Earl Jellicoe

George Patrick John Rushworth Jellicoe, soldier, diplomat, politician and businessman: born Hatfield, Hertfordshire 4 April 1918; styled 1925-35 Viscount Brocas; succeeded 1935 as second Earl Jellicoe; DSO 1942; MC 1944; entered Foreign Service 1947, First Secretary, Washington 1948-51, First Secretary, Brussels 1951-53, Deputy Secretary General, Baghdad Pact 1956; Lord-in-Waiting, 1961; Joint Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Local Government 1961-62; Minister of State, Home Office 1962-63; PC 1963; First Lord of the Admiralty 1963-64; Minister of Defence for the Royal Navy 1964; Deputy Leader of the Opposition, House of Lords 1967-70; Lord Privy Seal and Minister in Charge, Civil Service Department 1970-73; Leader of the House of Lords 1970-73; Chairman of Council, Kings College London 1977-84; chairman, Tate & Lyle 1978-83; Chairman, Medical Research Council 1982-90; chairman, Davy Corp 1985-90; KBE 1986; FRS 1990; created 1999 Baron Jellicoe of Southampton; married 1944 Patricia O'Kane (two sons, two daughters; marriage dissolved 1966), 1966 Philippa Bridge (née Dunne; one son, two daughters), (one son with Sara Harrity); died Tidcombe, Wiltshire 22 February 2007.

Few public figures have led such a varied and exciting life as George Jellicoe. The son of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, who commanded the Imperial fleet at the great naval battle of Jutland in 1916, he was a war hero, diplomat, politician, businessman, and - throughout - a hedonist.

George Jellicoe grew up in a privileged milieu and throughout his life he was conscious of this, and of the responsibilities it imposed. His mother, Florence, was a member of the Cayzer ship-owning family. His godfather was King George V, after whom he was named, and the King and Queen Mary occasionally stayed at the family summer home, St Lawrence Hall, on the Isle of Wight. From his early years George Jellicoe was proud and deeply fond of his sailor-hero father, who served as Governor General of New Zealand between 1920 and 1924 and was raised to an earldom in 1925.

In 1935, when Jellicoe was 17 and in his final year at Winchester, his father died. He succeeded to the title but did not take his seat until he became of age in 1939. In 1937 he was a page-boy at George VI's coronation. He won an exhibition to read History at Trinity College, Cambridge, and before then spent a year in Germany - he was set on a career in the diplomatic service and wanted to learn German.

Jellicoe's name assured him of an interesting time when war broke out in 1939. He initially joined the Coldstream Guards but in 1942 David Stirling recruited him to be his second-in- command in the newly formed SAS "L" detachment. The following year he was made first Commander of the Special Boat Squadron, operating with the Special Operations Executive (SOE). His team mounted highly dangerous sorties on the German-occupied Greek islands and later Italy and Yugoslavia. Riding on a stolen bicycle he was one of the first to help liberate Athens from German occupation. For the rest of his life he was a hero to the Greeks and showered with honours by the government.

He was awarded the DSO at the age of 24, the MC at the age of 26 - both were remarkable for one so young - and was three times mentioned in dispatches. His courage and enterprise would not have been out of place in a Boy's Own story. He also made friendships for life. Two friends, Carol Mather and Stephen Hastings, later became Conservative MPs. Mather wrote of Jellicoe - "a resolute extrovert, with a well-developed sense of Rabelaisian fun, and a great friend."

He adapted well to peacetime. At first he was based in Austria with the UN Relief and Rehabilitation Agency, helping to resettle the people displaced by the war. In 1947 he joined the Foreign Office, serving in Washington alongside the Cambridge spies Kim Philby and Guy Burgess. At the height of the Cold War he worked on the Soviet desk, sometimes deputising for his boss and chairing meetings of the Joint Intelligence Committee. He was then appointed deputy Secretary General to the Baghdad Pact, rekindling his interest in the Middle East.

Jellicoe was apparently set on a promising diplomatic career until at a party in 1955 his roving eye alighted on the beautiful divorcee Philippa Bridge (née Dunne). The problem was that he was already married (to Patricia O' Kane in 1944) and his superiors gave him a choice - his career or Philippa. He chose Philippa and lived with her, although they only married 11 years later, on the dissolution of his first marriage. They bought a beautiful country house, Tidcombe Manor, near Marlborough in Wiltshire. It was set in 20 acres and had a swimming pool. For over 45 years the staff of Tony and Barbara Hunt looked after them, their children and the house.

Both he and Philippa were independently wealthy and he could afford to enter politics. By now he had moved from the cross benches in the Lords to the Conservative side, although his sense of public service was always more important than a party label. He was a One Nation Tory and a strong supporter of British entry to the EEC.

