Gerald Bridgeman, 6th Earl of Bradford

Gerald Michael Orlando Bridgeman, 6th Earl of Bradford, TD, DL, JP (29 September 1911 – 30 August 1981),[1] styled Viscount Newport between 1915 and 1957, was a British peer and soldier.

The Right Honourable
The Earl of Bradford
TD, DL, JP
Earl of Bradford
Tenure21 March 1957 – 30 August 1981
SuccessorRichard Bridgeman, 7th Earl
Other titles6th Viscount Newport
7th Baron Bradford
11th Baronet Bridgeman of Great Lever
Born(1911-09-29)29 September 1911
Died30 August 1981(1981-08-30) (aged 69)
Spouse(s)Mary Willoughby Montgomery
Issue
Richard Thomas Orlando Bridgeman
Serena Mary Bridgeman
Caroline Louise Bridgeman
Charles Gerald Orlando Bridgeman
ParentsOrlando Bridgeman, 5th Earl of Bradford
The Hon. Margaret Cecilia Bruce

Background

He was the only son of Orlando Bridgeman, 5th Earl of Bradford and his wife Hon. Margaret Cecilia Bruce, eldest daughter of Henry Bruce, 2nd Baron Aberdare.[2] In 1957, he succeeded his father as earl.[1] Bridgeman was educated at Harrow School and went then to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1932.[3] In 1961, he received a Master of Arts from Trinity College.[3]

Career

Bridgeman was commissioned in 1938 in the Shropshire Yeomanry,[4] Royal Armoured Corps, part of the Territorial Army and fought in the regiment as part of the Royal Artillery in Italy in the Second World War.[5] He was mentioned in despatches and was decorated with the Territorial Decoration.[5] On his retirement in 1962, he was granted the rank of a captain.[6]

Elected in 1955, Bridgeman was president of the Country Landowners' Association for two years.[5] In 1975, he received the Bledisloe Gold Medal for Landowners by the Royal Agricultural Society of England.[7]

Bridgeman was Justice of the Peace for Shropshire from 1949 and became Deputy Lieutenant of that county two years later.[3] He was appointed Crown Estate Commissioner in 1956,[8] a post he held until 1968.[9] In 1970, he was nominated Vice Lord Lieutenant.[10]

He owned land in Castle Bromwich, Warwickshire.

Family

On 31 October 1946, he married Mary Willoughby Montgomery (died 1986), elder daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Hassard Montgomery (22 June 1872 – 19 February 1953) and Hester Frances Dames-Longworth (12 May 1894 – 1954). They had four children:[3]

  • Richard Thomas Orlando Bridgeman, 7th Earl of Bradford (born 3 October 1947)
  • Lady Serena Mary Bridgeman (1 July 1949 – 16 January 2001), married Richard Arnold Andrew (died 2000) (son of John Ramsay Andrew) on 27 April 1978 and divorced in 1989
  • Lady Caroline Louise Bridgeman (born 18 April 1952), married Brian Martin Garnell (son of Henry Joseph Garnell) on 5 October 1974
  • The Hon. Charles Gerald Orlando Bridgeman (born 25 June 1954), married Nicola Marie-Thérèse Sales (daughter of Brian Sales) on 17 January 1982 and had three children: James Edward Charles Orlando Bridgeman (born 22 March 1978), Robert Gerald Orlando Bridgeman (born 19 May 1983), and Nicholas Francis Orlando Bridgeman (born 2 June 1991)

Bridgeman died in 1981 and was succeeded in his titles by his older son Richard.[1]

References
  1. "Leigh Rayment – Peerage". Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  2. Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1929). Armorial Families. vol. I. London: Hurst & Blackett. p. 122.
  3. "ThePeerage – Gerald Michael Orlando Bridgeman, 6th Earl of Bradford". Retrieved 16 November 2006.
  4. Kelly's Handbook of the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 1957. Kelly's. p. 1572.
  5. Who is Who 1963. London: Adam & Charles Black Ltd. 1963. p. 334.
  6. "No. 42649". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 April 1962. p. 3177.
  7. "The Royal Agricultural Society of England, Official Website – Official and Awards" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  8. "No. 40952". The London Gazette. 18 December 1956. p. 7165.
  9. "No. 43194". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 January 1968. p. 619.
  10. "No. 45098". The London Gazette. 12 May 1970. p. 5344.
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Orlando Bridgeman		 Earl of Bradford
2nd creation
1957–1981		 Succeeded by
Richard Bridgeman

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