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John and Patricia’s marriage was blessed with seven children -

In 1958, John produced the film “Harry Black and the Tiger”, which starred Stewart Granger (1913-1993), which was followed by “Sink the Bismarck!” - the story of the Royal Navy’s search for the Nazi German’s battleship during 1941, which starred Kenneth More, CBE (1914-1982). The fact that his father-in-law (Mountbatten) was Chief of the Defence Staff, is said to have helped John achieve both authenticity with the full co-operation of the Admiralty.

During the 1970s and 1980s, John produced several star studded films based on the detective novels of Dame Agatha Christie, DBE (1890-1976).

John bought a copy of “A Passage to India” by E.M. Forster, OM, CH (1879-1970) in 1957 to while away the long journey to Mysore, where he was filming “Harry Black and the Tiger”. After reading it, he realised - he later recalled, that this was "the film I really wanted to make", and upon his return to London he wrote several letters to Forster. In 1961, the two men met, although no formal agreement was ever made. Forster died in 1970, but King's College, Cambridge (which owned the rights to all Forster's books) took a dim view of the film world but for 10 years John wrote an annual letter to the Provost, until he was finally told that the rights were available. The subsequent film, directed by Sir David Lean, KBE (1908-1991) was a meticulous and epic study of the tensions between the Indians and the colonial British in the 1920s and won two Oscars, and earned nine other Oscar nominations - John himself was nominated in the Best Picture category.

Book cover for Forster’s
“A Passage to India”

The Hon. Sir Norton Louis Philip KNATCHBULL, Bt., who succeeded his father in 2005 as 8th Lord Brabourne (born 8th October 1947)

The Hon. Michael-John Ulick KNATCHBULL (born 24th May 1950)

The Lady Joanna Edwina Doreen ZUCKERMAN (née KNATCHBULL) (born 5th March 1955)

The Lady Amanda Patricia Victoria ELLINGWORTH (née KNATCHBULL) (born 26th June 1957)

The Hon. Philip Wyndham Ashley KNATCHBULL (born 2nd December 1961)

The Hon. Timothy Nicholas Sean KNATCHBULL (born 18th November 1964)

The Hon. Nicholas Timothy Charles KNATCHBULL (born 18th November 1964 - died 27th August 1979 in the same explosion that killed his grandfather - Mountbatten)

“Sink The Bismarck!” film poster

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