In 1926, his father's country seat, Lupton HouseinChurston Ferrers, suffered a major fire which damaged the house and resulted in the removal of the third floor. Much of the fine paneling and decorative plasterwork were lost.[9] After he succeeded to his titles, he inherited Lupton, owning the house until 1960 (when it was sold to Rowland Smith), during most of which time it was let as he did not live there. In 1943, during World War II both the house and estate were requisitioned by the military. The estate played a major role in the support and training of the U.S. Infantry in their preparations for Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings.[10]
On 5 January 1933, Lord Churston was married to Elizabeth Mary du Pré, the second daughter of Lt.-Col. William Baring du PréofWilton Park and, his first wife, the former Youri Wynyard Wright (only daughter of Capt. Henry Townley Wright of the Royal Navy).[11] Before they divorced in 1943, they had two children:[1]
Hon. Nicole Yarde-Buller (b. 1936), who married, firstly, Richard Wilfred Beavoir Berens, son of Herbert Cecil BerensofBentworth Hall, in 1958. They divorced in 1962 and she married, secondly, Michael Russell, son of Edward Dennis Russell, in 1963.[8]
After their divorce, Lady Churston married Maj. Peter Laycock on 10 December 1943 before her death on 23 September 1951. On 31 March 1949, Lord Churston remarried to Sandra (née Needham) Griffiths Dunfee, who had acted under the stage name Sandra Storme. She was the daughter of Percy Needham and former wife of Arthur Griffiths and Jack Dunfee. They remained married until her death on 1 December 1979.[1]
In 1981, Lord Churston married for the third time to Olga Alice Muriel (néeRothschild) Blair, the former wife of Bryce Evans Blair. Olga was the illegitimate daughter of Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild by his mistress, Marie Barbara Fredenson (a daughter of Maximilian Fredenson).[1]
Lord Churston died on 9 April 1991. Lady Churston died in 1992.[1]
^ abcdefgPeter W. Hammond, editor, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda (Stroud, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1998), page 177.