Sir Richard Cotterell, 5th Baronet

Lt-Col Sir Richard Charles Geers Cotterell, 5th Baronet JP TD KStJ CBE (1 June 1907 – 5 December 1978), a British soldier.

Lieutenant Colonel
Sir John Cotterell, Bt
JP TD KStJ CBE
Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire
In office
28 February 1945 – 12 July 1957
Preceded byThe Lord Somers
Succeeded byThe Viscount Cilcennin
Personal details
Born
Richard Charles Geers Cotterell

(1907-06-01)1 June 1907
Died5 December 1978(1978-12-05) (aged 71)
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1930; div. 1958)​

Molly Seely, Baroness Sherwood
​
​
(after 1958)​
RelationsSir Geers Cotterell, 3rd Baronet (grandfather)
Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond (grandfather)
Amy Gordon-Lennox, Countess of March (grandmother)
Children4
Parent(s)Sir John Cotterell, 4th Baronet
Lady Evelyn Amy Gordon-Lennox
EducationEton College
Alma materRoyal Military College, Sandhurst

Early life

Cotterell was born on 1 June 1907. He was the only son of Sir John Cotterell, 4th Baronet and Lady Evelyn Amy Gordon-Lennox. His three older sisters were Sylvia Evelyn Cotterell (wife of Capt. Christopher Digby Leyland and she married Roland Norris Fawcett),[1] Cicely Violet Cotterell (wife of Capt. William Adrian Vincent Bethell and Roden Powlett Graves Orde),[2][1] and Mildred Katharine Cotterell (wife of Lt.-Col. Sir Terence Falkiner, 8th Baronet).[1]

His paternal grandparents were Sir Geers Cotterell, 3rd Baronet (MP for Herefordshire) and Hon. Katherine Margaret Airey (a daughter of Richard Airey, 1st Baron Airey). His mother was the eldest daughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond and, his first wife, the former Amy Mary Ricardo.[3]

He was educated at Eton before attending Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[1]

Career

On 13 November 1937, he succeeded as the 5th Baronet Cotterell, of Garnons, Herefordshire following the death of his father.[4] He served as a Justice of the Peace for Herefordshire in 1938. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire between 1945 and 1957.[5] He also served as a Forestry Commissioner between 1945 and 1964.[1]

Military career

He fought in the Middle East and Italy during World War II, was mentioned in despatches and was awarded the Territorial Decoration. He was commanding officer of the 76th (Shropshire Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery between 1943 and 1945, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was appointed a Knight of Order of Saint John and Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1965.[1]

Personal life
Photograph of his first wife, Lady Lettice Lygon, 1922

On 16 June 1930, Cotterell married Lady Lettice Lygon at St George's, Hanover Square. She was a daughter of William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp and Lady Lettice Mary Elizabeth Grosvenor (a daughter of Victor Alexander Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor).[6] Before their divorce in 1958, they were the parents of:[7]

On 21 July 1958, he married Molly Seely, Baroness Sherwood (née Hon. Molly Patricia Berry), at the Caxton Hall Register Office in London.[10] She was daughter of William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose, who owned The Daily Telegraph newspaper, and Mary Agnes Corns (a daughter of Thomas Corns). Molly was widow of Roger Charles George Chetwode (a son of Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode), with whom she had two children, including Philip Chetwode, 2nd Baron Chetwode. After the death of her first husband she married Hugh Seely, 1st Baron Sherwood (a son of Sir Charles Seely, 2nd Baronet), whom she divorced in 1948.[1]

Cotterell died on 5 December 1978 at home at Garnons, Herefordshire. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, John.[1] His memorial was held at Hereford Cathedral and officiated by Norman Rathbone, the Dean of Hereford, who was assisted by Canon Allan Shaw.[11]

Portrait

In 1931, Sir John and his wife Lady Lettice had their portraits painted by Philip de László. In his portrait, he is pictured "Half-length slightly to the left, full face to the viewer, wearing the ceremonial uniform of the Royal Horse Guards, holding his red-plumed helmet in his right hand".[12] László had previously done a number of portraits for his family, including of his mother in 1913, sister Sylvia in 1924, and later, his father in 1934.[13]

References
  1. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, pages 916, 1277.
  2. "LIEUT. COL BETHELL; Yorkshire "Landowner, Master of Hounds, Served in World War". The New York Times. 17 July 1941. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  3. Raineval, Melville Henry Massue marquis de Ruvigny et; Raineval, Melville Henry Massue Marquis of Ruvigny and (1914). The Titled Nobility of Europe: An International Peerage, Or "Who's Who," of the Sovereigns, Princes, and Nobles of Europe. Burke's Peerage. p. 1224. ISBN 978-0-85011-028-9. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  4. Roll of the Baronets. Adlard & Son. 1975. p. 56. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  5. Vaughan, David J. (4 July 2016). The Little Book of Herefordshire. The History Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-7509-6909-3. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  6. Short, Brian (2014). The Battle of the Fields: Rural Community and Authority in Britain During the Second World War. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-84383-937-8. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  7. "Decree for Lady Lettice Cotterell". The Birmingham Post and Birmingham Gazette. 11 April 1958. p. 5. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  8. Bramsen, Bo; Wain, Kathleen; Brown, Kathleen (1979). The Hambros, 1779-1979. Joseph. pp. 1972–1974. ISBN 978-0-7181-1852-5. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  9. "Landowner and county figure dies". Hereford Times. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  10. "1958 Wedding". The Birmingham Post and Birmingham Gazette. 22 July 1958. p. 3. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  11. "In Memoriam. Sir Richard Cotterell". The Daily Telegraph. 19 January 1979. p. 8. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  12. "The Catalogue | Cotterell, Sir Richard Charles Geers, 5th Baronet". www.delaszlocatalogueraisonne.com. The de Laszlo Archive Trust. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  13. "Cotterell, Sir John Richard Geers, 4th Baronet". www.delaszlocatalogueraisonne.com. The de Laszlo Archive Trust. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
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