Biography of John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland 1886-1940

Paternal Family Tree: Manners

In 1882 [his father] Henry John Brinsley Manners 8th Duke Rutland (age 29) and [his mother] Violet Lindsay Duchess Rutland (age 25) were married. He the son of [his grandfather] John James Robert Manners 7th Duke Rutland (age 63) and [his grandmother] Catherine Louise Georgina Marlay.

On 21 Aug 1886 John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland was born to Henry John Brinsley Manners 8th Duke Rutland (age 34) and Violet Lindsay Duchess Rutland (age 30). He was educated at Eton College [Map] and Trinity College, Cambridge University [Map].

In 1909 John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland (age 22) joined the Diplomatic Service as an Honorary Attaché and was posted to the British Embassy in Rome.

The London Gazette 28849. 4th Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment; Second Lieutenant John H. M., The Marquis of Granby (age 27), resigns his commission. Dated 15th July, 1914.

The London Gazette 28870. 14 Aug 1914. 4th Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment; the announcements of the resignations of Lieutenant Arthur Silver and Second Lieutenant John H. M., The Marquis of Granby (age 27), which appeared in the London Gazettes of the 23rd June, 1914, and 14th July, 1914, respectively, are cancelled.

The London Gazette 28876. 4th Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment. The undermentioned Second Lieutenants to be Lieutenants. 1914: — Dated 22nd August

John H. M., Marquis of Granby (age 28).

John S. Parsons.

John G. Abell.

Ambrose Childe Clarke to be Second Lieutenant. Dated 22nd August, 19.14.

On 27 Jan 1916 John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland (age 29) and Kathleen Tennant Duchess Rutland (age 21) were married. He the son of Henry John Brinsley Manners 8th Duke Rutland (age 63) and Violet Lindsay Duchess Rutland (age 59).

The Times. 27 Jan 1916. MARRIAGE OF LORD GRANBY.

The marriage of the Marquess of Granby (age 29), only son of the [his father] Duke (age 63) and [his mother] Duchess of Rutland (age 59), to [his wife] Miss Kathleen Tennant (age 21), youngest daughter of [his father-in-law] Mr. (age 54) and Mrs. Frank Tennant (age 52), of Innes House, took place yesterday at St. Margaret's [Map]. There was a very large attendance, and a number of those present brought young children with them.

The bride, who was given away by her father, wore a Venetian gown of white satin with a gold, brocade train four yards long and a short mantlet of old Venetian family lace; the sleeves were long and close-fitting, and she had a long white net veil with a wreath of orange blossoms. She carried a copy of the marriage service embroidered in seed pearl and coloured silks, worked by her mother after an old design in the British Museum.

[his sister] Lady Diane Manners (age 24), who was one of the bridesmaids, designed the bridesmaids' gowns in the medieval manner; they were of white chiffon belted in silver worn with flowing veils of blue tulle held by silver bands. Each of the bridesmaids carried a tail branch of almond blossom; the others were Miss Elizabeth Asquith (age 18), Miss Mary Lyttelton, and Miss Violet Warrender. The Hon. Stephen Tennant (age 9), who wore a Romeo suit with a jewelleed belt, was the page. Captain Charles Lindsay, Grenadier Guards, was best man. Canon Sheppard (age 35), Sub-Dean of the Chapels Royal, and the Rev. F. W. Knox, the Duke of Rutland's chaplain, performed the ceremony.

SOME OF THE GOWNS. The Duke of Rutland was among the first to come to the church, and most of the guests were there early. The Prime Minister (age 63) arrived with Mr. (age 35) and Mrs. Bonham-Carter (age 28), and Mr. Balfour with a party which included Mr. and Mrs. William Balfour. The Duchess on Rutland wore gold charmeuse with gold tissue in her hat and a rose pink velvet cloak bordered with fur. The [his sister] Marchioness of Anglesey (age 32), in white box-cloth, brought her little daughter, Lady Carolinie Paget (age 2), in a little Ermine coat and hat. Mrs. Asquith (age 51), who was with Mrs. Graham Smith (age 56), wore a black charmeuse gown made with a ruched cape and trimmed with chinchilla; her hat was black with emerald feathers.

Mrs. Tennant wore black and white embroidered taffetas; Lady Robert Manners had a long muauve coat trimmed with skunk; and the Countess of Wemyss (age 53) was in black and white. Lady Tree had a pervenche panne long coat made tight-fitting and a plain black sailor hat. The Countess of Drogheda (age 29) wore black and gold, Lady D'Abernon (age 50) grey chinchilla furs with a black coat and skirt, and Lady Arthur Paget a musquash coat bordered with skunk. [his sister-in-law] Mrs. Guy Charteris (age 28) brought her baby, and the Hon. Mrs. George Keppel (age 45), in black and white, was accomapanied by her two daughters, and Mrs. McKenna by her two sons. Mrs. Hwfa Williams and Lady Randolph Churchill (age 62) (who was with Mrs. Churchill (age 30)) both were black velvet.

