John Wodehouse, 4th Earl of Kimberley
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12 May 1924
The Earl of Kimberley | |
|---|---|
| Member of the House of Lords | |
Lord Temporal | |
| as a hereditary peer 16 April 1941 – 11 November 1999 | |
| Preceded by | The 3rd Earl of Kimberley |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Wodehouse 12 May 1924 |
| Died | 26 May 2002 (aged 78) |
| Spouses | Diana Legh
(m. 1945; div. 1948)Cynthia Westendarp
(m. 1953; div. 1961)Margaret Simons
(m. 1961; div. 1965)Gillian Ireland-Smith
(m. 1970; div. 1982)Jane Consett (m. 1982) |
| Children |
|
| Parents | |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Peer, bobsledder |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Service years | 1942–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Unit | Guards Armoured Division |
| Conflict | World War II |
John Wodehouse, 4th Earl of Kimberley (12 May 1924 – 26 May 2002), styled Lord Wodehouse between 1932 and 1941, was an active British peer, and also a bobsled racer[1] and Cresta member.[2]
Wodehouse was the son of John Wodehouse, then Lord Wodehouse (eldest son of the 2nd Earl of Kimberley), and Margaret Irby, and succeeded to the earldom in 1941 when his father was killed in an air raid. He was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge, and served with the Grenadier Guards in the Guards Armoured Division in 1943–1945.[3]
Wodehouse was the godson of the writer P. G. Wodehouse, a distant cousin (third cousins thrice removed), both being descended from Sir Armine Wodehouse, 5th Baronet.[4]
Personal life
Lord Kimberley had the reputation of being Britain's most married peer, having married six times. His first marriage was on 27 October 1945 to Diana Evelyn Legh, daughter of Sir Piers Legh; they divorced in 1949. His next marriage was to Australian Carmel June Dunnett (née Maguire) on 9 February 1949. They had a son before divorcing in 1952:
Lord Kimberley's marriage was to Cynthia Westendarp (née Abdy Collins) on 15 September 1953, but they were divorced in 1961. Together they had two sons:
- Hon. Edward Abdy Wodehouse (born 29 May 1954)
- Hon. Henry Wyndham Wodehouse (born 26 April 1956); served in the Special Branch of the Metropolitan Police
His next marriage was to model Margaret Simons on 7 July 1961, but they were also divorced, in 1965. Wodehouse then wed Gillian Ireland-Smith on 8 August 1970. They divorced in 1982, so that he could marry Sarah 'Jane' Hope Consett, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel A. P. Consett, DSO, MC, Grenadier Guards, on 20 August 1982.[3] This marriage lasted for the remainder of his life.
