John Charles Pratt, 4th Marquess Camden GCVO, TD, DL, JP (9 February 1872 – 15 December 1943), briefly styled Earl of Brecknock in 1872.
Camden was born at Eaton Square, London, the third but only surviving son of John Pratt, 3rd Marquess Camden, by Lady Clementina Augusta, daughter of George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough. He was a first cousin of Lord Randolph Churchill on his mother's side. He succeeded to the marquessate at the age of only two months on the early death of his father, and was subsequently educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge.
In 1905 Camden was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Kent, a position he held until his death.
He fought in the First World War as a Major in the West Kent Yeomanry Cavalry, where he was awarded the Territorial Decoration.
He was also a Deputy Lieutenant of Sussex between 1894 and 1922 as well as a Justice of the Peace for the county. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 1933. From 1942 to 1943 he was Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron.
Lord Camden married Lady Joan Marion, daughter of Henry Nevill, 3rd Marquess of Abergavenny, in 1898. They had two sons and two daughters. He died in December 1943, aged 71, and was succeeded in the marquessate by his eldest son, John. The Marchioness Camden died in July 1952, aged 74.
Squadron Business
While the Castle was occupied by the Admiralty during the Second World War, the Squadron continued to meet at Claridge's in London. Finances were examined, rules and subscriptions adjusted, new Members elected and the deaths of old Members recorded. Among those mourned was Sir Richard Williams Bulkeley, who died aged 80 in 1942 after fifteen years as Commodore. He was succeeded by the 4th Marquess Camden, who served for only eighteen months before he too died (in December 1943), giving way to Sir Philip Hunloke.
All elections for Flag Officers were provisional for the duration of the war only.
Although the Club was functioning in a kind of limbo during these war years, the London meetings were well attended. On 13th May 1943, for example, 52 Members appeared, including Thomas Sopwith, who, as an aeroplane manufacturer at the height of the war, must have had many more pressing demands on his time. At this meeting Sir Walter Preston, presenting the accounts, reported that the Squadron had reduced its spending greatly by letting the Castle to the Admiralty. A disciplinary note was also sounded: Members who failed to pay their subscriptions by 1st March would have their names 'placed over the mantelpiece in the Morning room' and receive a letter from the Secretary. If they still had not paid by 1st April they would 'ipso facto cease to be a member' Some leniency was permitted when Members were involved in enemy action
Was born in 1872, and educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He succeeded to the title in 1872, at the death of his father. An excellent sportsman, he has for some years been devoted to yachting, and he owns the beautiful s.y. Cala Mara, 313 tons, built by Messrs. Vickers, Sons, and Maxim in 1898 from designs by Mr. St. C. Byrne, and formerly the large yawl Fiona, 151 tons, built in 1879 by Messrs. Camper and Nicholson, Gosport, with which he won the Dover to Heligoland race, 1903.
Clubs: Royal Yacht Squadron, Royal Dorset.
Residence: Lamberhurst, Kent.