiles Sutton [born 1954], of Newton Valence, co Hampshire, by his wife the former Caroline Jane Dewey [born 1955], daughter of Sir Anthony Dewey, 3rd Baronet [1921-2016].
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Eliza Bridgeman, styled Viscountess Newport, wife of Alexander Michael Orlando Bridgeman, styled Viscount Newport [born 6 September, 1980], has given birth to a son and heir, Archibald Henry Orlando (Archie), 19 March, 2024.
Viscoutess Newport (born 1991, nee Eliza Liepina), was educated at Auckland University, New Zealand. The Newports married at Weston Park, Shropshire, 14 May, 2022.
Viscount Newport is the eldest of the four children of the 7th Earl of Bradford [born 3 Oct, 1947], of Weston-under-Lizard, Shifnal, Shropshire, and his former 1st wife the former Joanna Elizabeth Miller [now Mrs Philip Porter, of Hungerford, Berkshire].
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Hugh Bredin, who died 10 March, 2024, aged 89, was a croquet player, jazz fan, author, illustrator, pen-and-ink cartoonist, contributor to Punch and Private Eye – and, for more than 30 years, a senior copywriter at some of Britain’s largest advertising agencies, including the American-owned J Walter Thompson...
In 1980 he published The Jeeves Cocktail Book: A Guide to Mixed Drinking. By then his art had already been used to launch the popular new “international intrigue” board game Diplomacy which still flourishes today; the design of the game somehow echoed Bredin’s own flamboyance – especially the loud kipper ties made for him by the celebrated Mayfair boutique owner Mr Fish.
George Richard Hugh Bredin was born 3 March, 1935, on the Wirral Peninsula across the Mersey from Liverpool, a descendant of a Huguenot family who had moved from Bordeaux to Ireland in the 17th century and included Picasso’s long-standing lawyer Jean-Denis Bredin. He was son of George Richard Frederick Bredin, CBE (1899-1983), and his wife the former Dorothy Ellison (1896-1997).
His maternal grandfather, Thomas Richard Ellison (1864-1929), had been president of the Liverpool Cotton Exchange. Hugh’s father George would soon serve as governor of the Blue Nile province in Sudan.
Hugh’s early childhood was spent in the hands of his forthright mother who enjoyed golf, bridge and horse racing and once played tennis in Monaco with Charlie Chaplin.
Hugh began his formal education at Mostyn House, Cheshire. Unusually, his nanny, Miss Mowle, went with him to the prep school – she was given the role of under-matron – and was soon called “Nanny” by the entire school.
Bredin had married in 1957 (div) Mary Gabrielle Drew (born 1936), scion of that landed gentry family, a student at the Oxford Theatre School, daughter of Brigadier Alec Wilson Drew, CBE (1902-1970), and his wife the former Edna Susan Moffitt (1905-65); and married 2ndly, in 1967, Nina Violet Tamara Talbot Rice (1941-2004), daughter of Lieutenant-Col David Talbot Rice, CBE, TD (1903-1972), scion of the Barons Dynevor, by his wife the former Tamara Abelson (1904-1993).
He leaves issue from both marriages.
Rose Dugdale, the English aristocrat who led a notorious IRA art heist, died 18 March, 2024, at the age of 82.
The death of the disinherited heiress comes just days before a film about her life is to be released in cinemas.
Bridget Rose Dugdale, the rebellious former debutante from Devon turned her back on a life of privilege to join the IRA in the 1970s, and went on to mastermind a multimillion-pound fine art heist. She was born in Devon, 25 March, 1941, scion of a landed gentry family, daughter of James Dugdale (1904-1991), a millionaire Lloyd's underwriter, of Yarty Farm, Axminster, and his wife the former Caroline Edith Sutton Timmis (1903-1986).
Her grandfather was Major James Gordon Dugdale, DSO, MVO, MC (1874-1955), of The Abbey, Cirencester.
The Oxford graduate was the ringleader of the 1974 IRA raid on the Russborough House estate in Co Wicklow, in which 19 valuable paintings were stolen.
She was involved in other IRA operations, including a failed bid to drop bombs on to a police station in Northern Ireland using a helicopter hijacked in Co Donegal.
The republican bombmaker was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison for her IRA activities. She was pregnant at the time and gave birth to a son inside Limerick prison.
The film telling the story of the art heist, Baltimore, will be released in cinemas this Friday.
Actress Imogen Poots plays Rose Dugdale in the thriller directed by Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy.
She had been living in a care home in Dublin in recent years.
Sinn Fein TD for Dublin South Central, Aengus O Snodaigh, extended his sympathies to her friends and family.
Rose was a committed republican and was unflinching in her beliefs
Aengus O Snodaigh, Sinn Fein TD
He said: “I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Rose Dugdale this morning, and on my own behalf and that of Sinn Fein I wish to offer heartfelt condolences to her friends, family and party members.