According to the former Tory MP Lt-Col James Allason, PPS to John Profumo, the War Secretary and a good friend of Jellicoe’s, the latter’s prospects were held back because Patricia, a Catholic, refused him a divorce and he was living with Philippa. It was when the Queen, who knew Jellicoe, informed Prime Minister Harold Macmillan that she had no objection to the arrangement that he was promoted. Allason reflected that Jellicoe was given "a royal licence to sin".

In 1961 Jellicoe was made a whip, a year later Parliamentary Secretary in the Home Office and in 1963 First Lord of the Admiralty. All his life his name had given him recognition and he was immensely proud to return to the crucible of his father's fame.

Meanwhile, Profumo had been caught up in a media frenzy about sex parties, call girls and a KGB connection. Profumo had been intimate with the call girl Christine Keeler who had also had a relationship with a former Soviet naval attaché. Profumo resigned following his lie about the relationship in the House of Commons. Philippa’s mother had been chairman of Profumo’s Stratford constituency party. Jellicoe was aware that memories of the affair still resonated when he was caught up in his own sex scandal 10 years later.

With the Conservative Party in opposition after October 1964, Jellicoe became deputy leader of the party in the House of Lords in 1967, speaking occasionally on defence and foreign affairs. He also became a non-executive director of S.G. Warburg Group, which greatly valued his Greek connections and knowledge of the Middle East.

When Ted Heath formed a Conservative government in 1970, Jellicoe was appointed Lord Privy Seal, Leader of the House of Lords, and minister in charge of the Civil Service Department. His stamina was such that he could hold all-night sittings in the Lords to push government legislation through, notably the European Communities and the Industrial Relations bills. As minister for the civil service he played a major part in reforming public servants' retirement pensions, which henceforth were linked to inflation. He also chaired the Cabinet's Emergencies Committee to deal with crises, usually prompted by public sector strikes in essential services.

Jellicoe was a larger-than-life figure. Endowed with prodigious energy, he required no more than three or four hours sleep. He usually rose at 5am and had a cold shower, or swam in his pool if he was in Tidcombe. He would then work on his boxes before going to the office. He also loved vigorous outdoor sport, including shooting and tennis and was an accomplished skier (to the extent of being invited to train with the British Olympic team). His social diary resembled that of the Spectator's "High Life" column by Taki. Some mistakenly interpreted these vigorous extra-mural activities and a jaunty manner as signs that he was too laid back. But Jellicoe worked hard and played hard.

In 1973 Lord Lambton, a junior defence minister, was forced to resign following photographic evidence of his involvement with prostitutes and drugs. Scotland Yard enquiries into a call girl ring revealed Jellicoe's name. He had used a different name when he entertained call girls in his Onslow Square flat, but his name was on the entrance. He appreciated how the Lambton affair had echoes of Profumo and how that scandal had damaged the government. Although not close to Heath, he admired the Prime Minister greatly and resigned promptly. As with the Foreign Office, his liking for the opposite sex again set back a promising career.

His many friends quickly rallied round. The honourable resignation, his lack of self-pity and his talents enabled him to resume a successful career outside Westminster. He took a number of directorships including Sotheby's, Morgan Crucible and Warburg again. In 1978 he began a five-year stint as chairman of the giant sugar company Tate & Lyle, followed, in 1983, by the chairmanship of Davy Corporation, the engineering giant. In business, as in government, his direct manner, sense of humour and shrewd judgement won him widespread respect.

He became, if anything, even more of an establishment figure. In 1977 he became chairman of the Council of King's College London and in 1984 succeeded his Warburg friend, Lord Roll of Ipsden, as Chancellor of Southampton University. He served in the post for 10 years. He was also chairman between 1983 and 1986 of the British Overseas Training Board.

In 1982 he accepted a government invitation to review the working of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and to act as Secretary of the Cabinet's anti-terrorism committee. He recommended the continuation of the PTA legislation. Although the act had originally been introduced to cope with IRA terrorism, he reported that there was now as much threat from non-IRA sources. This appointment to serve at the heart of the intelligence services was a reflection of how widely he was trusted and respected.

Jellicoe was also heavily involved with scientific bodies. As minister for the Civil Service Department he had chaired a Cabinet committee on science and technology. In 1982 he became chairman of the Medical Research Council and for eight years was a doughty defender at a time when the budgets of research councils were under great pressure. He battled successfully with Margaret Thatcher for money to be devoted to research on Aids. In 1990 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, a rare recognition for a non-scientist, but a mark of the scientific community's appreciation of the influence he had exercised on their behalf in Whitehall.

Jellicoe served as president of the SAS Regimental Association between 1996 and 2000, making a point of attending reunions and the funerals of old comrades. Following the removal of most of the hereditary peers from the Lords as a result of the Blair government's legislation, he was, as an ex-Leader of the House, created a life peer in 1999.

Approaching 90 he still woke early for his morning swim and drove from Tidcombe to attend the House of Lords. By then he was the longest-serving member of the House of Lords. He enjoyed opera and his family and was sustained by the affection of his many friends.

Dennis Kavanagh