Maurice Fox-Strangways, 9th Earl of Ilchester

Who was Maurice Fox-Strangways, 9th Earl of Ilchester?

Group Captain Maurice Vivian de Touffreville Fox-Strangways, 9th Earl of Ilchester, styled Lord Stavordale between 1964 and 1970, was a British engineer. He served in the Royal Air Force for 40 years, from 1936 to 1976. From 1955, he concentrated mainly as an engineer involved with nuclear weapons. He succeeded his father as Earl of Ilchester in 1970, and was also an active cross-bench member of the House of Lords until 1999.

His father was Walter Fox-Strangways, 8th Earl of Ilchester. He was born in Port Tawfiq in Egypt while his father was serving in the Consular Service. He was educated at Kingsbridge Grammar School, and joined the Royal Air Force as an apprentice in January 1936, aged 15. He trained at RAF Halton and was posted to RAF Brize Norton, where he served during the early months of the Battle of Britain. In August 1940, he was bathing when an air raid began. He ran naked into an air-raid shelter, which happened to be reserved for members of the WAAF. After this introduction, he married one of them, Diana Simpson, in November 1941.

He completed his service in the Second World War in India and the Far East. By his return to England in 1946, he was a Warrant Officer. He continued his service at RAF Negombo in Ceylon and RAF Kai Tak in Hong Kong.