Frederick Charles Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond, 9th Duke of Lennox, 9th Duke of Aubigny, 4th Duke of Gordon (5 February 1904 – 2 November 1989), also known as Freddie March and Freddie Richmond, was a British peer, engineer, racing driver, and motor racing promoter who founded the Goodwood Circuit at his Sussex estate.
Contents
Early life
"Freddie" was born at 58, Great Cumberland Place, Marylebone, the second surviving son of Charles, Earl of March and Hilda Brassey. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. His elder brother Charles Henry of the Royal Fusiliers was killed in action in 1919 during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. In 1928, his father succeeded as the 8th Duke of Richmond, and Freddie was styled as Earl of March and Kinrara.
Motor racing
His interest in engineering started while he was at university and afterwards, he was apprenticed to Bentley Motors in the 1920s. He began a motor racing career in 1929 when he took part in the JCC High-Speed Trial. In the next year, he became a member of the Austin team and won the Brooklands International 500 Miles Race. He created his own team of MG Midgets in 1931 and won the Brooklands Double Twelve race, but then became more involved in the organisational side of motorsport.
He inherited the Dukedoms in 1935, along with Goodwood House and its racecourse, near Chichester. Death duties meant he had to sell the family interests in Scotland, including Gordon Castle, and settle on Goodwood. He designed and flew his own aircraft and served with the Royal Air Force during World War II. For a time, he was based in Washington, working for the Ministry of Aircraft Production.




