Lieutenant Colonel James Richard Scarlett, 8th Baron Abinger, (28 September 1914 – 23 September 2002), was a British peer.

Life

Scarlett was born in

Datchet Datchet is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England, located on the north bank of the River Thames. Historically part of Buckinghamshire, and the Stoke Hundred, the village was eventuall ...

, Berkshire, on 28 September 1914, the son of Hugh Scarlett, 7th Baron Abinger, and his wife Marjorie (née McPhillamy). He was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he read for a BA in Economics. Having been commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1936, he saw service in France, Norway and India, eventually rising to become a lieutenant colonel by the time of his retirement in 1947. After the war, he returned to Magdalene, where he received an MA in 1946. In 1968, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. After the death of his father in 1943, he inherited the baronial title along with Inverlochy Castle near Fort William in Scotland. He sold Inverlochy after

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 opposing ...

to a Canadian whiskey merchant, and bought Clees Hall, a mixed farm near

Alphamstone Alphamstone is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located south of Sudbury in Suffolk and is northeast from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Braintree and in the parliamentary constituency of S ...

on the

/ Suffolk border. Scarlett was passionate about the regulation of 'amateur archaeologists' using

metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...

s, and worked from 1979 to 1981 towards legislation to regulate the reporting of finds. His interest in the conservation of the rural environment led to his appointment as chairman for the Essex branch of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, which he held from 1972 to 1982. In 1974, Scarlett co-founded th
Colne Stour Countryside Association
Scarlett was also chairman of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association, his grandmother having been adopted by Sir Percy Shelley, 3rd Baronet, the son of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and Percy Bysshe Shelley. The Boscombe Collection of Shelley's letters and manuscripts, which Scarlett worked on cataloguing, are now held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. He was also the Vice-President of the

Byron Society George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

, and a Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Scarlett died on 23 September 2002, aged 87.

Marriage

In 1957, Lord Abinger married Isla Carolyn Rivett-Carnac (1925–2011), sister of the last two

Rivett-Carnac baronets The Rivett-Carnac Baronetcy, of Derby, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 12 March 1836 for James Rivett-Carnac, Chairman of the East India Company, Member of Parliament for Sandwich and Governor of Bombay. H ...

. They had two sons: * James Harry (born 1959), who succeeded his father on his death. *Hon. Peter Richard Scarlett (1961–2020)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abinger, James Scarlett, 8th Baron 1914 births 2002 deaths Knights of the Order of St John People educated at Eton College Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Royal Artillery officers Deputy Lieutenants of Essex James 8 Eldest sons of British hereditary barons British Army personnel of World War II Abinger