Frederick Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond

Who was Frederick Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond?

Frederick Charles Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond, 9th Duke of Lennox, 9th Duke of Aubigny and 4th Duke of Gordon was a British peer, engineer, racing driver and motor racing promoter.

Freddie Richmond, as he was known, the son of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. His interest in engineering started at university and afterwards he was apprenticed to Bentley Motors. He began a motor racing career in 1929 when he took part in the JCC High Speed Trial. In the next year he became a member of the Austin team and won the Brooklands 500 Miles. He created his own team of MG Midgets in 1931 and won the Brooklands Double Twelve race, but then became more involved in the organisational side of motor sport.

He inherited the Dukedoms in 1935, along with the Goodwood Estate and the racecourse. Death duties meant he had to sell the family interests in Scotland, including Gordon Castle, and to settle on the Goodwood Estate near Chichester. He designed and flew his own aircraft and served with the Royal Air Force during World War II. For a time he was based in Washington, working for the Ministry of Aircraft Production.