The Guests. Among those present were:

The Italian Ambassador, the Spanish Ambassador, the Duchess of Buccleuch (age 44), and Lady Margaret Scott, etc.

A small reception was held after the ceremony at Lord (age 56) and Lady Glenconner's (age 45) house in Queen Anne's gate, and the bride and bridegroom subsequently left for Belvoir Castle [Map], where the honeymoon will be spent.

The London Gazette 29519. War Office, March, 1916. Regular Forces.

Aide-de-Camp (extra) — Lieutenant J. H. M., Marquis of Granby (age 29), The Leicestershire Regiment, Territorial Force. Dated 3rd March, 1916.

On 08 Nov 1916 [his daughter] Ursula Isabel Manners was born to John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland (age 30) and [his wife] Kathleen Tennant Duchess Rutland (age 21).

On 05 Jan 1918 [his daughter] Isabel Violet Kathleen Manners was born to John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland (age 31) and [his wife] Kathleen Tennant Duchess Rutland (age 23).

The London Gazette 31353. Capt. J. H. M. the Marquis of Granby (age 32), from the 4th Bn., Leicester Regt., to be Capt. 20th Apr. 1919.

On 28 May 1919 [his son] Charles John Robert Manners 10th Duke Rutland was born to John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland (age 32) and [his wife] Kathleen Tennant Duchess Rutland (age 24).

On 10 Sep 1922 [his son] John Martin Manners was born to John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland (age 36) and [his wife] Kathleen Tennant Duchess Rutland (age 27).

On 08 May 1925 [his father] Henry John Brinsley Manners 8th Duke Rutland (age 73) died. His son John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland (age 38) succeeded 9th Duke Rutland, 9th Marquess Grandby, 17th Earl of Rutland, 9th Baron Manners of Haddon in Derbyshire, 3rd Baron Roos of Belvoir in Leicestershire. [his wife] Kathleen Tennant Duchess Rutland (age 30) by marriage Duchess Rutland.

On 23 Sep 1925 [his son] Roger David Manners was born to John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland (age 39) and [his wife] Kathleen Tennant Duchess Rutland (age 30).

On 24 Nov 1936 [his son-in-law] Group Captain Thomas Loel Evelyn Bulkeley Guinness (age 30) and [his daughter] Isabel Violet Kathleen Manners (age 18) were married. They were divorced in 1951. She the daughter of John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland (age 50) and [his wife] Kathleen Tennant Duchess Rutland (age 41).

On 22 Apr 1940 John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland (age 53) died of Pneumonia at Belvoir Castle [Map]. His son [his son] Charles John Robert Manners 10th Duke Rutland (age 20) succeeded 10th Duke Rutland, 10th Marquess Grandby, 18th Earl of Rutland, 10th Baron Manners of Haddon in Derbyshire, 4th Baron Roos of Belvoir in Leicestershire.

The Times. The distinction of the Duke of Rutland (deceased) as an authority on medieval art is rightly stressed in the obituary which appeared in The Times, and it should perhaps be further emphasized, that in one department of the study of English Medieval Art he was a pioneer whose performance, calling for immense labour and patience, has laid the foundations for all future research on the subject. I am referring to the inlaid floor-tiles of medieval England, which began to claim attention among antiquaries about the middle of the last century and ever since that time have formed the subject of various specialist publications: but no one has ever brought to the subject the whole-hearted enthusiasm of the late Duke, and the results which he achieved are on a truly magnificent scale. His collection of English medieval floortiles is without a rival in the world. It is beautifully set out in one of the rooms at Belvoir, and has been catalogued by him in a monumental typewritten work of two folio volumes, illustrated with coloured reproductions all his own work. It is greatly to be hoped that this catalogue may one day be published, for it goes far beyond anything that has so far been published on the subject.

The Times. Despite leading the Remembrance Day parade through Rutland year after year and presiding over the ceremony, his [John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland (deceased)] supposed military service was a sham – but not one initially of his own making. His mother, [his mother] Violet Manners, the 8th Duchess of Rutland, used her considerable persuasive powers and position to conspire with Lord Kitchener and Sir John French, the Commander in Chief of the Western Front, to keep her son from the fighting. Eventually, she rigged a series of medical examinations and dashed any hopes John had of battling in the trenches in Ypres with his regiment – the 4th Battalion Leicestershire (the Tigers).

