William Ward, 4th Earl of Dudley


William Humble David Ward, 4th Earl of Dudley, styled Viscount Ednam from 1932 to 1969, was a British peer.

Background

He was the son of William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley, and Lady Rosemary Millicent Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, only surviving daughter of Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland. He was a godson of the Duke of Windsor.
He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He joined the Royal Hussars regiment, and was wounded on active service in World War II. He served as Aide-de-Camp to Field Marshal Archibald Wavell the Viceroy of India between 1942 and 1943.
He inherited the titles Baron Ward of Birmingham, Earl of Dudley and Viscount Ednam upon the death of his father, the 3rd Earl, on 26 December 1969.
The 4th Earl ceased to sit as a member of the House of Lords on 11 November 1999, following the removal of many of the hereditary seats from the legislature.
He was the paternal uncle of actress and former model Rachel Ward and the environmental activist Tracy Louise Ward who are the daughters of the 4th Earl's youngest brother, the Hon. Peter Alistair Ward.

Family

Lord Dudley married firstly Stella Carcano y Morra, daughter of Dr. Don Miguel Angel Carcano, who was the Argentine Ambassador to the UK from 1942 to 1946. They married on 10 January 1946 and had three children:
Lord and Lady Dudley divorced in 1960.
Lord Dudley remarried in Amersham on 24 August 1961. His second wife was Maureen Swanson the Scottish actress and socialite. Together they had seven children: