Gerald Michael Orlando Bridgeman, 6th Earl of Bradford (29 September 1911 – 30 August 1981), styled Viscount Newport between 1915 and 1957, was a British peer, soldier, and arboriculturist.
Contents
Early life and education
Bradford was born at 83 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, the only son of Orlando Bridgeman, Viscount Newport, and his wife Margaret, Viscountess Newport (née Bruce), eldest daughter of Henry Bruce, 2nd Baron Aberdare. He was christened a month later at Holy Trinity Sloane Street. His godparents were Margaret Hamilton-Russell, Viscountess Boyne; his aunt Eva Primrose, Countess of Rosebery (then Hon. Mrs. Algernon Strutt), Aldred Lumley, 10th Earl of Scarbrough; and his uncle Lt. Hon. Richard Orlando Beaconsfield Bridgeman. Beginning in 1915, he was styled Viscount Newport when his father succeeded as 5th Earl of Bradford.
Bridgeman was educated at Harrow School and went then to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1932. In 1961, he received a Master of Arts from Trinity College.
Career
Bridgeman was commissioned in 1938 in the Shropshire Yeomanry, Royal Armoured Corps, part of the Territorial Army, and fought in the regiment as part of the Royal Artillery in Italy in the Second World War. He was mentioned in despatches and was decorated with the Territorial Decoration. On his retirement in 1962, he was granted the rank of a captain.