Ponsonby's father died in the year that he was granted a peerage and Edward became the 2nd Lord Sysonby in 1935. On 2 October 1936, the Lord Sysonby married Sallie Whitney Sanford, the daughter of Dr.
Leonard Cutler Sanford. There were two children from the marriage. A daughter, Hon. Carolyn Ponsonby, was born in 1938 (died 2023), but the long absences during the war years meant that it was not until 1945 that
John, the sole heir to the title, was born. When Lord Sysonby joined the British Army, he chose the local "county" regiment, the
Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), otherwise known as the West Surreys. He served initially in the
Territorial Army, in the 5th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment, part of the
131st (Surrey) Infantry Brigade. During the
Second World War, Lord Sysonby volunteered for the
Commandos became a
Commando officer and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was decorated with the
Distinguished Service Order in 1940 during the
Battle of France and
retreat to Dunkirk where he was
evacuated. In 1948, Lord Sysonby and his young family emigrated to
Africa, in search of a better life than that on offer in post-war Britain. Initially they moved to what was then called
Southern Rhodesia, now
Zimbabwe, but were unable to find a suitable home there and stayed only two years in the country. In 1950, the family moved on to
Kenya and in this colony they were able to make a home. The family settled in
Kitale in the uplands of Western Kenya, in the
Rift Valley region, where Lord Sysonby hoped to make a living in farming. Unfortunately, he died only a few years later. Lord Sysonby died in
Nairobi on 21 January 1956, at the age of 52, and the title passed to his only son, John Ponsonby, 3rd Baron Sysonby. Lady Sysonby died in 1977. When John died without issue in
Wonersh,
Surrey, in 2009, the title became extinct. ==Notes==