John Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston


John Reginald Lopes Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston, MVO, OBE was a British peer and soldier. He is the grandfather of Karim Aga Khan, leader of the Nizari Ismailis, an Islamic sect.

Early life

Yarde-Buller was the only son of the 2nd Baron Churston and his wife, Barbara, the only child of Sir Hastings Yelverton and the 20th Baroness Grey de Ruthyn.
He was educated at Winchester College.

Military career

Yarde-Buller was commissioned a second-lieutenant in the Scots Guards on 8 April 1896 and promoted to lieutenant on 13 April 1898. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899, Yarde-Buller was with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment as it left Southampton for South Africa on the SS Britannic in March 1900. On arrival, the battalion was attached to the 16th Infantry Brigade serving as part of the 8th Division under Sir Leslie Rundle. Yarde-Buller was present at operations in the Orange River Colony May–November 1900, including the action at Biddulphsberg and Wittebergen. After his return from the war, he was appointed aide-de-camp to The Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India in January 1902, and promoted to captain on 23 April 1902. He served in India until the following year, then as ADC to The Duke of Connaught from 1904-06. He later became a lieutenant-colonel in the short-lived 3rd Resident Battalion of the Scots Guards.

Personal life

On 24 April 1907, he married the music hall singer Denise Orme, and they had six children, most of whom were known for their high-profile marriages and divorces:
In 1910, Yarde-Buller inherited his father's title and he and his wife divorced in 1928. When he died in 1930, his eldest son inherited his title, and his former wife was remarried to the 7th Duke of Leinster in 1946.