John Strange Spencer-Churchill
Encyclopedia
Major
John Strange "Jack" Spencer-Churchill, DSO
, TD
(4 February 1880 – 23 February 1947) was the younger son of Lord Randolph Churchill
and Lady Randolph Churchill (Jennie Jerome), and brother of World War II Prime Minster, Sir Winston Churchill
.
, Dublin, Ireland
(where his father, was secretary to his grandfather, the Duke of Marlborough
, who had been appointed Viceroy of Ireland in 1876), and educated at Harrow School
.
He married, in Oxford
on 8 August 1908, Lady Gwendoline Theresa Mary Bertie (20 November 1885 – 7 July 1941), a Roman Catholic, the daughter of Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon
and Gwendoline Mary Dormer.
ed into the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars
in 1898. He served in the South African Light Horse
alongside his war correspondent
brother in the Second Boer War
between 1899 and 1900, where he was Mentioned in Dispatches
, and shot through the leg during the Battle of the Tugela Heights
, part of the campaign for the relief of Ladysmith
.
He fought in the First World War
, where he was again Mentioned in Dispatches. He also served on the staff of Field Marshal
Lord French, General Sir Ian Hamilton
(serving as Naval Liaison Officer for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force) and Field Marshal Lord Birdwood
(serving as Camp Commandant, 1st Anzac Corps, and then as Assistant Military Secretary at the headquarters of the Fifth Army). He reached the rank of Major
.
He was awarded the French
decorations of the Croix de Guerre
and the Légion d'Honneur
. He was awarded the British Distinguished Service Order
in 1918.
John Strange Spencer-Churchill became a businessman in the City of London
.
John Strange Spencer-Churchill and his brother Winston were very close. John and his children spent a lot of time with his brother's family at Chartwell
and other residences.
During the Second World War the widowed John lost his house during the Blitz
and he lived in 10 Downing Street
. He lived in either No 10 (where he used the bedrooms on the top floor formerly used by Churchill and his wife) or the No 10 Annex.
He died of a heart disease and is buried near his parents and brother at St Martin's Church, Bladon, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire
.
Despite the Ne Temere
decree, apparently only their daughter was brought up as a Catholic, the faith of her mother (herself the daughter of a convert).
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
John Strange "Jack" Spencer-Churchill, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, TD
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
(4 February 1880 – 23 February 1947) was the younger son of Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill MP was a British statesman. He was the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and his wife Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane , daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry...
and Lady Randolph Churchill (Jennie Jerome), and brother of World War II Prime Minster, Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
.
Early life and marriage
He was born at Phoenix ParkPhoenix Park
Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
, Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(where his father, was secretary to his grandfather, the Duke of Marlborough
John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough
John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, KG, PC , styled Earl of Sunderland from 1822 to 1840 and Marquess of Blandford from 1840 to 1857, was a British statesman and nobleman...
, who had been appointed Viceroy of Ireland in 1876), and educated at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
.
He married, in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
on 8 August 1908, Lady Gwendoline Theresa Mary Bertie (20 November 1885 – 7 July 1941), a Roman Catholic, the daughter of Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon
Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon
Montagu Arthur Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon was an English peer.-Background:He was the fifth child of Montagu Bertie, 6th Earl of Abingdon and Elizabeth Lavinia Vernon-Harcourt.-Family:...
and Gwendoline Mary Dormer.
Military career
He was commissionOfficer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
ed into the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars
Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars
The Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars was the designated name of a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army between 1888 and 1922. In response a call by the government for troops of volunteers to be formed in the shires, meeting of “Nobility, Gentry, Freeholders and Yeomanry” was called at the Star Inn...
in 1898. He served in the South African Light Horse
Light Horse Regiment
The Light Horse Regiment , formerly the Imperial Light Horse , is a reserve unit of the South African Army. The regiment is an armoured car reconnaissance unit...
alongside his war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
brother in the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
between 1899 and 1900, where he was Mentioned in Dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
, and shot through the leg during the Battle of the Tugela Heights
Battle of the Tugela Heights
The Battle of Tugela Heights, consisted of a series of military actions lasting from 14 February through 27 February 1900 in which General Sir Redvers Buller's British army forced Louis Botha's Boer army to lift the Siege of Ladysmith during the Second Boer War.-Background:Buller's army had made...
, part of the campaign for the relief of Ladysmith
Relief of Ladysmith
When the Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899, the Boers had a numeric superiority within Southern Africa. They quickly invaded the British territory and laid siege to Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking...
.
He fought in the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, where he was again Mentioned in Dispatches. He also served on the staff of Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Lord French, General Sir Ian Hamilton
Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton
General Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton GCB GCMG DSO TD was a general in the British Army and is most notably for commanding the ill-fated Mediterranean Expeditionary Force during the Battle of Gallipoli....
(serving as Naval Liaison Officer for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force) and Field Marshal Lord Birdwood
William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood
Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, CIE, DSO was a First World War British general who is best known as the commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915.- Youth and early career :Birdwood was born...
(serving as Camp Commandant, 1st Anzac Corps, and then as Assistant Military Secretary at the headquarters of the Fifth Army). He reached the rank of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
.
He was awarded the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
decorations of the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
and the Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. He was awarded the British Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
in 1918.
John Strange Spencer-Churchill became a businessman in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
.
John Strange Spencer-Churchill and his brother Winston were very close. John and his children spent a lot of time with his brother's family at Chartwell
Chartwell
Chartwell was the principal adult home of Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill and his wife Clementine bought the property, located two miles south of Westerham, Kent, England, in 1922...
and other residences.
During the Second World War the widowed John lost his house during the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
and he lived in 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
. He lived in either No 10 (where he used the bedrooms on the top floor formerly used by Churchill and his wife) or the No 10 Annex.
He died of a heart disease and is buried near his parents and brother at St Martin's Church, Bladon, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire
Woodstock, Oxfordshire
Woodstock is a small town northwest of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. It is the location of Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Winston Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace in 1874 and is buried in the nearby village of Bladon....
.
Children
The couple had three children:- John George Spencer-Churchill (31 May 1909–1992)
- Henry Winston Peregrine Spencer-Churchill (25 May 1913 – 19 March 2002)
- Anne Clarissa ChurchillClarissa Eden, Countess of AvonAnne Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon is the widow of Sir Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon , who was British Prime Minister from 1955-1957. She married Eden in 1952, becoming Lady Eden in 1954 when he was made a Knight of the Garter and Countess of Avon in 1961 on his elevation to the peerage...
, Countess of Avon (born 28 June 1920), the widow of the former prime minister Anthony EdenAnthony EdenRobert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
.
Despite the Ne Temere
Ne Temere
Ne Temere was a decree of the Roman Catholic Congregation of the Council regulating the canon law of the Church about marriage for practising Roman Catholics....
decree, apparently only their daughter was brought up as a Catholic, the faith of her mother (herself the daughter of a convert).