Sir John Carew Pole, 12th Baronet


Sir John Gawen Carew Pole, 12th Baronet was a Cornish landowner, soldier and politician. He was Chairman of Cornwall County Council from 1952 to 1963 and Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall from 1962 to 1977, briefly serving in both roles simultaneously. His name until 1926 was John Gawen Pole-Carew.

Early life

John Gawen Carew Pole was the elder son of Lieutenant-General Sir Reginald Pole-Carew, by his marriage to Lady Beatrice, a daughter of the James Butler, 3rd Marquess of Ormonde.
Carew Pole was educated at Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. In 1926, he changed his name by deed poll from John Gawen Pole-Carew to John Gawen Carew Pole. He was succeeded by his son Sir Richard Carew Pole, 13th Baronet.

Career

Carew Pole served in the Coldstream Guards from 1923 to 1939, during which time he served in Palestine during the Arab revolt, and commanded the 5th Battalion the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry from 1939 to 1943, then commanded the 2nd Battalion the Devonshire Regiment, from July 1944, during Operation Overlord. He was Aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief in India in 1924–25 and a Gentleman of HM Bodyguard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms, from 1950 to 1972, and Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers for 1969–70.

Personal life

On 12 June 1928, Carew Pole married Cynthia Mary Burns. She was the daughter of Walter Spencer Morgan Burns, a nephew of J. P. Morgan and grandson of Junius Spencer Morgan, both well-known American bankers, and Ruth Evelyn Cavendish-Bentinck. Through her mother, she was the granddaughter of William George Cavendish-Bentinck and the great-granddaughter of The Rt. Hon. George Augustus Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck and Prudentia Penelope Leslie, who was the daughter of Col. Charles Powell Leslie II. Together, they had one son and two daughters:
In 1979, after his first wife's death in 1977, Carew Pole married Joan Fulford, the widow of Lt-Colonel Anthony Fulford.

Paintings

In 1911, as a nine-year old, he had his portrait painted by John Henry Frederick Bacon showing Pole as a pageboy for George V's coronation on 22 June 11.
In 1985, he had his portrait painted by Peter Kuhfeld, currently on loan to the National Trust, Antony.