Frank Byers

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Charles Frank Byers, Baron Byers, OBE (b. 24 April 1915 – d. 6 February 1984) was a British Liberal Party politician.

Byers was born in Lancing, Sussex and educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford where he won a Blue for athletics. At Oxford he was president of the Union of Liberal Students and president of the University Liberal Club. His treasurer was Harold Wilson, later Labour Party prime minister. He was also an Exchange Scholar at Milton Academy, Massachusetts[1]. While at Oxford University he met Joan Oliver, whom he married in 1939. They had a son and three daughters. Joan Oliver was a committed Liberal in her own right and was a constant help to her husband during his political career. Byers joined Grays Inn[2] after university but broke off his legal education to enlist. During World War II, Byers served in the Royal Artillery, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and for a time serving on Field Marshal Montgomery's staff. He was mentioned in dispatches three times, was created a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, was awarded the Croix de Guerre and in 1944 was made an OBE.

In the 1945 general election, Byers gained the formerly Conservative seat of North Dorset (UK Parliament constituency), although the absence of a Labour candidate was a key factor in this success. In 1946, Byers was appointed Liberal Chief Whip[3] and gained a reputation for hard work and effective organisation both in Parliament and at Liberal Party headquarters[4]. However he was unable to hold North Dorset in 1950, losing by just 97 votes to the Tory following Labour's decision to stand a candidate. He unsuccessfully tried to re-enter the House of Commons in 1960 at the Bolton East (UK Parliament constituency) by-election.

In 1964, Byers was made a life peer[5] and three years later he became leader of the Liberal peers. He was created a Privy Councillor in 1972[6].

Outside Parliament, Byers was a businessman, a Director of Rio Tinto Zinc from 1962-73 and a broadcaster[7]. He died of a heart attack on 6 February 1984[8]. A memorial service was held for Lord Byers in Westminster Abbey on 5 April 1984[9].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Who was Who, OUP 2007
  2. ^ Wigoder, ‘Byers, (Charles) Frank, Baron Byers (1915–1984)’, rev., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
  3. ^ The Times, 21 March 1946
  4. ^ A History of the Liberal Party in the Twentieth Century, David Dutton, Palgrave Macmillan (2004) p.207
  5. ^ The Times, 23 December 1964
  6. ^ The Times, 3 June 1972
  7. ^ The Times, 6 August, 1973
  8. ^ The Times, 7 February, 1984 - obituary
  9. ^ The Times, 6 April, 1984

[edit] Further reading

Entry by Roy Douglas in Dictionary of Liberal Biography, Brack et al (eds.), Politico's (1998)