The Times. John Gilliat, wrote to The Times

When one reads the obituary notice of the late Duke of Rutland (deceased), the bare facts of his career seem to fall so far short of giving the reader the true picture of the man as his intimate friends knew him. To those friends his passing has left a blank impossible to refill, and this applies equally to his staff at Belvoir and Haddon. Here was a man in every sense of the word belonging to a school that to the country's loss represented a type of the Grand Seigneur, living his life for his own people's welfare and enriching all those with whom he came in contact by his erudite knowledge not only of manuscripts and early English furniture, heraldry, early tiles, and historical records, but also by his intimate knowledge of birds and every kind of animal life within these islands... We who knew him on such terms loved him and he had the great art of making us at our best when in his company: his like we shall not see again, and the country is the poorer for his death, even though so few were privileged to know him as we did.

In 1989 [his former wife] Kathleen Tennant Duchess Rutland (age 94) died.

Leicester Mercury 25 Oct 2012. When historian Catherine Bailey was invited to chronicle the history of the Duke of Rutland’s family during the First World War, she uncovered a secret which had remained hidden for more than 60 years. Reporter Peter Warzynski talks to the author about her discoveries... When John Henry Montagu Manners, the 9th Duke of Rutland, died of pneumonia on April 22, 1940, he was remembered as a soldier who fought with comrades on the Western Front. His name and rank formed the centrepiece at the chapel at Belvoir Castle as a tribute to his virtuous war record. But the Duke had spent his final days locked in a dank room at the castle, frantically trying to erase any record of his involvement in the Great War. In all, 249 men from the Belvoir estate were killed fighting on the frontline in France between 1914 and 1918. The Duke was never among them. Despite leading the Remembrance Day parade through Rutland year after year and presiding over the ceremony, his supposed military service was a sham – but not one of his own making. His mother, Violet Manners, the 8th Duchess of Rutland, used her considerable persuasive powers and position to approach Lord Kitchener and Sir John French, the Commander in Chief of the Western Front, to keep her son from the fighting. Eventually, she rigged a series of medical examinations and dashed any hopes John had of battling in the trenches in Ypres with his regiment – the 4th Battalion Leicestershire (the Tigers). In the years before he died, ashamed of his sham military service, the Duke became reclusive as he obsessed over the family's meticulous records. His aim was to erase any reference to his military past and rewrite the family's history – and he succeeded. However, the truth did not come to light until historian Catherine Bailey began combing through the records in 2008. "The archive was prist-ine," she said. "It went all the way back to the 12th century and included tens of-thousands of documents. "But when I began studying them, I noticed gaps." On April 22, 1940, the Leicester Mercury reported "with great regret that the Duke of Rutland, head of the ancient family of Manners, died at his seat". The article paid tribute to the 53-year-old, stating: "He went to the front in February 1915, serving with the rank of Captain." Catherine said: "The family had no idea John had altered documents and letters and rewritten history. It was only when I unearthed a small trunk containing more letters I was able piece together the clues and unravel what had happened." Catherine first entered the Muniment Room at Belvoir Castle – where the family archives are kept – in 2008, after the Duke and Duchess of Rutland agreed to let her research the family for a book about the First World War. "My original idea was to write about a great family during the Great War and the Duke and Duchess agreed to take part. But after just a few months, I noticed things were missing from the records," she said Catherine found three gaps – 1894, 1909 and 1915 – in the otherwise perfect chronological archive. "It soon became a detective story," she said. The first gap related to the death of John's brother, Haddon. "When John was eight his brother died, but the reason for the death was not what the family believed had happened to him." Catherine stops there. "I don't want to give too much of the book away," she explains. "John was banished from Belvoir Castle on the day of Haddon's funeral and spent most of his childhood years estranged from his parents. "That event is the key to his character and shaped the rest of his life." Haddon's death shook Violet, his mother, who made no secret of the fact he was her favourite. But the tragic event had further implications. Were anything to happen to John, she would lose her money and privileges when her husband – the 8th Duke – died. His title and estate would be handed over to his half-brother, leaving Violet penniless. Catherine believes the Duchess's efforts to keep her only son from the frontline were motivated by neurosis rather than love. "She did everything she could to prevent him from fighting on the frontline, because the most likely outcome of being on the Western Front was being killed," she said. It was true John was a Captain in the 4th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment before it was absorbed into the 46th North Midland Division. He was appointed aide-de-camp to General Edward Montagu-Stuart-Wortley, a role which included instructing soldiers in Britain. However, when he was sent to Ypres, France, in 1915, much to his frustration, he only witnessed the Great War from the safety of Goldfish Chateaux, the Army's regional headquarters. John's exclusion from the carnage of the frontline was due to his mother's relentless interference. Violet wrote letters to GHQ (General Headquarters) and General Wortley and even pressured her daughter into seducing a man whom she thought would be able to influence senior officers. She finally turned to family physician Dr Donald Hood to give false evidence about John's health, claiming he had recurring dysentery. "The more I got to know him, the more his story became a tragic one," said Catherine. "For the first year of the war he did all he could to fight with the men of the 4th Leicesters. "But it was his mother's meddling and constant undermining that finally got him returned home. "He spent the rest of life ashamed and his final years locked away trying to erase his past." The Secret Rooms, published by Penguin, is out on November 1.

