Sir Godfrey Baring, 1st Baronet

Sir Godfrey Baring, 1st Baronet (April 18, 1871 – November 24, 1957)[1][2] was a Liberal Member of Parliament for the Isle of Wight and later Barnstaple.

The son of Lieutenant-General Charles Baring, he was a life-long resident of the Isle of Wight. He became involved in politics and public affairs at an early age: he was elected president of the Isle of Wight Liberal Union aged 23, was made a justice of the peace a year later and was High Sheriff of Hampshire in 1897 at the age of 26. In 1898 he became chairman of the Isle of Wight County Council, a position he held for the rest of his life.[3][4]

A keen yachtsman, he was elected to the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1892. He frequently entertained royalty during Cowes Week at his residence, Nubia House.[3]

At the 1906 general election he was elected as member of parliament for the Isle of Wight, but lost the seat at the next election in January, 1910.[3] He was created 1st Baronet Baring, of Nubia House, Isle of Wight on 4 February 1911.[3][5] He returned to parliament in the same year when he was elected MP for Barnstaple at a by-election.[3][6] He stood down from parliament at the 1918 general election.

For 33 years he was a member of the mamagement committee of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. In 1951, while he was president of the RNLI, the new lifeboat at Clacton was named Sir Godfrey Baring.[7] He was made a Knight Commander of the British Empire in Elizabeth II's first birthday honours in 1952 for public services and in recognition of the fact that he had been "Chairman of the Isle of Wight County Council for over fifty years and Chairman of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for twenty-seven years".[3][8]

References

  1. ^ "thePeerage.com". http://www.thepeerage.com/p12247.htm#i122465. Retrieved 2009-04-12. 
  2. ^ "Hansard". http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/people/sir-godfrey-baring. Retrieved 2009-04-12. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Sir Godfrey Baring". The Times: p. 12. 25 November 1957. 
  4. ^ "Famous Residents & Visitors". Isle of Wight Tourism. Isle of Wight Council. 2010. http://www.islandbreaks.co.uk/site/about-the-isle-of-wight/famous-residents-and-visitors. Retrieved 30 July 2011. 
  5. ^ London Gazette: no. 28509. p. 4883. 30 June 1911.
  6. ^ London Gazette: no. 28492. p. 3552. 9 May 1911.
  7. ^ Evans, P (2011). "Sir Godfrey Baring 1952 - 1968". Clacton on Sea Lifeboat Station. http://www.clactonlifeboat.org.uk/lifeboat_pages/godfrey.htm. Retrieved 30 July 2011. 
  8. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 39555. p. 3017. 30 May 1952.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
John Seely		 Member of Parliament for Isle of Wight
1906 – January 1910		 Succeeded by
Sir Douglas Hall
Preceded by
Ernest Soares		 Member of Parliament for Barnstaple
1911 – 1918		 Succeeded by
Tudor Rees
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New constituency Baronet
(of Nubia House)
1911–1957		 Succeeded by
Charles Christian Baring