Odo Vivian, 3rd Baron Swansea

Vivian, the son of Colonel Henry Vivian, 1st Baron Swansea, and Averil Beaumont, was born in Eaton Square, London.[1] He studied at the University of Cambridge[2] and was awarded the Royal Victorian Order (Fourth Class) by King Edward, at Swansea, in July 1902.[3]

He served in World War I with the Royal Irish Rifles and the Cameron Highlanders.[4] He was Lieutenant Colonel of the 6th Battalion, Welch Regiment, Glamorgan Yeomanry, and was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order for gallantry during the war. He was awarded a Territorial Decoration in 1916. A diary by Vivian, kept during his service in the war, and including his account of the 1917 Battle of Ypres, is held by the National Library of Wales.[5]

He later served as a Justice of the Peace and was Deputy Lieutenant of Glamorgan.[1] In 1922 he gained the title of 3rd Baron Swansea on the death of his half brother, Ernest Vivian, 2nd Baron Swansea.[1]

His uncle Sir Arthur Vivian was a Liberal politician.

He died at his country seat, Caer Beris at Builth Wells in Breconshire, on 16 November 1934.[4]

He married Winifred Hamilton on 25 October 1906 and they had four children; Ursula Margaret (1910-1963), Rosemary Winifred (1927-1981), Averil (born 1930) and John Hamilton Hussey (1925-2005), who succeeded to the title as 4th Baron Swansea.[1]

• Charles Mosley, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage (107 (3 Vols) ed.). Wilmington, Delaware, US: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd.

• Odo Richard Vivian, 3rd Baron Swansea at npg.org.uk
• "The Children of Sir H Hussey Vivian, Bt. M.P." by George Elgar Hicks at sothebys.com