The Lady Sempill | |
---|---|
Member of the
House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
In office 30 December 1965 – 6 July 1995 Hereditary Peerage | |
Preceded by | The 19th Lord Sempill |
Succeeded by | The 21st Lord Sempill |
Personal details | |
Born | Ann Moira Sempill 19 March 1920 |
Died | 6 July 1995 | (aged 75)
Spouses |
|
Children | 2 |
Parent | |
Relatives | John Lavery (grandfather) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch/service | Women's Royal Naval Service |
Rank | Petty officer |
Ann Moira Forbes-Sempill, 20th Lady Sempill (19 March 1920 – 6 July 1995) was a Scottish politician, aristocrat, and pilot. As the holder of a hereditary peerage, she was a member of the House of Lords.
Ann Moira Sempill was born on 19 March 1920. [1] Her father, William Forbes-Sempill, 19th Lord Sempill, was an air pioneer and spy for the Empire of Japan. [2] She and her mother, Eileen (née Lavery), Lady Sempill, are depicted in a 1923 painting by her maternal grandfather John Lavery. [3]
She became interested in flying and decided to apply for a pilot's A licence to become the United Kingdom's youngest woman to be a qualified pilot, [4] eventually succeeding and becoming proficient by 1941. [5] She offered the First Fruits at the 1938 Gorsedh Kernow bard initiation ceremony. [6] During World War II, she was a Women's Royal Naval Service petty officer. [1] She joined the Anglo Austrian Society's committee in 1966. [7]
She was married to Eric Holt, a member of the Manchester Regiment from Oxford, from 25 October 1941 until their divorce in 1945; [1] they had one daughter. [2] On 28 October 1948, she later married Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart Whitemore Chant-Sempill OBE MC, who served in the Gordon Highlanders and the No. 5 Commando. [1] They had two children: James Sempill, 21st Lord Sempill, and Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Chant-Sempill (1951-2017). [2]
On her father's death on 30 December 1965, she succeeded to the title of Lord Sempill and, by extension, his seat in the House of Lords, remaining until her death. [8] She became a Conservative peer on 19 July 1966. [8] Her maiden speech at the House was on 7 February 1967, in which she asked the government to address the issue of juvenile delinquency. [9]
Forbes-Sempill died on 6 July 1995. [10]