John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst

John de Vere Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst, (5 February 1895 – 30 October 1970) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. After serving in the army, the Foreign Office, and as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons, Wakehurst was appointed as the last British Governor of New South Wales, which he held from 1937 to 1946. Upon returning to Britain he was appointed Governor of Northern Ireland from 1952 to 1964. He was made a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter in 1962 and died in 1970.

Early years Loder was born in London in February 1895, the only son of Conservative MP Gerald Loder, the fourth son of Sir Robert Loder, 1st Baronet and member of a prominent Sussex family, and Lady Louise de Vere Beauclerk, the daughter of the 10th Duke of St Albans and personal friend of Queen Victoria, who permitted Loder to be christened in the Chapel Royal of St. James's Palace.

Through his mother's family, he was descended from an illegitimate royal line of King Charles II. Loder was educated at Eton College, where he excelled in history and languages, with a particular interest in drama. Although originally intending to go to Trinity College, Cambridge, with the outbreak of the First World War, Loder was instead commissioned into the 4th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment, and later joined the Intelligence Corps, seeing service throughout the war in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine. For his services, he was Mentioned in Despatches, and left the British Army in 1919 with the rank of captain.

Loder worked as a clerk in the Foreign Office from 1919 to 1922 and then for two years at the League of Nations in Geneva. On 3 June 1920, he married Margaret "Peggy" Tennant, the daughter of prominent Liberal politician and businessman, Sir Charles Tennant, 1st Baronet. Together they had four children: three sons, Christopher, David and Robert, and a daughter, Henrietta. Indulging in his interest in Egyptology, Loder wrote his first book: The Truth about Mesopotamia, Syria and Palestine. (1923).

John and Peggy Loder travelled on a world tour in 1924, including a visit to Australia. Although initially unimpressed, describing Sydney as "afflicted with so much Victorian architecture of the worst kind", by the end he had warmed to the country, writing that Australia was "a splendid country with splendid people" possessing a "democratic spirit". Returning to England, Loder was narrowly elected as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Leicester East in 1924, a seat he held until being defeated in the 1929 General Election. Loder then made several visits to Bolshevik Russia, writing another book entitled: Bolshevism in Perspective (1931). He was to be the last non-Australian governor of the State. The Wakehursts, accompanied by their three sons (Henrietta, at school at the time, would join them three months later), arrived in Sydney, New South Wales on 8 April 1937 and the six-foot, red-haired Wakehurst was sworn in at Government House on the same day.

Wakehurst, aware of any potential criticism over his British Conservative background, arranged for their children to be schooled in Australia: Christopher Loder who attended Tudor House School, then left to attend a year at Eton College before returning to attend The King's School, Parramatta; David Loder to Tudor House before attending Geelong Grammar School; Robert Loder attended Cranbrook School, and Henrietta Loder returned to obtain a Diploma in Social Studies at the University of Sydney.

In August 1939, he handled a major political crisis brought about when the former Deputy Leader of the governing United Australia Party, Eric Spooner brought down Premier Stevens in a motion of no confidence. Wakehurst successfully asked the Treasurer, Alexander Mair, to form a government. While Wakehurst was well within his rights to exercise his discretion, the Leader of the Opposition, Jack Lang, criticised him for being biased towards the government. However, on 5 September Lang was deposed by his party and replaced by the more moderate William McKell, who became Premier at the May 1941 election and got on well with Wakehurst, extending his term past 1942.

Later life and legacy Wakehurst with Bob Heffron, Minister for National Emergency Services, in 1941. Upon returning to Britain, Lord and Lady Wakehurst worked with community organisations including the Order of St John of Jerusalem, of which Wakehurst was Lord Prior from 1948 to 1969, subsequently also a Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order (GCStJ), and for the English-Speaking Union.

Wakehurst was a keen amateur filmmaker and dozens of reels of his films survive in the National Film Archive including his colour recordings of the Coronation in 1953.

In May 1962, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Wakehurst as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter (KG). Reappointed for a second term in 1958, Wakehurst retired from office in 1964 and died on 30 October 1970 at his home at Chelsea, London.

To commemorate their service as Viceroys of NSW, the trustees of the Royal National Park named a major road through the park as "Lady Wakehurst Drive", which was dedicated by Lord Wakehurst and then Minister for Works, Joseph Cahill, at a ceremony on 14 May 1945.

On 22 March 1946, to commemorate his service as Governor a major new road through Sydney's Northern Beaches was named as the "Wakehurst Parkway" by Premier McKell. This led to many other local locations being named for Wakehurst including the local soccer club in 1968, the Golf Club and the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Electoral district of Wakehurst.

In January 1952 the new section of the Crown Street Women's Hospital was named the "Lady Wakehurst Annexe" in their honour, which lasted until the hospital was closed in 1983. In July 1966, Belrose South Public School in Belrose on the Northern Beaches was renamed in his honour as Wakehurst Public School. In 1974, the Public Transport Commission named a ferry Lady Wakehurst.

Family Lord Wakehurst married Margaret "Peggy" Tennant (4 November 189919 August 1994), the daughter of prominent Liberal politician and businessman, Sir Charles Tennant, 1st Baronet and Marguerite Agaranthe Miles, on 3 June 1920. Her great grandfather was the Scottish chemist and industrialist, Charles Tennant and her half-sister was Margot Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith, the English socialite and wife of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith. They had four children:

Hon. Henrietta Marguerite Jean Loder (Mrs John Reader-Harris) (5 February 1922 – 16 December 1995) John Christopher Loder, 3rd Baron Wakehurst (23 September 1925 - 29 July 2022) Hon. James David Gerald Loder (24 March 1928 – 19 July 2001) Hon. Robert Beauclerk Loder (24 April 1934 – 22 July 2017)

Lady Wakehurst was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1965. She was also a Dame of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (DStJ) from 1960 and received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Queen's University, Belfast (1957). Survived by their daughter and three sons, she died on 19 August 1994, aged 94. Their youngest son Robert became a patron of the arts, particularly in Africa.

Arms

Honours

15 years of service with the Order of St. John

Honorary military appointments 11 May 1939 – 22 October 1956: Honorary Colonel of the Sydney University Regiment. 22px 29 July 1937 – 15 August 1946: Honorary Air Commodore of No. 22 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force.