John Arundell, 16th Baron Arundell of Wardour

Who was John Arundell, 16th Baron Arundell of Wardour?

John Francis Arundell, 16th Baron Arundell of Wardour JP TD was a British soldier.

He was the only son of Gerald Arthur Arundell, 15th Baron Arundell of Wardour by his marriage to Ivy Florence Mary Segrave, daughter of Captain W. F. Segrave. He was educated at Stonyhurst College and New College, Oxford, where graduated BA. After Oxford, he became a member of the London Stock Exchange, and succeeded to the barony upon the death of his father in 1939.

Arundell served in the Territorial Army, rising to the rank of captain in the 2nd Battalion The Wiltshire Regiment. He was part of the British Expeditionary Force and in 1940, during the Battle of France, was taken prisoner-of-war by the Germans. He escaped but was recaptured and was transferred to Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle. There he had a habit of exercising in the snow and perhaps as a result contracted tuberculosis. In accordance with the Geneva Convention, he was repatriated and died in hospital in Chester. He was buried in the Chapel of Wardour Castle. He was unmarried. The barony became extinct upon his death.