Biography of John Neville Chaworth-Musters (1890-1970)
John Neville, known as 'Jack', was the second son of John Patricius Chaworth-Musters (1860-1921) and his wife Mary Anne, née Sharpe (d 1930). He was educated at Rugby School and the Royal Naval College, Osborne. When the First World War broke out, Jack got a commission into the South Notts Hussars. The regiment was based in Norfolk for the first few months of the war, but was sent to Egypt in March 1915. He took part in the Gallipoli campaign at Suvla Bay in late 1915 and returned to Egypt and Palestine for most of the rest of the war. By 1918 he was with the Warwick and South Notts Hussars Machine Gun Battalion in France. He received the Distinguished Service Award in 1916.
In 1921 Jack inherited the Chaworth-Musters estates from his father. He let Wiverton Hall to tenants in 1923, and sold it, along with its estate of 2,170 acres, in 1938. The last of his property in Edwalton was sold in 1950. He replaced much of Annesley Park with plantations of conifers. Annesley Park was altered again in the 1960s when it was split in two by the new M1 motorway.
Jack's military career continued after the First World War. He was Lieutenant-Colonel of the 150th South Notts Hussars Field Regiment (RA) between 1939-1941, and was Lieutenant-Colonel of the South Notts Hussars Yeomanry from 1947-1961. He took many local administrative positions, serving as a magistrate from 1922, Deputy Lieutenant for Nottinghamshire in 1931, Chairman of the Annesley Parish Council, and Chairman of the Broxtowe Divisional Conservative Association. He was awarded the OBE in 1951. His wife Daphne was also OBE, in 1958, for her charitable and political work.
Family
In 1914 he married Daphne (d 1973), youngest daughter of Captain Harold Wilberforce-Bell, and had:
- Audrey Catherine Chaworth-Musters (1915-1982), married in 1938 Major Myles Seymour Edward Petre (1913-1942), and had:
- Martin Anthony Chaworth Petre (1940-1991)
- Robin David Oswald Petre (b 1942)
- Pamela Chaworth-Musters (1919-1998), married in 1949 John Maurice Forbes White, and had:
- John Henry Chaworth-Musters (1921-1943), Lieutenant 2nd Battalion Colstream Guards, killed in action. Married in 1943 Norah Mary Deirdre Gough (who married 2ndly Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Gray Boardman M.P.), and had:
- Rosemary Anne Chaworth-Musters (b 1943), married Charles Vincent Rowe
- Robert Patricius Chaworth-Musters (1923-1992)
Archive Collections
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Correspondence from Jack to his parents, while on active service in the First World War, forms part of the
Chaworth-Musters collection (ChM) held by Manuscripts and Special Collections at The University of Nottingham (ChM/C/13/1-31).
Published Sources
Although there are no works dedicated to John Neville Chaworth-Musters, some biographical details feature in the following publications:
- Patrick T.A. Musters, The Musters : a family gathering, 2nd edn (Oakham, Rutland : P. T. A. Musters, 2001) [King’s Meadow Campus East Midlands Collection Oversize Not 4N.V30 MUS]
- Denis R. Pearson, Annesley through the Ages (Alfreton : Bailey & Sons, 1995) [King’s Meadow Campus East Midlands Collection Not 8.D14 PEA]
- Frank P. Lyons, Hills of Annesley (new edn ed. by Ruth Ansley Grant, Longwood, FL : R. A. Grant, c.1988) [King’s Meadow Campus East Midlands Collection Oversize Not 8.D14 LYO]