In 1925, Lytton and his sister Anne changed their surname to Lytton-Milbanke by deed poll,[3] in honour of Noel's mother's succession to the Wentworth barony, which could pass to either of them. They both later went back to Lytton (and not Bulwer-Lytton).[4][5]
In the time between the World Wars, he served "as an administrator and keeper of the peace in the area around Lake Rudolph in Kenya".[6]
When the British entered the Second World War, he was posted by the military to North Africa and Italy, but due to an automobile accident was invalided out to desk duty, which his son describes as extremely frustrating for someone who was used to being athletic and active. He served as administrator of the Patras District from 1944 to 1945. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his service in 1945.[2][7]
As part of government administration, Lytton eventually went to Yugoslavia to work with Josip Broz Tito's Partisans.[6]
Later life
He farmed and wrote books, including a biography about his maternal grandfather and a military autobiography The Desert and the Green.[2] Due to his family's continued interest in the Arabian horse breed, he contributed from his private collection to the W. K. KelloggArabian Horse Library at Cal Poly Pomona.
Marriage and children
While in Yugoslavia, Lytton met Clarissa Palmer, a daughter of brigadier general Cyril Eustace Palmer.[6] They married on 30 November 1946 and had five children:[8]
Lady Caroline Mary Noel Lytton (29 December 1947 – 22 August 2017), a silversmith.[8]
Noel Lytton succeeded his father as Earl of Lytton in 1951, and his mother as Baron Wentworth in 1957. Both titles passed to his eldest son upon his death in 1985.[2]
Bibliography
The Desert and the Green (1957)
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt: A Memoir (1961)
Mickla Bendore (1962)
Lucia in Taormina (1963)
The Stolen Desert (1966)
References
^The House of Gordon. New Spalding Club. 1903. p. 146. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
^ abcd"The Earl of Lytton". The Times. 23 January 1985. p. 16.