John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland 1886-1940 appears on the following Descendants Family Trees:

Granville Leveson-Gower 1st Marquess Stafford 1721-1803

Royal Ancestors of John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland 1886-1940

Kings Wessex: Great x 25 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England

Kings Gwynedd: Great x 21 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd

Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 27 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth

Kings Powys: Great x 22 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys

Kings England: Great x 11 Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland

Kings Scotland: Great x 24 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland

Kings Franks: Great x 21 Grand Son of Louis VII King Franks

Kings France: Great x 14 Grand Son of Charles "Beloved Mad" VI King France

Ancestors of John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland 1886-1940

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Manners 3rd Duke Rutland 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Manners Marquess of Granby 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Bridget Sutton Duchess Rutland 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Charles Manners 4th Duke Rutland 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland

Great x 4 Grandfather: Charles Seymour 6th Duke of Somerset 5 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland

Great x 3 Grandmother: Frances Seymour 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland

Great x 4 Grandmother: Charlotte Finch Duchess Somerset 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 1 Grandfather: John Henry Manners 5th Duke Rutland 8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland

Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Somerset 2nd Duke Beaufort 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Charles Noel Somerset 4th Duke Beaufort 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry IV of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Rachel Noel Duchess Beaufort 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry IV of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Mary Isabella Somerset Duchess Rutland 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry IV of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Symes Berkeley 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Berekeley Duchess Beaufort 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Norborne

GrandFather: John James Robert Manners 7th Duke Rutland 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland

Great x 4 Grandfather: Charles Howard 3rd Earl Carlisle 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Howard 4th Earl Carlisle 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Capell Countess Carlisle 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Frederick Howard 5th Earl Carlisle 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Byron 4th Baron Byron 14 x Great Grand Son of King John of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Isabella Byron Countess Carlisle 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Frances Berkeley Baroness Byron 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Howard Duchess Rutland 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Leveson-Gower 1st Earl Gower 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Granville Leveson-Gower 1st Marquess Stafford 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Evelyn Pierrepont Baroness Gower 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Caroline Leveson-Gower Countess Carlisle 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland

Great x 4 Grandfather: Scroop Egerton 1st Duke Bridgewater 6 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland

Great x 3 Grandmother: Louisa Egerton Countess Gower 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry VII of England and Ireland

Great x 4 Grandmother: Rachel Russell Duchess Bridgewater 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry IV of England

Father: Henry John Brinsley Manners 8th Duke Rutland 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland

Great x 4 Grandfather: Captain Anthony Marlay

Great x 3 Grandfather: Bishop George Marlay

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Morgan

Great x 2 Grandfather: Captain George Marlay

Great x 1 Grandfather: Colonel George Marlay 14 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Humphrey Butler 1st Earl Lanesborough

Great x 3 Grandfather: Brinsley Butler 2nd Earl Lanesborough

Great x 2 Grandmother: Catherine Butler 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Rochfort 1st Earl of Belvedere 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Jane Rochfort Countess Lanesborough 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Molesworth

GrandMother: Catherine Louise Georgina Marlay 15 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Catherine Louisa Augusta Tisdall

John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry VII of England and Ireland

Great x 4 Grandfather: Colin Lindsay 3rd Earl Balcarres 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: James Lindsay 5th Earl Balcarres 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Campbell Countess Balcarres 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Alexander Lindsay 6th Earl Balcarres 23rd Earl Crawford 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Dalrymple

Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Dalrymple Countess Balcarres

Great x 1 Grandfather: James Lindsay 7th Earl Balcarres 24th Earl of Crawford 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Dalrymple

Great x 3 Grandfather: Unknown Dalrymple

Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Bradshaigh Dalrymple Countess Balcarres

GrandFather: Charles Hugh Lindsay 14 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Mother: Violet Lindsay Duchess Rutland 15 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England