Baron Rea, of Eskdale in the County of Cumberland, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1937 for the businessman and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician Sir Walter Rea, 1st Baronet, who had earlier represented

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, Bradford North and Dewsbury in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. He had already been created a Baronet, of Eskdale in the County of Cumberland, in 1935. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he served as personal staff officer to Brigadier

Colin Gubbins Major-General Sir Colin McVean Gubbins (2 July 1896 – 11 February 1976) was the prime mover of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the Second World War. Gubbins was also responsible for setting up the secret Auxiliary Units, a command ...

, the Head of SOE, a key British intelligence and guerrilla operations agency. Lord Rea served as Leader of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

from 1955 to 1967. His daughter, the Right Hon. Ann Felicity Rea, married SOE veteran

Malcolm Munthe Major Malcolm Grane Ludovic Martin Munthe MC (30 January 1910 – 24 November 1995) was a British soldier, writer, and curator, and son of the Swedish doctor and writer Axel Munthe and his English second wife Hilda Pennington-Mellor. Early li ...

in 1945. His nephew, the third Baron, who succeeded in 1981, was a physician. He was one of the ninety elected hereditary peers elected to remain in the

after the passing of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

, and sat on the

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benches. the titles are held by his son, the fourth Baron, who succeeded his father in that year.

Russell Rea Russell Rea Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (11 December 1846 – 5 February 1916) was an English ship-owner from Liverpool and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of ...

, father of the first Baron, was also a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

and had been admitted to the Privy Council in 1909. The sculptor Betty Rea was the wife of the Hon. James Rea, younger son of the first Baron. They were the parents of the third Baron. The family surname and the title of the barony, Rea, is pronounced "Ree".

Barons Rea (1937)

Walter Russell Rea, 1st Baron Rea Walter Russell Rea, 1st Baron Rea (18 May 1873 – 26 May 1948), was a British merchant banker and Liberal politician. Rea was the son of Russell Rea. He was elected to the House of Commons for Scarborough in 1906, a seat he held until 1918, a ...

(1873–1948) * Philip Russell Rea, 2nd Baron Rea (1900–1981) * (John) Nicolas Rea, 3rd Baron Rea (1928–2020) *Matthew James Rea, 4th Baron Rea (b. 1956) The

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

is the present holder's brother Hon. Daniel William Rea (b. 1958), whose heir is his eldest son William Alexander Rea (b. 1991)

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *
Lord Rea, Biography of Phillip Russell Rea: Journal of Liberal History, Issue 27, Summer 2000
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rea Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1937 Noble titles created for UK MPs