“Rose was a committed republican and was unflinching in her beliefs, and Ireland has today lost a committed republican and activist, and Sinn Fein a valued comrade.”
He added: “Rose for many decades lived in Dublin, in the south inner-city, Drimnagh, and in recent years in a nursing home in Chapelizod, and was an active member of Sinn Fein.
“She was extremely committed to her community, both in her work for Sinn Fein, where she was a hugely popular figure locally and nationally, but also in a wide variety of community groups.
“She was also a great educator of Sinn Fein activists and representatives, many of whom benefited from her vast knowledge and life experiences, and who are all feeling the loss of a dear friend and comrade today.”
She was mother of a son, Ruairi, fathered by Eddie Gallagher, who was born 3 Oct, 1975.
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Christopher Neville Neve, artist, died 8 March, 2024, aged 81.
He was born in 1942, son of Cecil Neve and his wife the former Cecily D. Holmes; and married 1stly, 14 September, 1968 (div. 1994), Arianwen Catherine Cardwell Howard (born 9 December, 1942), scion of the Dukes of Norfolk, daughter of Stafford Vaughan Stepney Howard (1915-1991), and his wife the former Mary Gracia Neville, by whom he had issue; married 2ndly, 1994, Helen Gunn. He leaves issue by both marriages, a son, Thomas and a daughter Eleanor from the first marriage, and a son, Owen, from his second marriage.
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Lieutenant-Colonel John Rochfort Yerburgh, who died 3 February, 2024, aged 92, was a scion of that landed family (later Barons Alvingham).
He was born 14 September, 1931, the eldest son of the Rev Oswald Rochfort Yerburgh (1900-1966), and his wife the former Cicely Joan Savile (1901-1981), scion of that landed gentry family; and married 17 August, 1963, Gillian Elizabeth Clifford (1944-2023), daughter of Derek Plint Clifford (1915-2003), of Hartlip Place, Sittingbourne, Kent, and his wife the former Betty Norah Pierson (1917-1984), by whom he had issue, Toby William Rochfort (born 9 Oct, 1965), and a daughter, Sophia Jane Clifford (born 8 January, 1967).
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Audley Mark Mackworth-Praed, who died 8 March, 2024, aged 68, was a scion of that landed gentry family, sometime of Mickleham.
He was born 8 September, 1955, second son of Major Humphrey Mackworth-Praed (1919-1995), and his wife the former Penelope Tompson (1922-2010), scion of that landed family; and married in 1983, Debra Woodwards, by whom he had issue, Kelly, Verity, Meredith and Alex.
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Crown Office
THE KING has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 7 March 2024 to confer the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom for life upon the following:
In the forenoon
Franck Robert Marie Petitgas, by the name, style and title of BARON PETITGAS, of Bosham in the County of West Sussex.
In the afternoon
Sydney John Peter Booth, by the name, style and title of BARON BOOTH, of Houghton-le-Spring in the City of Sunderland.
Crown Office
THE KING has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 8 March 2024 to confer the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom for life upon the following:
In the forenoon
John Charles Fuller, O.B.E., by the name, style and title of BARON FULLER, of Gorleston-on-Sea in the County of Norfolk.
In the afternoon
Stuart Adam Marks, C.B.E., by the name, style and title of BARON MARKS OF HALE, of Hale in the County of Greater Manchester
THE KING has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 11 March 2024 to confer the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom for life upon the following:
In the forenoon
Paul Alexander Cyril Goodman, by the name, style and title of BARON GOODMAN OF WYCOMBE, of High Wycombe in the County of Buckinghamshire.
In the afternoon
James Gerard Jamieson, by the name, style and title of BARON JAMIESON, of Maulden in the County of Bedfordshire.
THE KING has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 12 March 2024 to confer the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom for life upon the following:
In the forenoon
The Honourable Rosamond Mary Monckton, M.B.E., by the name, style and title of BARONESS MONCKTON OF DALLINGTON FOREST, of Earlsdown in the County of East Sussex.
In the afternoon
John Hannett, O.B.E., by the name, style and title of BARON HANNETT OF EVERTON, of Bramley-Moore Dock in the City of Liverpool.
Crown Office
THE KING has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 13 March 2024 to confer the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom for life upon the following:
In the forenoon
Carmen Ria Smith, by the name, style and title of BARONESS SMITH OF LLANFAES, of Llanfaes in the County of Ynys Môn.
In the afternoon
Jane Ramsey, by the name, style and title of BARONESS RAMSEY OF WALL HEATH, of Dulwich in the London Borough of Southwark.
Crown Office
THE KING has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 14 March 2024 to confer the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom for life upon Ayesha Yousef Hazarika, M.B.E., by the name, style and title of BARONESS HAZARIKA, of Coatbridge in the County of Lanarkshire
