John Godley, 3rd Baron Kilbracken
John Raymond Godley, 3rd Baron Kilbracken, DSC (17 October 1920 – 14 August 2006), was a British-born, later Irish-resident peer, wartime naval pilot, journalist, author and farmer. He was the son of The 2nd Baron Kilbracken; his grandfather, Arthur Godley, 1st Baron Kilbracken, was William Ewart Gladstone's private secretary. He became the third Baron Kilbracken on his father's death in October 1950, and became an active member of the House of Lords. After many years living in the Republic of Ireland, he renounced his British nationality and took up Irish citizenship in the 1970s, as a protest at British actions in Northern Ireland.
Early and private life
Godley was born in
He married twice. He married Penelope Anne Reyne in 1943. They had two children, Christopher (born 1 January 1945) and another son, who died aged three days. He and Penelope divorced in 1949.
In April 1951, he moved permanently to the family's estate, Killegar House, in Carrigallen, County Leitrim. His father's fortunes had not flourished and he had been forced by circumstances to put Killegar on the market. The house was dilapidated, and had not been occupied for several years but he was determined to live there. He farmed the estate organically from the 1950s.
His second marriage was to an Australian ex-spy and writer, Susan Lee Heazlewood, who was thirty-six years his junior, in 1981. They had one son, the Irish poet Sean Godley (born 1981), before divorcing in 1989.
He also had a daughter, Lisa.
He died in Cavan in August 2006.
Wartime service
Having taken flying lessons while at school, when
Post-war writing career
After finishing his studies, he considered joining the Foreign Service, but decided to become a journalist instead, working for the Daily Mirror from 1947 to 1949, the Daily Express from 1949 to 1951, and then freelance. He was originally as a racing correspondent and later mainly as a foreign correspondent in places including Aden, Angola, China, Cuba and Yemen. He wrote for many journals, including The New Yorker, Punch, Sports Illustrated, Reader's Digest and Good Housekeeping.
He also wrote several books under the name "John Godley", including Tell Me the Next One (1950), The Master Forger (1951, a biography of the
Peerage
He succeeded his father as Baron Kilbracken in 1950, while visiting New Zealand to celebrate the centenary of the foundation of Christchurch and the province of Canterbury by his great-great-grandfather, John Robert Godley. He took his seat in the House of Lords, but rarely attended until he made his maiden speech in 1961. He became an active member in later years. Originally a Liberal, he moved to Labour in 1966.
As a resident in the
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References
- ^ Pine, L. G., ed. (1959). Burke's Peerage. p. 1260.
External links
- Obituary, The Times, 15 August 2006
- Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 15 August 2006
- Obituary, The Guardian, 16 August 2006
- Obituary, The Independent, 18 August 2006
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