SAUNDERS WATSON, Cmdr (Leslie) Mchael Macdonald CBE RN 1934-2022
Richard R
He was s of Capt Leslie Swaine SAUNDERS DSO RN 1896-1988 and Elizabeth 1904-63 d of Vice-Adm Sir Michael CULME-SEYMOUR 4th Bt 1867-1925 (descended from the ROCKINGHAM earls) and Florence Agnes Louisa 1870-1956 d of Baron NUGENT 1841-1909 (cr Austria 1859, gs of Sir Charles JENKINSON 10th Bt 1779-1855) and Elizabeth BALTAZZI d 1899. He m 1958 Georgina Elizabeth Letitia 1935-2020 d of Adm Sir William Wellclose DAVIS GCB DSO 1901-87 scion of that gentry family of Well Close and Lady Gertrude Elizabeth PHIPPS 1908-85 d of 3rd Marquess of NORMANBY 1846-1932 and Gertrude Stansfeld FOSTER 1870-1948, and had two sons and a dau.
See the discussion in the post of wife's death in 2020 for more details on ancestry and connections: https://groups.google.com/g/peerage-news/c/uM9cgwMdqhs/m/RE3iNoQKBgAJ
Richard R
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Lewis WATSON, 3rd Lord Rockingham, cr 1714 Earl of Rockingham, Viscount Sondes, and Baron of Throwley (29 Dec 1655-Rockingham 19 Mar 1724); m.Jul 1677 Lady Catherine Sondes (d.21 Mar 1696)
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Margaret (1696-London 24 Feb 1752); m.London 8 Apr 1725 John Monson, Lord Monson (ca 1693-London 18 Jul 1748)
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Lewis MONSON (28 Nov 1728-30 Mar 1795), took surname WATSON, of Rockingham Castle and of Lees Court on succeeding to the estates of his cousin the 3rd Earl of Rockingham; cr 1760 Baron Sondes of Lees Court; m.12 Oct 1752 Grace Pelham (18 Aug 1728-31 Jul 1777)
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Lewis Thomas WATSON, 2nd Lord Sondes (18 Apr 1754-21 Jun 1806); m.30 Nov 1785 Mary Elizabeth Milles (26 May 1767-29 Sep 1818)
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Richard (6 Jan 1800-24 Jul 1852); m.21 Dec 1839 Lavinia Jane Quin (d.20 Feb 1888)
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Mary Georgiana Watson, d.6 Mar 1912; m.16 Oct 1866 Adm Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 3d Bt. (13 Mar 1836-11 Oct 1920)
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Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 4th Bt. (29 Aug 1867-2 Apr 1925); m.9 Apr 1896 Hon.Florence Agnes Louisa Nugent (d.17 Jan 1956)
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Elizabeth Culme-Seymour (27 Oct 1904-23 Oct 1963); m.11 Mar 1933 Leslie Swain Saunders (d.1988)
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Leslie Michael Macdonald Saunders-Watson, of Rockingham Castle (9 Oct 1934-9 Nov 2022); m.13 Dec 1958 Georgina Davis, whose mother was Lady Gertrude Elizabeth Phipps, of the Marquesses of Normanby
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1.Sir Edward, of Rockingham Castle (d.1616); m.Apr 1567 Anne Digby (d.17 Feb 1611)
1.1.Sir Lewis, of Rockingham Castle, cr Baronet 1621, cr 1645 Lord Rockingham (1584-5 Jan 1653); m.1st 1609 Hon. Catherine Bertie (d.15 Feb 1611); m.2nd 3 Oct 1620 Eleanor Manners (d.London 23 Oct 1679)
1.1.1.Edward, 2nd Lord Rockingham (30 Jun 1630-22 Jun 1689); m.London 13 Nov 1654 Lady Anne Wentworth (8 Oct 1629-2 Jan 1696)
1.1.1.1.Lewis, 3rd Lord Rockingham, cr 1714 Earl of Rockingham, Viscount Sondes, and Baron of Throwley (29 Dec 1655-Rockingham 19 Mar 1724); m.Jul 1677 Lady Catherine Sondes (d.21 Mar 1696); she was heiress to the estates of her family
1.1.1.1.1.Edward, Viscount Sondes (1686-20 Mar 1722); m.21 Mar 1709 Lady Catharine Tufton (24 Apr 1693-13 Feb 1734)
1.1.1.1.1.1.Lewis, 2nd Earl of Rockingham (ca 1714-4 Dec 1745); m.10 Apr 1736 his cousin Katherine (d.17 Dec 1766), dau of Sir Robert Furnese, 2nd Bt.
