Hon. Sir Jasper Nicholas Ridley (6 January 1887 – 1 October 1951) was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, banker, and agriculturalist. He was also chairman of the Trustees of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

and a Trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

Early life

The second son of Matthew White Ridley, 1st Viscount Ridley,

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...

's government, by his marriage to the Hon. Mary Georgiana Marjoribanks, a daughter of Dudley Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth, and Isabella Weir Hogg,Charles Mosley, ed., Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, vol. 1 (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage, 1999), p. 30 Ridley was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, proceeding MA in 1908.'RIDLEY, Hon. Sir Jasper (Nicholas)', in '' Who Was Who'' (London: A. & C. Black)
online edition
by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, November 2012, accessed 23 March 2014

Career

In early life, Ridley twice stood for parliament as a Unionist: at the January 1910 election at Morpeth, and at the December 1910 election at Newcastle. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1912. During the Great War of 1914–1918, he served with the Northumberland Hussars Yeomanry, was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

, appointed a Chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

, and became Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General. After the war he was Secretary of the Ministry of Labour's Training Grants Committee from 1919 to 1920. Entering the banking profession, Ridley rose to become chairman of Coutts & Co. and of the National Provincial Bank. He was also President of the London Life Association and a director of the

Standard Bank of South Africa Standard Bank Group Limited is a major South African bank and financial services group. It is Africa's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is situated in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg. History ...

and of the

Bank of British West Africa Bank of British West Africa (BBWA) was a British Overseas bank that was important in introducing modern banking into the countries that emerged from the UK's West African colonies. In 1957 it changed its name to Bank of West Africa, and in 1965 wa ...

. In the 1930s, Ridley was a member of the Reorganisation Commission for Pigs and Pig Products (1932) and then of another for the Fat Stock Industry (1933–1934). In 1937 he was appointed to the Livestock Commission, and he also served on the Royal Commission on Equal Pay for Equal Work.

Private life

Jasper Ridley married on 28 April 1911 in London Countess Nathalie Louise von Benckendorff (20 May 1886 – 14 March 1968; german: Natalie Luise Gräfin von Benckendorff), daughter of Count Alexander von Benckendorff, Russian Ambassador to the

Court of St James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

between 1903 and 1917, and they had four sons and one daughter: * Catherine Sophie Ridley (19 March 1912 – 18 March 1976), married Eugene Lampert * Jasper Alexander Maurice Ridley (20 April 1913 – 13 December 1943), married Helen Laura Cressida Bonham-Carter * Constantine Anthony Ridley (9 March 1916 – 24 February 1970) * Oliver John Ridley (14 October 1918 – 1992) * Patrick Conrad Peter Ridley (17 March 1931 – 11 May 1952) Their son Jasper was the father of the economist

Adam Ridley Sir Adam Nicholas Ridley (born 14 May 1942) is a British economist, civil servant, and banker. After working at the Foreign Office and the Department of Economic Affairs, he was Director of the Conservative Research Department. With Chris Patten ...

. At the time of Ridley's death his addresses were given in ''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biography, biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a gr ...

'' as 4 Gloucester Place, Portman Square, London W1, and Mockbeggars, Claydon,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. Outside business, Ridley was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Suffolk, a

Fellow 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 ...

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 ...

, chairman of the Trustees of the

, a Trustee of the

, and from 1947 a Trustee of the

. He was a member of the Travellers, Beefsteak, and Turf clubs.

Honours

*Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (France), 1918 *

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, 1919 *Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

1946 Birthday Honours The 1946 King's Birthday Honours, celebrating the official birthday of King George VI, were announced on 13 June 1946 for the United Kingdom and British Empire. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new h ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley, Jasper Nicholas 1887 births 1951 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Northumberland Hussars officers People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of Eton College Younger sons of viscounts British bankers Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire Jasper Nicholas Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates English barristers