Edward Alfred Alexander Baldwin, 4th Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 January 1938 – 16 June 2021) was a British educator,

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsid ...

, and

Crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

.List of retired members of the House of Lords
/ref>

Early life and education

Baldwin was born on 3 January 1938. He was the only child of

Arthur Baldwin, 3rd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley Arthur Windham Baldwin, 3rd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (22 March 1904 – 5 July 1976) was a British businessman, RAF officer, and author. His books included a combative defence of the posthumous reputation of his father, Stanley Baldwin, the fo ...

and the former Joan Elspeth Tomes (1901–1980). His paternal grandparents were

Lucy Baldwin Lucy Baldwin, Countess Baldwin of Bewdley, (; 19 June 1869 – 17 June 1945) was an English writer and activist for maternity health. From 1892 until her death in 1945, she was the wife of Stanley Baldwin, three-time Prime Minister of the Unit ...

and

Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...

, three-time

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

. His maternal grandparents were Harriot (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Hancock) Tomes and Charles Alexander Tomes, an American-born merchant in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

with Shewan, Tomes & Co. Baldwin was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he studied modern languages and law.

Career

Before entering Trinity College, Baldwin served from 1956 until 1958 as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Intelligence Corps. Between 1970 and 1987, he served in a variety of education positions, initially as a school teacher (teaching German and French) and latterly as Area Education Officer for

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

from 1980 to 1987. On the death of his father in 1976, Baldwin became a member of the

and was one of the ninety elected

s who remained 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 ...

. From 1990 to 1998, he was Chairman of the British Acupuncture Accreditation Board. While in the House of Lords, he was Joint Chairman of Parliamentary Group for Alternative and Complementary Medicine from 1992 to 2002. Baldwin was also a member of the Select Committee of Inquiry into Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2000. From 2005 to 2010, he was Joint Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group Against Fluoridation. In addition, Baldwin was Secretary of the Associate Parliamentary Food and Health Forum. Baldwin sat as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

until retiring under the

House of Lords Reform Act 2014 The House of Lords Reform Act 2014 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was a private member's bill. It received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014. The Act allows members of the House of Lords to retire or resign – actions previou ...

in May 2018. Baldwin spent much time trying to clear the name of his grandfather, Stanley Baldwin, whose character, motivation and actions as prime minister were questioned after the outbreak of

World War II 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 opposin ...

. He was particularly unhappy with the film ''

The King's Speech ''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ...

'' due to its factual distortions and portrayal of his grandfather as a dithering fool who misunderstood Hitler's intentions.

Personal life and death

In 1970, Baldwin married Sarah MacMurray, the eldest daughter of Evan James of Upwood Park in Abingdon,

County of Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

. They lived at Manor Farm House in

Upper Wolvercote Wolvercote is a village that is part of the City of Oxford, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. History The Domesday B ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and were the parents of three sons: * Benedict Alexander Stanley Baldwin, 5th Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (born 28 December 1973) *

Hon. ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style (ma ...

James Conrad Baldwin (born 13 March 1976) * Hon. Mark Thomas Maitland Baldwin (born 24 July 1980) Sarah died in 2001. In 2015, Baldwin married sculptor Lydia Segrave, the widow of economist Ian Little. Baldwin was a member of the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

. He lived in

Cumnor Hill Cumnor Hill is a hill in the civil parish of Cumnor, to the west of (but not within) the city of Oxford, in the English county of Oxfordshire. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire. It is also the name of the ribbon development between the or ...

, near

. Lord Baldwin died on 16 June 2021, aged 83. He was succeeded in the earldom and viscountcy by his eldest son, Benedict.

Works

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin of Bewdley, Edward Baldwin, 4th Earl 1938 births 2021 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Earls Baldwin of Bewdley Crossbench hereditary peers Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act Christ's Hospital staff English people of American descent