William Dudley Ward
William Dudley Ward PC was an English sportsman and Liberal Party politician.
Early life
Dudley Ward was born in London, the son of William Humble Dudley Ward and the great-grandson of William Humble Ward, 10th Baron Ward. His mother was the Hon. Eugenie Violet Adele Brett, daughter of William Brett, 1st Viscount Esher.He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he was secretary of the Pitt Club.
Career
Dudley Ward rowed for Cambridge in the Boat Race in 1897 when Oxford won, and as President of Cambridge University Boat Club, he rowed in the winning Cambridge crews in the 1899 and 1900 Boat Races.At Henley Royal Regatta, he was runner-up in Silver Goblets in 1900 with Raymond Etherington-Smith. His crew won the Stewards' Challenge Cup in 1901. In 1902, he won the Grand Challenge Cup, the Stewards' Challenge Cup again, and the Silver Goblets partnering Claude Taylor. In 1903 his crew won the Stewards' and Grand again.
In the 1908 Summer Olympics, Dudley Ward was a crew member of the British boat Sorais, which won the bronze medal in the 8-metre class.
Political career
Dudley Ward was returned to Parliament for Southampton in 1906, a seat he held until 1922, and served under H. H. Asquith as Treasurer of the Household from 1909 to 1912. During World War I he was a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, though this may have been a cover for his counter-espionage work for Admiral Sir William Reginald Hall, Director of Naval Intelligence. He served under David Lloyd George as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from 1917 to 1922. In 1922 he was admitted to the Privy Council.Later life
After retiring from politics, he divided his time between England and Canada, where he was custodian of Edward, Prince of Wales's Alberta properties, primarily the E.P. Ranch, the royal's cattle ranch near Pekisko west of Calgary. An old sandstone building on Stephen Avenue where he had his offices is known as the Glanville/Ward Block.Personal life
Dudley Ward reportedly "had a liking for the fleshpots and was known, on occasions, to turn up for training still dressed in white tie and tails." He married Winifred May "Freda" Birkin, daughter of Col. Charles Wilfred Birkin, in 1913. She was a socialite and became a mistress of Edward, Prince of Wales. Before the couple divorced in 1931, they were the parents of two daughters:- Penelope Ann Rachel Dudley Ward, a leading actress in the 1930s and 1940s; she married Anthony Pelissier in 1939. After their divorce in 1944, she married film director Sir Carol Reed in 1948.
- Claire Angela Louise Dudley Ward, who married the commando leader Maj.-Gen. Sir Robert Laycock, in 1935.
Descendants
Through his eldest daughter Penelope, he was a grandfather of Clare Pelissier, an actress who went by the name Tracy Reed, she married fellow actor Edward Fox; and Max Reed.Through his younger daughter Claire, he was a grandfather of Joseph William Peter Laycock, who married actress Lucy Fleming.