William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington

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William John Robert Cavendish
Personal details
Born (1917-12-10)10 December 1917
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.[1]
Heppen, occupied Belgium †
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Kathleen Agnes Kennedy
(m. 1944; his death 1944)
Relations Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish (brother)
Parents Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire
Mary Gascoyne-Cecil
Religion Anglican
Military service
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch  British Army
Rank Major
Unit Coldstream Guards, Guards Armoured Division
Battles/wars World War II

William John Robert "Billy" Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (10 December 1917 – 10 September 1944), was an English politician and soldier.[2] He was the eldest son of Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire, and his wife, Lady Mary Gascoyne-Cecil. He was the husband of Kathleen Kennedy, sister of the future U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

Education

He was educated at Eton.[3]

Politics

Hartington was a member of the Conservative Party. He was selected as the official candidate of the Wartime Coalition for a by-election held on 18 February 1944 in the Derbyshire West constituency local to Chatsworth. The Independent candidate Charles Frederick White, Jr. had resigned from the Labour Party to mount a challenge and, then to defeat Hartington in contravention of the Wartime Coalition's ban on partisan campaigning.[4]

Marriage

Hartington married socialite Kathleen Kennedy on 6 May 1944 at the Register Office in Chelsea Town Hall on King's Road in London, England.[5] Her brothers were John, Robert and Ted Kennedy.[6] Her mother Rose highly disapproved of the union - the Kennedy family were Roman Catholic and the Dukes of Devonshire were Anglican, and neither would be married in the other's faith.[7][8]

Death

Four months later, on 10 September 1944, Hartington was killed in action[9] by a sniper in Belgium[10] while serving during World War II as a major in the Coldstream Guards.[11] His company was trying to capture the town of Heppen, which was being held by troops of the German Waffen-SS.[12]

In the weeks before he died, Hartington's battalion, the 5th, serving in the Guards Armoured Division, had engaged in heavy fighting in Northern France. In early September, they crossed the Somme and pushed east towards Brussels, where his unit was one of the first to liberate the city.

Of the townsfolk and villagers who turned out and cheered the Allies, and in some cases decorated their tanks, Hartington wrote to his wife of feeling "so unworthy of it all living as I have in reasonable safety and comfort during these years..... I have a permanent lump in my throat and long for you to be here as it is an experience which few can have and which I would love to share with you."[13]

His place in the order of succession was taken by his younger brother Andrew, who inherited the dukedom six years later.[14]

Ancestry

Family of William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16. William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Lord Edward Cavendish
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17. Blanche Georgiana Howard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 18. Hon. William Lascelles
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. Emma Lascelles
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 19. Caroline Georgiana Howard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Edward William Spencer Cavendish
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21. Emily Jane de Flahaut, 8th Lady Nairne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. Lady Evelyn Petty-Fitzmaurice
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22. James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11. Lady Maud Evelyn Hamilton
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 23. Lady Louisa Jane Russell
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. William John Robert Cavendish
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 24. James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12. Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25. Frances Mary Gascoyne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26. Sir Edward Hall Alderson
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13. Georgina Charlotte Alderson
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 27. Georgina Drewe
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Mary Alice Gascoyne-Cecil
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28. Philip Gore, 4th Earl of Arran
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14. Arthur Gore, 5th Earl of Arran
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 29. Elizabeth Marianne Napier
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. Cicely Gore
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30. Robert Jocelyn, Viscount Jocelyn
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15. Edith Elizabeth Henrietta Jocelyn
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 31. Lady Frances Elizabeth Cowper
 
 
 
 
 
 

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Find a grave
  3. ↑ thePeerage.com
  4. ↑ "LIFE", 13 Mar 1944, pp 28-29.
  5. ↑ POlitico
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Obituary. The Marquess of Hartington The Times (London, England), Tuesday, Sep 19, 1944; pg. 4; Issue 49960
  10. ↑ Cheshire Now
  11. ↑ ‘HARTINGTON, Marquess of’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 26 Aug 2015
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Bailey, C. (2007). Black Diamonds: The Rise and Fall of an English Dynasty, p. 375. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-670-91542-2.
  14. ↑ Duke Of Devonshire. The Times (London, England), Monday, Nov 27, 1950; pg. 8; Issue 51859
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