Cedric Brudenell-Bruce, 7th Marquess of Ailesbury

Chandos Sydney Cedric Brudenell-Bruce, 7th Marquess of Ailesbury CStJ, DL, JP (26 January 1904 – 15 July 1974), styled Earl of Cardigan or Lord Cardigan between 1911 and 1961, was a British peer.

He was the son of George Brudenell-Bruce, 6th Marquess of Ailesbury and Caroline Sydney Anne Madden. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford.

Brudenell-Bruce became Justice of the Peace for Wiltshire in 1938. In the Second World War he served in the Royal Army Service Corps, during which time he was Mentioned in Despatches. He was captured and spent time as a prisoner of war, but escaped. In 1950 he held office as Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire. He was a County Councillor for Wiltshire in 1961. He was invested as a Commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. He wrote the following books, under the name Cardigan: Youth goes East, 1928; The Amateur Pilot, 1933; The Wardens of Savernake Forest, 1949; I Walked Alone, 1950; The Life and Loyalties of Thomas Bruce, 1951. He succeeded his father in the marquessate on the latter's death on 4 August 1961. After succeeding to his father's titles, he wrote two more books, under the name Ailesbury: The History of Savernake Forest, 1962; Setting My Watch by the Sundial, 1970.

This last book, Setting My Watch by the Sundial, was a short memoir that shed a lot of interesting light upon Cedric's personal life, a large part of which was related to the books he wrote. According to this book, in the early 1920s, he was an avid fan of cars, and took every opportunity to drive the latest models. During this period of his life, he was involved in certain sports car publications, reviewing cars and racing events. His first book, Youth Goes East, chronicled his journey across Europe in a sponsored car, with his wife and a friend. The whole trip was an elaborate advertising campaign sponsored by a prominent car company, to show off the durability of their new model. In the process, the book revealed many extremely interesting observations about parts of Europe that were still crumbled with decay in the wake of the First World War some 10 years prior. The book itself (Youth Goes East) made no mention of the sponsorship, or the specific model of the car used, since the book was unrelated to the ad campaign.

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