Joseph Albert Pease, 1st Baron Gainford (17 January 1860 – 15 February 1943), known as Jack Pease, was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He was a member of

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

's Liberal cabinet between 1910 and 1916 and also served as Chairman of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

between 1922 and 1926.

Background and education

Pease was born in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

, County Durham (a member of the Darlington Peases), the second and youngest son of

Sir Joseph Pease, 1st Baronet Sir Joseph Whitwell Pease, 1st Baronet (23 June 1828 – 23 June 1903) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons from 1865 to 1903. Biography Pease was a ...

, of Hutton Hall, Guisborough, and Mary, daughter of Alfred Fox. He was the younger brother of

Sir Alfred Pease, 2nd Baronet Sir Alfred Edward Pease, 2nd Baronet (29 June 1857 – 27 April 1939), was a British Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1885 and 1902 and who became a pioneer settler of British East Africa, now Kenya. Early life ...

, the nephew of Arthur Pease and the first cousin of Sir Arthur Pease, 1st Baronet, and Herbert Pease, 1st Baron Daryngton. He was educated at Grove House School, a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

school, and at

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

Political career

Pease served as Mayor of Darlington from 1889 to 1890. He was elected Member of Parliament for

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

in 1892, a seat he held until 1900. He contested and won a by-election for

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...

in May 1901, and represented that constituency until 1910, and

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

between 1910 and 1916. He was private secretary (unpaid) to

John Morley John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn, (24 December 1838 – 23 September 1923), was a British Liberal statesman, writer and newspaper editor. Initially a journalist in the North of England and then editor of the newly Liberal-leani ...

, the

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...

, between 1893 and 1895 and a junior opposition

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

between 1897 and 1905. When the Liberals came to power in 1905 under

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Liberal Party (UK)#Liberal le ...

, Pease was appointed a Junior Lord of the Treasury (government whip). After

became Prime Minister in 1908 he was promoted to

Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the official title of the most senior whip of the governing party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, any official links between the Treasury and this office are nominal and the title ...

(Chief Whip) and sworn of the Privy Council. In 1910 he entered Asquith's cabinet as

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...

, a post he held until 1911, and then served under Asquith as

President of the Board of Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

between 1911 and 1915 and as

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government officia ...

in 1916. In 1917 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Gainford, of Headlam in the County of Durham. He served on the Claims Commission in France in 1915 and between 1917 and 1920 and in Italy between 1918 and 1919 and was also a Deputy Lieutenant of

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

and a Justice of the Peace for County Durham and the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

Business career

Apart from his political career Pease was Deputy Chairman of the Durham Coal Owners Association and vice-chairman of the Durham District Board (under the

Coal Mines Act 1930 The Coal Mines Act 1930 ( 20 & 21 Geo. 5. c. 34) was an act of Parliament which introduced a system of quotas in the coal mining industry of Great Britain. It was a major achievement of the Labour Party, which revoked the eight hour day that had ...

), a director of Pease and Partners Ltd and other colliery companies, Chairman of Durham Coke Owners, director of the County of London Electric Supply Company, Chairman of South London Electric Supply Corporation, of the Tees Fishery Board, and of the Trustees of the

Bowes Museum The Bowes Museum is an art museum, art gallery in the town of Barnard Castle, in County Durham in northern England. It was built to designs by Jules Pellechet and John Edward Watson to house the art collection of John Bowes (art collector), Jo ...

. In 1922 he was appointed Chairman of the British Broadcasting Company Ltd, a post he held until its dissolution and replacement by the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

(BBC) on 31 December 1926, and was vice-chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC until 1932. From 1927 to 1928 he was President of Federation of British Industry.

Papers

Lord Gainford's papers are deposited in

Nuffield College, Oxford Nuffield College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. N ...

and consist of diaries, scrap books, press cuttings, correspondence, domestic papers, political papers, official papers, claims commission papers and BBC papers. The main part of the Pease diaries cover the years 1908–1915 and a volume dealing with the years 1908–1910 have been published by Cameron Hazlehurst and Christine Woodland as ''A Liberal Chronicle: Journals and Papers of J A Pease, 1908–1910''; The Historians Press, London, 1994.

Family

Lord Gainford married Ethel, daughter of Sir Henry Havelock-Allan, 1st Baronet, in 1886. They had one son,

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

, and two daughters, Miriam and Faith (who married Michael Wentworth Beaumont and was the mother of Lord Beaumont of Whitley). Lady Gainford died in October 1941. Lord Gainford survived her by two years and died in February 1943, aged 83. He was succeeded in the barony by his son, Joseph. The family seat was Headlam Hall, Co Durham.

Arms

References

*''Joseph Albert Pease'', by Cameron Hazlehurst in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', OUP 2004–09.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pease, Jack 1st Baron Gainford Gainford, Joseph Pease, 1st Baron Gainford, Joseph Pease, 1st Baron Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Gainford, Joseph Pease, 1st Baron BBC governors British Secretaries of State for Education Chairmen of the BBC Gainford, Joseph Pease, 1st Baron Deputy lieutenants of Durham Pease, Joseph Mayors of places in North East England Gainford, Joseph Pease, 1st Baron Jack People from Darlington People from County Durham Pease, Joseph Albert Pease, Joseph Albert Pease, Joseph Albert Pease, Joseph Albert Pease, Joseph Albert Pease, Joseph Albert UK MPs who were granted peerages Gainford, Joseph Albert Pease, 1st Baron Younger sons of baronets Barons created by George V