Jack Churchill (1880–1947)


John Strange Spencer-Churchill , known as Jack Churchill, was the younger son of Lord Randolph Churchill and his wife Jennie, and the brother of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Winston Churchill.

Early life

He was born at Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland, where his father, Lord Randolph, was secretary to Jack's grandfather, the 7th Duke of Marlborough, then Viceroy of Ireland.
John was educated at Harrow School in England. Jennie's sisters believed that John's actual biological father was Evelyn Boscawen, but this is unlikely, given his strong resemblance to his father and brother.

Career

He was commissioned into the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars in 1898. He served in the South African Light Horse alongside his war correspondent brother in the Second Boer War in 1899–1900. He was mentioned in dispatches, and was shot through the leg in February 1900, during the Battle of the Tugela Heights, part of the campaign for the relief of Ladysmith.
He fought in World War I, where he was again mentioned in dispatches. He served on the staff of Field Marshal Lord French, General Sir Ian Hamilton and Field Marshal Lord Birdwood.
He reached the rank of major and was awarded the French decorations of the Croix de guerre and the Légion d'honneur and the British Distinguished Service Order in 1918. After the war, he became a businessman in the City of London firstly as a partner at stockbrokers Nelke, Phillips & Bendix from 1906 and then at Vickers, da Costa, making partner in 1921.
During World War II, after the widowed John lost his house during the Blitz, he lived in 10 Downing Street or in the No 10 Annex.

Personal life

He married, in Oxford on 8 August 1908, Lady Gwendoline Theresa Mary Bertie, the daughter of Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon and Gwendoline Mary Dormer. Lady Gwendoline had been raised as a Roman Catholic. John and his wife had three children:
Jack died on 23 February 1947, aged 67, of heart disease. He is buried near his parents and brother at St Martin's Church, Bladon, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire.