The Earl of Sandwich, dedicated crossbencher who kept the Foreign Office and DfID on their toes

Yahoo

18-02-2025

​The 11th Earl of Sandwich, who has died aged 81, was devoted – as a charity worker and writer, and as a highly respected hereditary member of the House of Lords – to the causes of international development, overseas aid and human rights.
John Montagu worked with Christian Aid, Save the Children Fund and Care International before inheriting the peerages conferred on his 17th-century naval ancestor but disclaimed in 1964 by his MP father. Lord Sandwich – as John became on his father's death in 1995 – was a gentle and cerebral crossbench participant in Lords' debates and committees, intensely focused on drawing support to his chosen causes without ever seeking limelight or confrontation.​
Such was the good impression made in his early years that when 92 hereditary peers had to be chosen by election to remain in 1999, following Blair government reforms, Sandwich was elected fifth in the list of 28 favoured crossbenchers. Over three decades he made more than a thousand contributions to the House's proceedings, very often in the form of courteous but probing questions to Foreign Office and DfID ministers and always in the interest, as one colleague put it, of 'those for whom he cared most, those with no chance and no choice'.
In his valedictory speech in May 2024 – in a debate on the legal status of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the International Committee of the Red Cross – Sandwich spoke passionately about 'the forgotten crisis' of Sudan and its 'progressive destruction' by warring generals, leading to 'appalling loss of life and malnutrition [and] a high number of refugees falling into the hands of traffickers on their way to small boats bringing them to this country. We are not doing enough to work with our European and Commonwealth friends to reduce these numbers.'
During that debate, Lady (Virginia) Bottomley of Nettlestone summed up Lord Sandwich as 'a man of intellect, wisdom, huge generosity of spirit and great modesty [who] gives Parliament a good name'.
John Edward Hollister Montagu was born in London on April 11 1943 to Victor Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and his wife Rosemary, née Peto, who divorced when John was 15.
Victor 'Hinch' Montagu was a difficult father and a rumbustious Conservative MP for South Dorset between 1941 and 1962, best known for his opposition to withdrawal from Suez and to Harold Macmillan's first overtures towards the European Common Market. On inheriting the earldom in 1962, Victor was reluctantly obliged to leave the Commons – but having followed the example of Tony Benn (formerly Viscount Stansgate) and disclaimed his titles for life, he failed to find a new constituency.
John was educated at Eton and read history and modern languages at Trinity College, Cambridge. He worked in publishing and journalism before joining Christian Aid as an information officer in 1974 and later working as an editor for Save the Children Fund and a consultant for Care International. Covering projects for the homeless, the hungry and the disenfranchised in Indonesia, Afghanistan, Nepal, Kosovo, throughout Africa, and in India, where he lived for a year, he also often worked alongside the Red Cross in emergency appeals.
He was a mainstay for many years of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Sudan and a co-founder with Oliver Letwin MP of the APPG for Prescribed Drug Dependence, which achieved changes in clinical guidelines to improve patient safety. He was also a member of the council of the Anti-Slavery Trust, chairman of the Britain Afghanistan Trust and an adviser to the British College at Kathmandu.
He was the author of The Book of the World (1971), a compendium of facts and maps. For Save the Children Fund he edited Prospects for Africa's Children (1990) and Children at Crisis Point (1992); he also published a celebration of his father's life, a collection of his mother's illustrated letters and other family material.
He was president for 25 years of the Samuel Pepys Club, the 17th-century diarist having been a cousin of the 1st Earl.
The titles of Earl of Sandwich, Viscount Hinchingbrooke and Baron Montagu of St Neots had been conferred in 1660 on Edward Montagu, an admiral who helped negotiate the restoration of the monarchy and commanded the fleet which brought Charles II back from Holland.
A more famous ancestor, however, was the 4th Earl (1718-1792), who served three terms as First Lord of the Admiralty and is credited with the invention in 1762 of the western world's most ubiquitous fast food when he asked for a serving of beef between bread to be brought to him at the gambling table.
That episode inspired the launch in 2004 by John Sandwich's son Orlando (with the 11th Earl in the role of 'president', and in partnership with the Planet Hollywood restaurateur Robert Earl) of the Earl of Sandwich chain, which claims 'the world's greatest hot sandwich' offering, including 'The Full Montagu' combination of beef, turkey, cheese and salad. The venture has 50 locations in North America, Asia and Disneyland Paris.
In the 1980s, Lord Sandwich also embarked with his wife Caroline on the restoration of the gardens, woodlands and farms of the Mapperton estate in Dorset, which had been acquired by Victor Montagu in 1955. Its manor house, Tudor in origin but largely rebuilt in the 1660s, was named 'the nation's finest' by Country Life in 2006.
He was also captain and 'chairman of selectors' of Mapperton Marauders cricket club, a fellow member recalling: 'On match day, no one quite knew how many would show up, numbers could vary from seven to 17... Equally benign and affable in victory or defeat, John was the perfect embodiment of this once noble sport.'
He married, in 1968, Caroline Hayman, whom he had met at Cambridge. She survives him with their sons Luke (Viscount Hinchingbrooke, born in 1969, who succeeds as 12th Earl) and Orlando, and daughter Jemima.
Lord Sandwich, born April 11 1943, died February 1 2025​
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