Bernard Harold Ian Halley Stewart, Baron Stewartby, (10 August 1935 – 3 March 2018) was a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician and

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

. He was the

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 ...

for

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

from February 1974 to 1983, and for

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from 1983 to 1992. He sat in 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 ...

from 1992 to 2015.

Early life

Stewart was the son of Harold Charles Stewart

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

and Dorothy Irene Lowen, and was named after his grandfather, Bernard Halley Stewart. He was educated at

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and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, where he gained a

first-class degree The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in the Classical Tripos; he was made an honorary fellow of the college in 1994.

Parliamentary career

Stewart contested Hammersmith North at the 1970 general election, being beaten by Labour's

Frank Tomney Frank Tomney (24 May 1908 – 19 September 1984) was a British Labour Party politician. Born in Bolton, Lancashire, Tomney found himself jobless during the Great Depression and walked to London in search of employment. After arriving in London ...

. He was

for

from February 1974 to 1983, and for

from 1983 until he stood down in 1992. He served as junior minister for Defence Procurement,

Economic Secretary to the Treasury The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is the sixth-most senior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, after the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster-General and the ...

, and Minister for the Armed Forces.

House of Lords

After he left the

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, Stewart was created a

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as Baron Stewartby, of

Portmoak Portmoak is a parish in Kinross-shire, Scotland. It consists of a group of settlements running north to south: Glenlomond, Wester Balgedie, Easter Balgedie, Kinnesswood, Kilmagadwood and Scotlandwell. The name derives from the Port of St Mo ...

in the District of

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...

on 20 July 1992. He sat in the House of Lords until his retirement on 12 November 2015.

Interest in numismatics

Stewartby's interest in Scottish coins had started when he was a schoolboy. Noting the lack of a complete book on the subject more recent than Edward Burns' 1887 work "Coinage of Scotland", he was encouraged to write his own. The result, "The Scottish Coinage", was published by Spink and Son in 1955. The preface, dated December 1953, gives the location as

, Hertford, which he attended from 1949 to 1954, as a member of Allenby House. In July 2007, Stewartby's collection of antique Scottish coins dating back to the 12th century and worth an estimated £500,000 was stolen from his home near

Peebles Peebles ( gd, Na Pùballan) is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in June 2018 wa ...

. The coins have yet to be recovered, and in November 2008, a £50,000 reward was offered for their return.

Honours

In 1971, Stewartby was awarded the Sanford Saltus Gold Medal by the

British Numismatic Society The British Numismatic Society (BNS) is an organisation for promoting and realization of the study of British coins and medals. It was founded in 1903. Publications Its principal publication is the ''British Numismatic Journal'', (published fro ...

in recognition of his contributions to British

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

. He was awarded the

medal of the Royal Numismatic Society The Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society was first awarded in 1883. It is awarded by the Royal Numismatic Society and is one of the highest markers of recognition given to numismatists. The President and Council award the Medal annually to an "indi ...

in 1996. On 30 March 1970, Stewartby was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(FSA). In 1981, he was elected a

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(FBA) in the Archaeology section. In 1986, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(FRSE). In the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a

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"for political service". On 26 November, he received the

accolade The accolade (also known as dubbing or adoubement) ( la, benedictio militis) was the central act in the rite of passage ceremonies conferring knighthood in the Middle Ages. From about 1852, the term ''accolade'' was used much more generally to ...

from

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Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

Arms

Sources

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'' 1987 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Ian 1935 births 2018 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Stewartby Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 British numismatists Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Knights Bachelor Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Politicians awarded knighthoods Northern Ireland Office junior ministers Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel