Inigo Freeman-Thomas, 2nd Marquess of Willingdon

Inigo Brassey Freeman-Thomas, 2nd Marquess of Willingdon (25 July 1898 – 19 March 1979), was a British Liberal Party politician and the second son of Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, a former Viceroy of India. From 1931 to 1941 he was styled Viscount Ratendone.

The Most Honourable The Marquess of Willingdon
Willingdon in 1943
Born	(1898-07-25)25 July 1898
Died	19 March 1979(1979-03-19) (aged 80)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Indian Army Royal Air Force
Years of service	1915–1918, 1940–1954
Rank	Squadron Leader
Battles / wars	World War I World War II

Biography

Willingdon was the second son of Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, and his wife Lady Marie Brassey, daughter of Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey. When his elder brother, Second Lieutenant Hon. Gerard Freeman-Thomas, was killed in action on 12 September 1914, he became heir apparent to his father. From 1919 to 1920, he served as an aide-de-camp on the personal staff of the Viceroy of India, Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford.

His father was raised in the peerage from Viscount Willingdon to Earl of Willingdon in 1931, a few months before the end of his tenure as Governor General of Canada. With the earldom came the subsidiary title of Viscount Ratendone, which the younger Freeman-Thomas used as a courtesy title. His father was created Marquess of Willingdon in 1936, and when he died in 1941, the younger Freeman-Thomas became the second marquess.

In the House of Lords, he served as a Liberal Party whip from 1948 and then Liberal Chief Whip from 1949 to 1950.

Marriages

Grave of Inigo Freeman-Thomas

He was married three times:

• 8 October 1924 to Maxine Forbes-Robertson, daughter of Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson, divorced 1932.
• 6 June 1934 to Mary Foster, daughter of Basil Foster and Gwendoline Brogden, divorced 1939.
• 9 June 1943 to Daphne Caldwell, daughter of Seymour Caldwell.

He had no children and the marquessate became extinct on his death. He was buried at St Peters, Cranbourne, England.

Styles

• 1898–1910: Mr Inigo Freeman-Thomas
• 1910–1931: The Honourable Inigo Freeman-Thomas
• 1931–1941: Viscount Ratendone
• 1941–1979: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Willingdon

Sources

• Patrick Cracroft-Brennan, Willingdon, Marquess of (UK, 1936 - 1979) in Cracroft's Peerage. Accessed 22 December 2013.