John Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham

John Cavendish Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham, KCB, DL (23 October 1881 – 31 July 1949), was a British peer, soldier, and Conservative politician from the Lyttelton family.

John Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham KCB, DL
Lord Cobham, 1934
Under-Secretary of State for War
In office 1939–1940
Member of Parliament for Droitwich
In office January 1910 - 1916
Personal details
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Violet Leonard ​ (m. 1908)​
Children	5, including Charles and Viola
Parent	Charles Lyttleton (father)
Relatives	Lyttelton family George Lyttelton (brother) Charles Lyttelton (brother) Alfred Lyttelton (uncle)
Military career
Branch	British Army
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	Rifle Brigade
Wars	Second Boer War World War I

Biography

Cobham was the eldest son of Charles Lyttelton, 8th Viscount Cobham, and the Hon. Mary Susan Caroline Cavendish, daughter of William Cavendish, 2nd Baron Chesham. Alfred Lyttelton was his uncle. He was educated at Eton. Like his father and his uncle, Cobham was a successful cricketer. He represented Worcestershire County Cricket Club in three first-class matches during 1924–5. He was President of Marylebone Cricket Club in 1935, again emulating his father and uncle.

Lyttelton was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade on 4 December 1901, and served with the regiment in the Second Boer War in South Africa. He returned home with the SS Kinfauns Castle after the war had ended, leaving Cape Town in early August 1902. After a couple of months on leave, during which there were formal celebrations as he attained his majority, he re-joined the regiment in South Africa in late 1902, but soon returned home on the SS Ortona with 900 officers and men of the 4th battalion as they were ordered home in January 1903. From 1905 to 1908 he was again back in South Africa as aide-de-camp to the High Commissioner.

Lyttelton was elected to the House of Commons for Droitwich in the January 1910 general election, a seat he held until his resignation 1916 (being appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead). During the First World War he fought at Gallipoli and in Egypt, the Sinai and Palestine, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. He succeeded his father as ninth Viscount Cobham in 1922 and entered the House of Lords. In 1939 he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for War in the government of Neville Chamberlain, a position he retained until May 1940. Apart from his political and military career, he was also Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire from 1923 to 1949.

Marriage and children

St John the Baptist Church, Hagley, grave of John Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham (1881–1949)

St John the Baptist Church, Hagley, memorial to Violet, wife of the 9th Viscount Cobham

Cobham married Violet, daughter of Charles Leonard, on 30 June 1908. They had five children together:

• Charles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham (8 August 1909 – 20 March 1977)
• The Hon Meriel Catherine Lyttelton (1 May 1911 – 11 November 1930)
• The Hon Viola Maud Lyttelton (10 June 1912 – 3 May 1987), married Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster
• The Hon Audrey Lavinia Lyttelton (3 August 1918 – 3 March 2007)
• The Hon Lavinia Mary Yolande Lyttelton (21 August 1921 – 4 July 2007)

Cobham died in July 1949, aged 67, and was succeeded in his titles by his son Charles, who later served as Governor-General of New Zealand. Lord Cobham is buried in the Lyttleton family plot at St John the Baptist Church, Hagley. Lady Cobham died in 1966.

References

• Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David, eds. (1990), Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, New York: St Martin's Press, p. 
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages – Peerages beginning with "C" (part 5)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 3)
• John Lyttelton, cricinfo.com, retrieved 19 September 2012 contains his Wisden obituary from the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Cobham