Philip Lever, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme

Philip William Bryce Lever, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme KG TD (1 July 1915 – 4 July 2000) was a British peer and racehorse owner.

The Right Honourable The Viscount Leverhulme KG TD
Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire
In office 1949–1990
Monarchs	George VI, Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Sir William Bromley-Davenport
Succeeded by	William Bromley-Davenport
Personal details
Born	(1915-07-01)1 July 1915
Died	4 July 2000(2000-07-04) (aged 85)
Nationality	British
Parent(s)	William Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme Marion Beatrice Smith
Occupation	Racehorse owner

Early life

He was the only son of the 2nd Viscount Leverhulme and his first wife, Marion Beatrice Smith. He was born on 1 July 1915. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge.

Career

During the Second World War, he served in the Middle East with the Cheshire Yeomanry, and late became an honorary colonel. After the war, he managed his father's estates at Thornton Manor. In 1954, he bought the Badanloch estate, in Sutherland, Scotland.

In 1949, he inherited his father's titles and was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire that year, a post he held until 1990, making him the longest serving Lord Lieutenant in the country.

His lifelong passion was horse racing, the subject of his 1976 maiden speech in the House of Lords. A racehorse owner, he served as Chairman of Chester Racecourse and as a senior steward of the Jockey Club. He was a supporter of the Animal Health Trust, a veterinary research establishment. He was Chancellor of the University of Liverpool from 1980 to 1993 and appointed a Knight Companion of the Garter in 1988.

Marriage and issue

On 1 July 1937, he married Margaret Ann Moon (died 1973), and they had three daughters:

• The Hon. Susan Elizabeth Moon Lever (born 1938), married (Hercules) Michael Pakenham.
• The Hon. Victoria Marion Ann Lever (1945-2021), married (1) Sir Richard Pole, 13th Baronet, (2) Gordon Apsion, (3) Peter Tower.
• The Hon. (Margaret) Jane Lever (born 1947), married Sir Algernon Heber-Percy.

Succession

He died on 4 July 2000. As Leverhulme was the last male descendant of the 1st Viscount and died without male heirs in 2000, his titles became extinct.

Honours and decorations

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Order of the Garter (KG)	Knight Companion 1988
	Order of St John (KStJ)	Knight of Justice
	1939-1945 Star
	Africa Star
	France and Germany Star
	Defence Medal
	War Medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal	1953
	Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal	1977 UK Version of this Medal
	Territorial Decoration (TD)

Coat of arms of Philip Lever, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme

Crest A trumpet fesswise thereon a cock Proper charged on the breast with a rose as in the arms. Escutcheon Per pale Argent and barry of eight Or and Azure two bendlets Sable the upper one engrailed in sinister chief a chaplet Gules and in the dexter base a rose of the last leaved and seeded Proper. Supporters On either side an elephant Or charged on the shoulder with a rose Gules. Motto Mutare Vel Timere Sperno (I Scorn To Change Or Fear)

See also

• Burke's Peerage