Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy

Edmund Maurice Burke Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy, was born on 15 May 1885 in Chelsea, London. He was the elder twin son of the Hon. James Roche, who later became the 3rd Baron Fermoy, and Frances Ellen Work. His parents separated in December 1886 and divorced in 1891. Following the divorce, James Roche relinquished custody of Maurice and his brother Francis to Maurice's maternal grandfather, Frank Work, a financier, in exchange for Work settling Roche's debts. Maurice's elder sister was Cynthia Roche, who married Arthur Scott Burden and, after his death, Guy Fairfax Cary.

He attended Harvard University, graduating in 1909. Due to the inheritance conditions imposed by his maternal grandfather, Maurice and his twin brother were required to assume the surname "Work," avoid travel to Europe, and refrain from European marriage. Maurice defied these stipulations. He later inherited the Irish peerage in 1920 following his father's death and resumed British nationality, although he was also a naturalized American citizen.

In his career, Roche rented Park House at Sandringham, Norfolk, from the British royal family. He became a Member of Parliament for King's Lynn following the 1924 general election, serving until 1935. He was elected mayor of King's Lynn in 1931. During World War II, he joined the Royal Air Force in 1939 but resigned his commission in 1943 upon being elected again to Parliament to replace the deceased MP for King's Lynn. He withdrew from Parliament at the 1945 general election.

Roche was part of a shooting party organized by King George VI on 5 February 1952 at Sandringham, the king's last full day alive.

He married Ruth Sylvia Gill on 17 September 1931. Ruth was the youngest daughter of Ruth (née Littlejohn) Gill and Colonel William Smith Gill. They had three children:

- The Hon. Mary Cynthia Roche (1934–2023), who married three times—to Hon. Anthony Berry, Denis Geoghegan, and Michael Gunningham—and trained as a teacher.

- The Hon. Frances Ruth Roche (1936–2004), who married John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and was the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales. She later married Peter Shand Kydd.

- The Hon. Edmund James Burke Roche (1939–1984), who succeeded as the 5th Baron Fermoy and married Lavinia Pitman.

Roche suffered a collapse in a shop in King's Lynn in June 1955 and died three weeks later, on 8 July 1955. He was succeeded by his son, Edmund. He is buried in the churchyard of St Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham.

His life was documented in the book *Lilac Days* by Gavan Naden and Maxine Riddington, which mentioned a purported 30-year affair with Edith Travis. His daughter Mary also authored *Call Me Maurice: The Life and Times of Lord Fermoy, 1885–1955* (2007).