Henry George Herbert Milles-Lade, 5th Earl Sondes - St James - Sheldwich, Kent - Coats of Arms on Waymarking.com

Stained glass east window in St James' church, Sheldwich, with the coat of arms of Henry George Herbert Milles-Lade, 5th Earl Sondes (d.1996).

"Henry George Herbert Milles-Lade, 5th Earl Sondes (1 May 1940 – 2 December 1996), styled Viscount Throwley between 1941 and 1970, was a British peer. He inherited the title upon the death of his father in 1970 and the peerage became extinct when he died without an heir.

The fifth earl was considered a colourful character. In his pre-teen years he was a page at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II but was later expelled from Eton College for operating gambling books. He owned racehorses and greyhounds, but his strongest connection with sport was with football club, Gillingham F.C., where he served as vice-chairman of the board of directors. Upon his retirement from the role, a large clock was erected at the club's Priestfield Stadium and dubbed the "Lord Sondes Clock" in his honour. The clock was removed as part of ground redevelopment work in the 1990s and its current whereabouts are unknown.

The Earl was married four times. His wives included the New York socialite Sharon McCluskey (daughter of Ellen Lehman McCluskey of the Lehman family), whom he married in 1981 and divorced in 1984, and another American whom he married in 1986, Phyllis Kane Schmertz (widow of Robert Schmertz, owner of the Boston Celtics), who survived him and inherited Lees Court in Kent, which she transformed into an agricultural business growing pharmaceutical and biofuel crops. The Earl died from cancer, and was buried in the church in the village of Sheldwich south of Faversham in Kent.

The Sondes family estate in Kent had been in family hands for over 700 years and once stretched to over 85,000 acres (34,000 ha) in the early 1900s. The estate at Earl Sondes death was 6,900 acres (2,800 ha) including a core of 2,663 acres (1,078 ha) around the villages of Sheldwich and Badlesmere with the balance at the Swale Estuary, Oare and Faversham Creeks."

SOURCE -

Bearer of Coat of Arms: Burgher (used by famous commoner) Full name of the bearer: Henry George Herbert Milles-Lade, 5th Earl Sondes Where is Coat of Arms installed (short description) ?: east window of church Material / Design: Glass (painted / stained) Blazon (heraldic description): 1st: A Leopard's Head affrontée erased Sable bezantée charged on the neck with two Cross Crosslets fitchée in saltire Or (Lade); 2nd: A Lion rampant Erminois holding between the paws a Fer-de-moulin Sable (Milles) Address: St James Parish Church A251, On the left of the A251 two miles out of Faversham Sheldwich Kent England ME13 0PA Web page about the structure where is Coat of Arms installed (if exists): [Web Link] Web page about the bearer of Coat of Arms (if exists): [Web Link]

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