Frederick Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond

Frederick Charles Gordon Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond, 9th Duke of Lennox, 9th Duke of Aubigny, 4th Duke of Gordon (5 February 1904 – 2 November 1989) was a British peer, engineer, racing driver, and motor racing promoter.

His Grace

The Duke of Richmond
Portrait by Allan Warren
Succeeded byCharles Gordon Lennox
Personal details
Born(1904-02-05)5 February 1904
Died2 November 1989(1989-11-02) (aged 85)
Spouse(s)
Elizabeth Grace Hudson
(
m. 1927)
Children
Parents

Biography

Freddie Richmond, as he was known, was the third son of Charles Gordon Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond and Hilda Brassey. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. His interest in engineering started while he was at university and afterwards he was apprenticed to Bentley Motors. He began a motor racing career in 1929 when he took part in the JCC High Speed Trial. In the next year he became a member of the Austin team and won the Brooklands 500 Miles. He created his own team of MG Midgets in 1931 and won the Brooklands Double Twelve race, but then became more involved in the organisational side of motor sport.

He inherited the Dukedoms in 1935, along with the Goodwood Estate and the racecourse. Death duties meant he had to sell the family interests in Scotland, including Gordon Castle, and settle on the Goodwood Estate near Chichester. He designed and flew his own aircraft and served with the Royal Air Force during World War II. For a time he was based in Washington, working for the Ministry of Aircraft Production.

After the war he faced the task of rehabilitating Goodwood, and saw the potential for creating a motor racing circuit from the fighter station built at Goodwood during the Second World War. Horse racing was an important part of the Goodwood scene, but he did not share his ancestors' interest in the sport. The Goodwood Circuit became an important venue in motor racing. However, by 1966 the Duke was concerned at the increasing risks involved in motor racing and closed the circuit except for minor club activities and private testing.

The Duke was the longest-serving Vice President of the Royal Automobile Club, with which he was associated since 1948. As early as the thirties, he was the motoring correspondent of the Sunday Referee, and became the Founder President of the Guild of Motoring Writers.

The Duke appeared on the 14 December 1958 episode of the American version of What's My Line?.[1]

Marriage and children

He married Elizabeth Grace Hudson (1900–1992) on 15 December 1927. She was the daughter of Rev. Thomas William Hudson and his wife, Alethea Matheson, and sister of Bishop Noel Hudson. They were married for sixty-one years and had two children:

Ancestry
gollark: Doesn't that apply to EVERYONE then?
gollark: But Quonauts 9.5 isn't in effect yet.
gollark: They do. I can see them.
gollark: I can't see anything in the rules saying that the rules don't apply.
gollark: Hmm. Does it SAY that anywhere?

References
  • Times Obituary, November 1989
  1. http://www.tv.com/whats-my-line/episode-444/episode/96038/summary.html?tag=ep_guide;ep_title;14
Peerage of England
Preceded by
Charles Gordon-Lennox		 Duke of Richmond
3rd creation
1935–1989		 Succeeded by
Charles Gordon-Lennox
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by
Charles Gordon-Lennox		 Duke of Lennox
2nd creation
1935–1989		 Succeeded by
Charles Gordon-Lennox
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Charles Gordon-Lennox		 Duke of Gordon
2nd creation
1935–1989		 Succeeded by
Charles Gordon-Lennox
French nobility
Preceded by
Charles Gordon-Lennox		 Duke of Aubigny
1935–1989		 Succeeded by
Charles Gordon-Lennox
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