Charles Coupar Barrie, 1st Baron Abertay, (7 June 1875 – 6 December 1940), was a Scottish businessman and

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 ...

and later Liberal National politician in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Background and education

Charles Barrie was born in Glasgow, the eldest son of Sir Charles Barrie, Lord Provost of Dundee, and Jane Ann Cathro. He was educated at the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only priv ...

and Blairlodge School,

Polmont Polmont ( gd, Poll-Mhonadh) is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village. Due to its situation in Central Scotland, m ...

Political career

Barrie served during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in an advisory capacity at the Transport Department of the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

, and latterly in the Ministry of Shipping. He was the

Minister of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis of ...

representative in Paris during the

Peace Conference A peace conference is a diplomatic meeting where representatives of certain states, armies, or other warring parties converge to end hostilities and sign a peace treaty. Significant international peace conferences in the past include the follo ...

, and was a Member of the

Supreme Economic Council The Supreme Economic Council was established at the Paris Peace Conference in February 1919 to advise the conference on economic measures to be taken pending the negotiation of peace. Specialized commissions were appointed to study particular probl ...

. He also served as Chairman of the Navy, Army, and Air Force Institutes and as a Member of the Advisory Council to the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

. He was

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 ...

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 of ...

(MP) for Elgin Burghs briefly during 1918, for

Banffshire Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray ...

from 1918 to 1924 and later sat for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

from 1931 to 1940 as a Liberal National. Barrie was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1918 and a

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

in 1921. On 26 June 1940, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Abertay, of Tullybelton in the County of Perth. He also held the Russian

Order of St Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

and the Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

Business career

Barrie was also a shipowner and merchant, and held a number of business appointments including as a Director of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

, of the

Central Argentine Railway The Central Argentine Railway, referred to as CA below, (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Central Argentino) was one of the ''Big Four'' broad gauge, British companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company had been establish ...

, of the

Mercantile Bank of India The Mercantile Bank of India, London and China, later Mercantile Bank Ltd (), was an Anglo-Indian bank with business focus in the Far East. It was founded in Bombay in 1853 as the Mercantile Bank of Bombay; and later in 1857 was renamed to Mer ...

, of

Phoenix Assurance Company Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), ...

, and of Cable and Wireless Ltd.

Personal life

In 1926, at age 51, he married Ethel Broom, only daughter of Sir James Broom, and died at Tullybelton,

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

, in 1940, leaving three daughters (June, Rosemary and Caroline).Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, 1948 The peerage became extinct upon his death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abertay, Charles Barrie, 1st Baron 1875 births 1940 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles People educated at the High School of Dundee Scottish justices of the peace Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles UK MPs who were granted peerages Barrie, Charles National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians Barons created by George VI