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John Godley, 3rd Baron Kilbracken | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1920-10-17)17 October 1920 Belgravia, London, England |
| Died | 14 August 2006(2006-08-14) (aged 85) Cavan,County Cavan, Ireland |
| Education | Balliol College, Oxford |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 4, includingSean |
| Father | Hugh Godley |
| Relatives | Arthur Godley (grandfather) |
| Military career | |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander |
| Unit | Fleet Air Arm |
| Commands | 835 Naval Air Squadron 714 Naval Air Squadron |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal (returned) |
John Raymond Godley, 3rd Baron Kilbracken,DSC (17 October 1920 – 14 August 2006), was aBritish-born, laterIrish-resident peer, wartime naval pilot, journalist, author and farmer. He was the son ofThe 2nd Baron Kilbracken; his grandfather,Arthur Godley, 1st Baron Kilbracken, wasWilliam Ewart Gladstone's private secretary. He became the thirdBaron Kilbracken on his father's death in October 1950, and became an active member of theHouse of Lords. After many years living in theRepublic of Ireland, he renounced hisBritish nationality and took up Irish citizenship in the 1970s, as a protest at British actions inNorthern Ireland.
Godley was born inChester Street inBelgravia, and educated atArnold House School inSt John's Wood in London, followed byEton College andBalliol College, Oxford, developing an interest inhorse racing andbetting at both latter places, and rowing in the first VIII at Eton and the university second boat,Isis, at Oxford. After serving in theFleet Air Arm in the Second World War, he returned to his studies, and graduated with anMA in 1948.
He married twice. He married Penelope Anne Reyne in 1943. They had two children, Christopher (born 1 January 1945) and another son, who died aged three days. He and Penelope divorced in 1949.
In April 1951, he moved permanently to the family's estate,Killegar House, inCarrigallen,County Leitrim. His father's fortunes had not flourished and he had been forced by circumstances to put Killegar on the market. The house was dilapidated, and had not been occupied for several years but he was determined to live there. He farmed the estateorganically from the 1950s.
His second marriage was to anAustralian ex-spy and writer, Susan Lee Heazlewood, who was thirty-six years his junior, in 1981. They had one son, the Irish poetSean Godley (born 1981), before divorcing in 1989.
He also had a daughter, Lisa.
He died inCavan in August 2006.
Having taken flying lessons while at school, whenWorld War II broke out, he joined theFleet Air Arm in 1940, mainly flying obsolescentFairey Swordfish bombers (known as "stringbags") frommerchant aircraft carriers, merchant ships with an added flight deck used to escort merchant convoys on the Atlantic. He was commissioned in 1941, and later commanded 'P' Flight of836 Naval Air Squadron. He was promoted tolieutenant commander in 1944 and took command of835 Naval Air Squadron. He was awarded the DSC for commanding the mixed Swordfish andGrumman Wildcat squadron from theescort carrierHMSNairana in an attack on enemy shipping on 29 January 1945. He transferred to command of714 Naval Air Squadron, ending the war flying aFairey Barracuda.
After finishing his studies, he considered joining the Foreign Service, but decided to become a journalist instead, working for theDaily Mirror from 1947 to 1949, theDaily Express from 1949 to 1951, and then freelance. He was originally as a racing correspondent and later mainly as a foreign correspondent in places includingAden,Angola,China,Cuba andYemen. He wrote for many journals, includingThe New Yorker,Punch,Sports Illustrated,Reader's Digest andGood Housekeeping.
He also wrote several books under the name "John Godley", includingTell Me the Next One (1950),The Master Forger (1951, a biography of theVermeerforgerHan van Meegeren),Living Like a Lord (1955),A Peer Behind the Curtain (1959) andShamrocks and Unicorns (1962), a second biography of theVermeerforgerHan van Meegeren (1967, under the name "Lord Kilbraken"), a war autobiography entitledBring Back My Stringbag (1979), andThe Easy Way to Bird Recognition (1982), which won an award and was followed up byThe Easy Way to Tree Recognition (1983) andThe Easy Way to Wild Flower Recognition (1984).
He succeeded his father asBaron Kilbracken in 1950, while visitingNew Zealand to celebrate the centenary of the foundation ofChristchurch and theprovince of Canterbury by his great-great-grandfather,John Robert Godley. He took his seat in theHouse of Lords, but rarely attended until he made his maiden speech in 1961. He became an active member in later years. Originally aLiberal, he moved toLabour in 1966.
As a resident in theRepublic of Ireland, Lord Kilbracken returned his six military medals in 1972 as a result of British behaviour inNorthern Ireland (variously attributed to theBloody Sunday incident, or the British policy ofinternment). He also renounced his British nationality, taking up an Irish passport, but retaining his right to sit in the House of Lords until the reforms in 1999. He also campaigned on behalf of theKurds, comparing the situation inIraq with that in Northern Ireland.
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| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Baron Kilbracken 1950–2006 | Succeeded by Christopher Godley |
