John Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 3rd Baron Acton

John Emerich Henry Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 3rd Baron Acton CMG MBE TD (born Dalberg-Acton; 15 December 1907 – 23 January 1989), was a British peer and soldier.

The Right Honourable
The Lord Acton
CMG MBE TD
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
15 December 1928 – 23 January 1989
Hereditary Peerage
Preceded byThe 2nd Lord Acton
Succeeded byThe 4th Lord Acton
Personal details
Born15 December 1907
Bordighera, Liguria, Italy
Died23 January 1989
Mallorca, Spain
NationalityBritish
SpouseDaphne Strutt
Children11
Parent
Alma materRoyal Military College, Sandhurst
Trinity College, Cambridge

Early life and education

Acton was born in Bordighera, Liguria, Italy,[1] the eldest son and third of nine children born to Richard Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Baron Acton, a diplomat in the foreign service. His mother was Dorothy Lyon, the only child of Thomas Henry Lyon, DL, of Appleton Hall, Cheshire.[2] The fourth generation of his family abroad, the 2nd Lord Acton and his children officially became British citizens in 1911 by Act of Parliament.[3]

The family was living in Germany when the First World War broke out. They were temporarily detained in Baden Baden in 1914. In 1915, Lord Acton became chargé d'affaires in Berne. In 1919, his father added the additional surname and arms of Lyon when Lady Acton inherited from her father.[2] His mother died in 1923, when his youngest sister was just 2.[4]

He was educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and Trinity College, Cambridge. He succeeded to the family titles upon the death of his father in 1924.[2]

His only brother, Richard William Heribert Peter Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (1909–1946), was killed in a plane crash in Gambia in 1946.[2]

Honours

In December 1945, Acton was appointed to the Military Division of the Order of the British Empire as a Member.[5] In February 1947, he was appointed to be a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Salop[6] but resigned his commission in November the same year because he stopped living in the county.[7] In the 1964 New Year Honours, Acton was appointed to the Order of St Michael and St George as a Companion.[8]

Personal life

Acton was a devout Catholic.[9] He was a founder and president of the multiracial National Club in Salisbury, Rhodesia.

Family

He married Daphne Strutt (d. 2003), daughter of The 4th Baron Rayleigh, on 25 November 1931. The couple had eleven children:

  • Pelline Margot Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 24 December 1932)
  • Charlotte Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (1934–1935)
  • Catherine Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 30 December 1939)
  • Richard Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 4th Baron Acton (30 July 1941 – 10 October 2010)
  • John Charles Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 26 January 1943 — d. 25 December 2016)
  • Robert Peter Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 23 June 1946)
  • Jill Mary Joan Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 15 June 1947)
  • Professor Edward David Joseph Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 4 February 1949)
  • Peter Hedley Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 27 March 1950)
  • Mary Anne Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 30 March 1951)
  • Jane Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (b. 25 January 1954)

He died in Mallorca, Spain in 1989.[10]

References
  1. "Births". The Times. 17 December 1907. p. 1.
  2. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  3. "Lord Acton's Nationality". The Times. 25 July 1911. p. 12.
  4. "Obituary: Lady Acton". The Times. 20 March 1923. p. 17.
  5. "No. 37386". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 December 1945. p. 6060.
  6. "No. 37887". The London Gazette. 21 February 1947. p. 884.
  7. "No. 38138". The London Gazette. 2 December 1947. p. 5714.
  8. "No. 43207". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1963. p. 51.
  9. Wood, J. R. T. (2 August 2012). A Matter of Weeks rather than Months: The Impasse between Harold Wilson and Ian Smith Sanctions, Aborted Settlements and War 1965-1969. Trafford Publishing. p. 131. ISBN 9781466934108.
  10. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995


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