He served in the Coldstream Guards in North Africa and in 1942 was captured at Tobruk, spending the next year in a prison camp at Chieti, 200 km northeast of Rome.

In 1960 Lionel moved his family into Knole, and he and Jacobine rapidly became accomplished hosts, with the house positively buzzing with dinners, parties and dances throughout the decade.

Jacobine died of cancer in 1971, marking the beginning of Sackville-West's self-confessed "black dog" of depression from which he would suffer at intervals for the rest of his life.

Sackville-West's greatest achievement is considered to have been the comprehensive restoration of the park and gardens of the family seat at Knole, Sevenoaks.

He had a great passion for forestry, personally planting large tracts of new woodland as well as tending the ancient landscaping which had been first laid out by his ancestor, the 3rd Duke of Dorset.

Following the disastrous storm across the south of England in October 1987, when much of the park at Knole was devastated, Sackville-West faced the ruins of most of his hard work from the previous 25 years with good humour and embarked anew on a process of replanting and clearing.