Jack Churchill

Major John Strange Spencer-Churchill (4 February 1880 – 23 February 1947) was a British military officer and businessman. He was born in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland, where his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was serving as secretary to his grandfather, the 7th Duke of Marlborough, who was serving as Viceroy of Ireland at the time.

His parents were Lord Randolph Churchill and Jennie Jerome. He was the younger brother of Sir Winston Churchill, who later served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Churchill's early education was at Harrow School in England.

There has been speculation regarding his paternity; some of his maternal relatives believed that Evelyn Boscawen was his biological father. However, this theory has been largely discredited due to his notable resemblance to his father and brother.

In 1898, Churchill was commissioned into the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars. During the Second Boer War (1899–1900), he served with the South African Light Horse alongside his brother, who was serving as a war correspondent. He sustained a gunshot wound through the leg during the Battle of the Tugela Heights in February 1900 but returned to duty the following month. His service in the Boer War was recognized with a mention in dispatches.

Churchill also served in World War I, holding various staff positions. He served on the staff of Field Marshal Lord French, General Sir Ian Hamilton (as Naval Liaison Officer for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force), and Field Marshal Lord Birdwood (as Camp Commandant of the 1st Anzac Corps and later as Assistant Military Secretary at the headquarters of the Fifth Army). He attained the rank of major and received several awards, including the French Croix de guerre, the Légion d'honneur, and the British Distinguished Service Order in 1918.

Following the war, Churchill pursued a career in finance. He was a partner at stockbrokers Nelke, Phillips & Bendix starting in 1906, and later at Vickers, da Costa, where he became a partner in 1921.

During World War II, after his house was destroyed in the Blitz, Churchill resided at 10 Downing Street, utilizing the bedrooms on the top floor formerly occupied by his brother Winston and his wife, or in the No 10 Annex.

Churchill married Lady Gwendoline Theresa Mary "Goonie" Bertie on 8 August 1908. Lady Gwendoline was the daughter of Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon, and Gwendoline Mary Dormer. She was raised as a Roman Catholic. They had three children: John George Spencer-Churchill (1909–1992), Henry Winston "Peregrine" Spencer-Churchill (1913–2002), who married Yvonne Henriette Mary Jehannin (1924–2010), and Anne Clarissa Spencer-Churchill (1920–2021), who later became Countess of Avon through her marriage to Prime Minister Anthony Eden.

Major John Strange Spencer-Churchill died on 23 February 1947 at the age of 67 due to heart disease. He was buried at St Martin's Church in Bladon, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, alongside his parents and brother.