Christopher William Vane, 10th Baron Barnard CMG, OBE, MC, TD (28 October 1888 – 19 October 1964[1]) was a British peer and military officer.[1]
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Lord Barnard was born on the 28 October 1888[1] as the second son of Henry de Vere Vane, 9th Baron Barnard and the Lady Catharine Sarah Cecil, daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Exeter[2] at Barnard Castle in County Durham.[1] Following in the footsteps of his father, he attended Eton College,[2] but unlike many of his ancestors studied at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge[1] for a B.A.[3] rather than attending the University of Oxford.
Upon the completion of his degree, he entered the armed services, participating in World War I[3] as a Major in the Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry[2] in which he was awarded the Military Cross[2] and wounded in action twice.[1] His eldest brother, the Hon. Henry Cecil Vane, heir apparent to the barony of Barnard, also served in the Great War[3] but was subsequently wounded and died of those wounds shortly thereafter,[4] leaving his younger brother heir apparent to the title of Baron Barnard.[4]
In 1922, Lord Barnard gained the rank of Major in the 6th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry[1] and served with distinction in the battalion until 1931.[2]
Upon his retirement from the armed services, Lord Barnard took a number of roles, mostly in the service of County Durham.[1] Between 1920 and 1963 he was Master[2] and, subsequently, Joint Master[1] of the Zetland Hunt and between the years 1958 and 1964 the Lord Lieutenant of Durham.[3] He was also a County Commissioner for the Durham Boy Scouts Association.[2] He was a keen horticulturist.[5]
He was a member of Brooks's gentleman's club[2][3] and resided at Raby Castle.[2] Unlike his father, he did not keep a London season home at 20 Belgrave Square, SW.[2]
In 1920 he married Sylvia Mary Straker[2] the daughter of Hubert Straker, a commoner, and had three children:[2]
Lord Barnard received many honours in his lifetime. In 1930 he was invested as a Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George[2] and gained the honourary rank of Colonel in the service of the 6th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, his former unit.[1] He was invested as an as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1955.[2][3]
In 1964 he gave up the Lord Lieutenancy of County Durham. Notably, a few years before his death[5] he divested himself of all but 1,713 acres (693 ha) of the 53,000-acre (21,000 ha) Raby estate.[5] He also resigned from the presidency of the County Territorial Army and Air Force Association.[5] He died on 19 October 1964[3] at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.[5]
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Lord Lawson |
Lord Lieutenant of Durham 1958–1964 |
Succeeded by Sir James Fitzjames Duff |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by Henry Vane |
Baron Barnard 1918–1964 |
Succeeded by John Vane |