Maximilian Carden Despard

1892 - 1964  (72 years)

• Name	Maximilian Carden Despard  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
  Born	30 Mar 1892	Stockport Chester, Cheshire, England   [1, 2, 3, 4]
  Gender	Male
  Residence	1901	Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland   [1]
  	Relation to Head of House: Son
  Residence	02 Apr 1911	Mediterranean, Royal Navy, England   [2]
  	Marital Status: SingleRelation to Head of House: Midshipman Military
  _MILT	1905-1922  [6]
  Died	Dec 1964	Poole, Dorset, England   [3]
  Person ID	P285	Despard Only
  Last Modified	26 Sep 2020

  
  

  Father	Herbert John Despard, Capt,   b. 7 Feb 1860, Kensington, London ,   d. 4 Feb 1937, Sidmouth, Devon, England  (Age 76 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Beatrice Lorne Jarvis,   b. 17 March 1867, W Indies, antigua ,   d. 20 December 1945  (Age 78 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Family ID	F43	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Leonora "Nora" Brabazon Moore,   b. Lanarkshire, Scotland ,   d. 21 Jan 1924, Adelboden, Switzerland
  Children	1. Leonora "Nora" Brabazon Moore,   b. Lanarkshire, Scotland ,   d. 21 Jan 1924, Adelboden, Switzerland  [natural]   2. Terence Broke Despard
  Last Modified	26 Sep 2020
  Family ID	F45	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Anna Lilanna Harum,   b. 11 Jul 1903, Oslo, Norway ,   d. Mar 1981, Braintree, Essex, England  (Age 77 years)
  Married	Sep 1952	Honiton, Devon   [5]
  Children	1. Anna Lilanna Harum,   b. 11 Jul 1903, Oslo, Norway ,   d. Mar 1981, Braintree, Essex, England  (Age 77 years)  [natural]   2. Maximilian Herbert Jean Despard,   b. 18 Oct 1929, Helsinki Finland ,   d. 6 Jan 2017, 2 Redcliffe Mews, London SW10 9JU  (Age 87 years)  [natural]   3. Maud Anita Lorne Despard   4. Annabelle Frances Despard
  Last Modified	26 Sep 2020
  Family ID	F46	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Max Despard was born in 1892 of Huguenot and Anglo-Irish ancestry. He served in the British navy in the First World War and was awarded the DSC `in recognition of exemplary gallantry'. His active career in the navy came to an end however in 1925 when a gun exploded next to him, tearing his hip and filling his thigh with shrapnel. Before and during the Second World War he served as naval attaché in Eastern Europe, directing clandestine operations on the Danube designed to stop supplies getting to Germany. Tall and flamboyant and signing his name `M' on official documents, he may be some of the inspiration for James Bond's boss, but after the war his life went into decline. In constant pain from his wound, he was not re-employed by the navy and retired on a pension that only took into account his active service. In 1949 his wife died of cancer and he and his children parted. Annabelle Despard was only six at the time and went to live first with relatives in Norway and then four years later with her much older, married sister back in England. She saw Max infrequently and the family never properly explained to her what had happened to her mother nor why she was separated from her father. This book is her attempt to discover more about this painful period - still a family no-go area - and about the father she hardly knew. I'm a daughter of the sister she went to live with. I met Max (my grandfather) once, when I was six. I welcome this book. And, because Annabelle is an accomplished writer (6 books of poetry, another memoir, and 4 books connected to her work teaching English at a Norwegian university), and because Max's life was both extraordinary and of its time, and because every family has its secrets, others will too. -------------------------------- Maximilian Carden Despard had a namesake, his nephew, born in March 1892, the son of Captain H. J. Despard, afterwards the Chief Constable of Lanarkshire and Beatrice Lorne Jarvis, daughter of Thomas Jarvis of Mount Jarvis, Antigua. Isn’t it fascinating how many links there are with the Caribbean “There are many ways of not having a father”. These are the opening words to the story of Maximilian Carden Despard, written by his youngest daughter, Annabelle, who felt like she knew him all to little. She pieced together the story of an officer, born in 1892, who achieved glory and honours in a dramatic action of Dover in 1917. A post-war accident forced him to abandon his career in the Royal Navy and in the Thirties he started a new life as a navel attache, at a time when there was another enemy to face. In Yugoslavia he was a significant mover behind the scenes in Bond-like exploits to hamper the German war-machine.

  
  

• Sources

  [S1202924921] 1901 Scotland Census, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations Inc), Parish: Hamilton; ED: 18; Page: 4; Line: 11; Roll: CSSCT1901_338. [S1202875586] 1911 England Census, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Class: RG14; Piece: 34973; Page: 2. [S1202875780] England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations Inc). [S1204916493] Web: UK, Royal Naval Officers' Service Records Index, 1756-1931, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1202875785] England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc). [S1246474224] UK, Naval Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1972, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Class: ADM 171; Piece: 172.