Philip Lever, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme

The Viscount Leverhulme
Born	(1915-07-01)1 July 1915
Died	4 July 2000(2000-07-04) (aged 85)
Nationality	British
Occupation	Racehorse owner
Parent(s)	William Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme Marion Beatrice Smith

Garter-encircled arms of Philip Lever, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme, KG, as displayed on his Order of the Garter stall plate in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Philip William Bryce Lever, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme KG TD (1 July 1915 – 4 July 2000) was a British peer and racehorse owner.

Early life

He was the only son of William Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme and his first wife, Marion Beatrice Smith. He was born on 1 July 1915. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge.

Career

During the Second World War, he served in the Middle East with the Cheshire Yeomanry, and late became an honorary colonel. After the war, he managed his father's estates at Thornton Manor. In 1954, he bought the Badanloch estate, in Sutherland, Scotland.

In 1949, he inherited his father's titles and was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire that year, a post he held until 1990, making him the longest serving Lord Lieutenant in the country.

His lifelong passion was horse racing, the subject of his 1976 maiden speech in the House of Lords. A racehorse owner, he served as Chairman of Chester Racecourse and as a senior steward of the Jockey Club. He was a supporter of the Animal Health Trust, a veterinary research establishment. He was Chancellor of the University of Liverpool from 1980 to 1993 and appointed a Knight of the Garter in 1988.

Marriage and issue

On 1 July 1937, he married Margaret Ann Moon (died 1973), and they had three daughters:

• The Hon. Susan Elizabeth Moon Lever (born 1938), married (Hercules) Michael Pakenham.
• The Hon. Victoria Marion Ann Lever (born 1945), married (1) Sir Richard Pole, 13th Baronet, (2) Gordon Apsion, (3) Peter Tower.
• The Hon. (Margaret) Jane Lever (born 1947), married Sir Algernon Heber-Percy.

Succession

He died on 4 July 2000. As Leverhulme was the last male descendant of the 1st Viscount and died without male heirs in 2000, his titles became extinct.

Honours and decorations

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Order of the Garter (KG)	Knight 1988
	Order of St John (K.stJ)	Knight of Justice
	1939-1945 Star
	Africa Star
	France and Germany Star
	Defence Medal
	War Medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal	1953
	Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal	1977 UK Version of this Medal
	Territorial Decoration (TD)

See also

• Burke's Peerage