Edgar Granville, Baron Granville Of Eye

Edgar Louis Granville, Baron Granville of Eye (12 February 1898 – 14 February 1998) was a British politician.

Edgar Granville was born in Reading, the son of Reginald and Margaret Granville. His year of birth is sometimes incorrectly given as 1899, but his birth record states the actual year as 1898 (according to ''The Times'', it was only the delivery of a telegram from Buckingham Palace on his 100th birthday that confirmed he was "a year older than had generally been thought."). He was educated in High Wycombe and in Australia, where he lived for some years. He served in the First World War with the Australian Imperial Force in Gallipoli, Egypt, and France. He was a scout with the Australian Light Horse and was wounded with the 4th Light Horse at Gallipoli. He was later president of the Gallipoli Association.

Granville was elected as Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Eye in Suffolk in 1929. He played a wide role within the Liberal Party, becoming at various stages chair of their Agricultural Group, secretary of the Foreign Affairs Group and vice-president of the Young Liberals. Becoming a Liberal National for the 1931 general election, he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to then Home Secretary, Sir Herbert Samuel, then to Sir John Simon, Foreign Secretary, in the National Governments of the 1930s.

Granville served in the Royal Artillery as an officer in the Second World War, resigning his commission in August 1940. In 1942, he left the Liberal Nationals to form a "People's Movement" with his fellow MP Captain Alec Cunningham-Reid, who had been deprived of the Conservative Party whip after campaigning for the Independent candidate W. J. Brown in the Rugby by-election earlier that year. Attempts at popularising the Movement quickly foundered, however, and after three years sitting as an Independent Granville rejoined the Liberals in 1945. He stood for the party in Eye in that year's general election, facing both Conservative and Labour opposition, and managed to scrape out a win by 949 votes. He won again in 1950 with an even smaller majority – 627 – but could not overcome the Conservatives in the 1951 election and lost his seat.

In 1952 Granville joined the Labour Party, and stood once again for Eye in 1955, losing by just 898 votes despite the fact that Labour had previously been a distant third. He was elevated to the House of Lords as a life peer on 12 September 1967, with the title Baron Granville of Eye, of Eye in the County of Suffolk. Initially sitting as a Labour member, in the 1970s he moved to the crossbenches. He later swung even further rightwards, reportedly describing Margaret Thatcher as "the best Prime Minister since Churchill."'Lord Granville of Eye', ''Daily Telegraph'', 17 February 1998, p. 23. He is one of the few peers to have celebrated their 100th birthday, although he died just two days later.

He was managing director of E. L. Granville & Co. Ltd, chair and furniture manufacturers, of High Wycombe. He also wrote two novels, ''The Peking Pigeon'' and ''The Domino Plan'' (1975).

He was survived by his wife Elizabeth and a daughter, Linda Gounalakis.

Bibliography

* Entry by Dr Malcolm Baines in ''Dictionary of Liberal Biography'', Brack et al. (eds.), Politico's (1998)

References

External links

*

Obituary in ''The Independent''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Granville, Edgar Baron Granville of Eye
Granville of Eye, Edgar
Granville of Eye, Edgar
Australian Army soldiers
Australian military personnel of World War I
British Army personnel of World War II
Granville of Eye, Edgar
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English centenarians
Men centenarians
Granville of Eye
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians
Royal Artillery officers
UK MPs 1929–1931
UK MPs 1931–1935
UK MPs 1935–1945
UK MPs 1945–1950
UK MPs 1950–1951
UK MPs who were granted peerages
Life peers created by Elizabeth II