Ernest Albert Whitfield, 1st Baron Kenswood (15 September 1887 – 21 September 1963), was a British violinist and welfare worker for the blind. Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Whitfield was the younger son of John Henry Christopher Whitfield and his wife Louisa (née Farren). He was educated at

Archbishop Tenison's Grammar School In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_hea ...

, and at

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and London universities. He at first worked in Vienna but in his early twenties his sight began to deteriorate. This forced him to prepare for a new vocation, which led him into a career as a violinist. He made his professional soloist debut in 1913, by then almost completely blind. He later came into contact with Sir Arthur Pearson, the founder of the charity organisation St Dunstan's, and joined the St Dunstan's Blind Musicians Concert Party. Whitfield made his mark as an accomplished violinist in the early 1920s, but ill health later forced him to restrict his concert engagements. He then took up the study of economics, political science and philosophy, and obtained a BSc in 1926 and a PhD in 1928. The latter year he was elected to the Executive Council of the

National Institute for the Blind The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a UK charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people in the UK with sight loss. History The RNIB was founded by Thomas Rhodes Armitage, a doctor who had eye ...

. In 1935 he injured a hand and was forced to abandon his music career. 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 opposin ...

Whitfield worked for the blind in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and after the war he was Governor of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

from 1946 to 1950. In 1951 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Kenswood, of St Marylebone in the County of London. Between 1951 and 1955 he served as President National Institute for the Blind. Lord Kenswood married, firstly, Sophie Madeline, only child of Ernest Walter Howard. They had one son and a daughter. After her death in 1961, he married Catherine, widow of Charles Chilver-Stainer and daughter of Frank Luxton. Kenswood died in September 1963, aged 76, and was succeeded in the barony by his only son John.

Arms

Notes

References

*Oxbury, Harold. ''Great Britons: Twentieth-Century Lives''. Promotional Reprint Company, 1993. *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenswood, Ernest Whitfield, 1st Baron 1887 births 1963 deaths Blind musicians English blind people Blind royalty and nobility British royalty and nobility with disabilities People educated at University College School Barons created by George VI