1.1.1.1.1.2.Thomas, 3rd Earl of Rockingham (30 Dec 1715-Rockingham 26 Feb 1746)
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1.1.1.1.2.Margaret (1696-London 24 Feb 1752); m.London 8 Apr 1725 John Monson, Lord Monson (ca 1693-London 18 Jul 1748); their second son:
1.1.1.1.2.1.Lewis MONSON, (28 Nov 1728-30 Mar 1795), took surname WATSON, of Rockingham Castle and of Lees Court on succeeding to the estates of his cousin the 3rd Earl of Rockingham; cr 1760 Baron Sondes of Lees Court; m.12 Oct 1752 Grace Pelham (18 Aug 1728-31 Jul 1777)
1.1.1.1.2.1.1.Lewis Thomas, 2nd Lord Sondes (18 Apr 1754-21 Jun 1806); m.30 Nov 1785 Mary Elizabeth Milles (26 May 1767-29 Sep 1818); their third and fourth sons:
1.1.1.1.2.1.1.1.Rev. Henry, of Rockingham Castle (10 Aug 1796-23 Sep 1849)
1.1.1.1.2.1.1.2.Richard (6 Jan 1800-24 Jul 1852); m.21 Dec 1839 Lavinia Jane Quin (d.20 Feb 1888)
1.1.1.1.2.1.1.2.1.George Lewis, of Rockingham Castle (9 Mar 1841-31 Dec 1899); m.1 Jan 1867 Laura Maria Culme-Seymour (d.21 Mar 1893)
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1.1.1.1.2.1.1.2.2.Mary Georgiana (31 Aug 1845-6 Mar 1912); m.16 Oct 1866 Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 3rd Bt. (d.11 Oct 1920); their issue inherited Rockingham Castle
1.1.1.1.2.1.1.2.2.1.Sir Michael CULME-SEYMOUR, 4th Bt. (29 Aug 1867-2 Apr 1925); m.9 Apr 1896 Hon. Florence Agnes Louisa Nugent (d.17 Jan 1956)
1.1.1.1.2.1.1.2.2.1.1.Sir Michael, 5th Bt. (26 Apr 1909-13 Oct 1999); m.18 Mar 1948 Lady Mary Faith Montagu (1 May 1911-16 Feb 1983) --> two sons, d. as infants
1.1.1.1.2.1.1.2.2.1.2.Elizabeth (27 Oct 1904-23 Oct 1963); m.11 Mar 1933 Leslie Swain Saunders (d.1988)
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1.1.2.Thomas, took surname Watson-Wentworth on inheriting the great Wentworth Woodhouse estates of his mother's family (17 Jun 1665-6 Oct 1723); m.Alice (1673- ), dau of Sir Thomas Proby, Bt.
1.1.2.1.Thomas, cr 1728 Lord Malton, cr 1734 Earl of Malton, Viscount Higham, Baron Wath and Baron Harrowden, 6th Lord Rockingham 1746, cr 1746 Marquess of Rockingham (Tidmington, Worcs 13 Nov 1693-Wentworth-Woodhouse 14 Dec 1750); m.22 Sep 1716 Lady Mary Finch (d.30 May 1761); he was 6th Baron Rockingham, but it is nevertheless interesting that when he chose the title for his Marquessate he chose "Rockingham" instead of a title related to the Wentworths, whose estates he owned
1.1.2.1.1.Charles, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, cr 1750 Earl Malton, Prime Minister (13 May 1730-1 Jul 1782); m.London 26 Feb 1752 Mary Bright (d.Hillingdon House 19 Dec 1804), gdau of John Liddell, later Bright [son of Sir H Liddell, 3rd Bt., and heir of his mother’s father, Sir John Bright, Bt.]; the Wentworth Woodhouse and other estates passed to the descendants of his sister, Countess Fitzwilliam
colinp
He became an effective lobbyist, taking on the government over the management of Britain’s great owner-occupied country houses
Commander Mick Saunders Watson, who has died aged 88, gave up a promising naval career to save Rockingham Castle and devote his life to public service.
Saunders Watson’s early promotion to commander and his nomination to drive the frigate Jaguar augured well for a bright naval career, but his destiny changed in 1967 when his uncle, Commander Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, Bt, offered him the family estate, Rockingham Castle in Northamptonshire, on the understanding that he would leave the Navy, change his name to Watson and take up residence within five years....
In 1987, under the inspired leadership of the redoubtable Lord Charteris of Amisfield, he became a trustee of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, which safeguards the nation’s most important heritage....
Saunders Watson’s reputation for independence of mind and for achievement led to his appointment in 1990 as chairman of the British Library.....
Leslie Michael McDonald Saunders, the fifth of six generations of the Culme-Seymour dynasty to serve in the Royal Navy, was born on October 9 1934 at Rockingham Castle to Captain Leslie Saunders DSO and his wife, Elizabeth Culme-Seymour. Rockingham was run by his exotic maternal grandmother, Lady “Florrie”, as a “family commune”, full of cousins and friends: he learned the secrets of the castle as only an inquisitive and adventurous boy could do.....
Saunders Watson was High Sheriff of Northamptonshire and Deputy Lieutenant from 1979, became chairman of Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust in 1993-99, and was a trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. He was given honorary doctorates by Warwick and Leicester Universities and was a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
He cared deeply for the community, was chairman and then president for over 30 years of the Northamptonshire Association of Youth Clubs, and when Corby steelworks closed in 1979 he chaired a community action group which sought ways to alleviate the town’s employment crisis.....
He was appointed CBE in 1993.
In 1999 he took much satisfaction in handing over Rockingham as a going concern to his son James, something which he would not have dared to dream of 25 years before. While on sub-lieutenants courses in Portsmouth and Greenwich, 1956-58, he had wooed and married Georgina Davis, daughter of Admiral Sir William Davis GCB, DSO. They spent their retirement “painting, writing, sailing, fishing, shooting, exercising the dogs and generally having a good time with many marvellous friends and family.”
Georgina died last year, and he is survived by their two sons and a daughter.
Michael Saunders Watson, born October 9 1934, died November 8 2022