Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster

Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, aka Bendor, was born on 19 Mar 1879, He was the son of Victor, Earl Grosvenor and grandson of the 1st Duke of Westminster. His mother was Lady Sibell Lumley, daughter of the Earl of Scarborough. He was the only son out of 3 children and lived at the ancestral estate of Eaton Hall. He was so rich that he had his own train to take him to his London home. He also owned two yachts, 17 Rolls Royces and his home had 54 bedrooms. Although married with three children he had a string of mistresses on whom he lavished jewellery. His most famous mistress was Coco Chanel who gained from the affair a house in Mayfair and land on the French Riviera where she built her villa La Pausa. He and Chanel plotted treason during the war as they were both admirers of Adolf Hitler. The Duke was famous for his rants against Jews, and blamed the War on them. Not only was he anti-semitic he was also homophobic. Bendor’s sister’s husband, Lord Beauchamp, a homosexual Liberal peer, was exposed by him for both personal and political reasons. Beauchamp’s life was ruined and he had to live abroad to avoid jail. The Duke sent him a short note, “Dear Bugger-in-Law, You got what you deserved. Yours, Westminster.”
He was keen on the military life and was very active in the Boer War and WW1. Having inherited the Dukedom on 22 Dec 1899 he entered the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) as a 2nd Lieutenant on 29 Aug 1900. He went out to South Africa as ADC to Lord Roberts. He resigned his regular commission in December 1901 and on 18 Jan 1902 he gained the rank of Captain in the Cheshire Yeomanry. On 19 May 1906 he was a Major in the same unit but on 1 April 1908 he was honorary lieutenant-colonel of the 16th Bn London Regiment. This post lasted until 1915. He returned to the Cheshire Yeomanry and fought with them in Egypt in 1916. He was a motor enthusiast and developed a prototype Rolls-Royce Armoured Car which was used by the Cheshire Yeomanry. He led his motorised unit against the Senussis at Agagia on 29 Feb 1916, and on 14 Mar 1916 he led a daring raid to rescue sailors who were held prisoner by the Senussis at Bir Hakeim. He was awarded the DSO for his actions. He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Cheshire Yeomanry on 26 May 1917 and was Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire from 1905 to 1920. Bendor died of a coronary thombosis at Loch More Lodge on his Scottish estate in Sutherland on 19 July 1953. He was buried in Eccleston churchyard in Cheshire.

Regimental Details | Cheshire Yeomanry Honorary Colonels