Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
John Cyril Edmondson, 2nd Baron Sandford,
DSC DSC may refer to:
Academia
* Doctor of Science (D.Sc.)
* District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India
* Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
Educational institutions
* Dalton State Col ...
(22 December 1920 – 13 January 2009) was a decorated
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
officer,
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
clergyman,
conservationist and
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
politician. As a junior minister charged with a review of policy on
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
s, he formulated what became known as the "Sandford principle": if there is a conflict between leisure use of the National Park, and protecting its natural state, the state of the park must be preserved.
Sandford was the eldest son of
Albert Edmondson, 1st Baron Sandford, and his wife Edith Elizabeth (née Freeman, and sister to
Ralph
Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf").
The most common forms ...
,
Arnold and
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
). He was educated at
St Cyprian's School,
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 the
Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a ci ...
and later trained for
Holy Orders at
Westcott House, Cambridge
Westcott House is an Anglican theological college based on Jesus Lane in the centre of the university city of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.Westcott House website, Home pag Retrieved on August 27, 2006. Its main activity is training people for ...
. He served in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
in 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 ...
, notably at the landings in North Africa,
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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, demographi ...
and
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, where he was wounded. For his actions at Normandy he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries.
*Distinguished Service Cross (Australia)
The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...
.
After the war he was wounded on in the
Corfu Channel Incident
The Corfu Channel Incident consists of three separate events involving Royal Navy ships in the Channel of Corfu which took place in 1946, and it is considered an early episode of the Cold War. in 1946. He was on the staff of the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth from 1947 to 1949, served on in 1950 and on
HMS ''Cleopatra'' from 1951 to 1952, was on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief in the Far East from 1953 to 1955, and was commander of the
Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet.
Before the First ...
Flagship
HMS ''Tyne'' in 1956. The latter year Sandford retired from the Royal Navy with the rank of
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
. In 1958 he was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
and served as
Curate
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
of the Parish of St Nicholas in
Harpenden
Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. Har ...
from 1958 to 1963 and as Executive Chaplain to the
Bishop of St Albans
The Bishop of St Albans is the Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The bishop is supported in his work by two suffragan bishops, the Bishop of Hertford and the Bishop of Bedford, and three ar ...
from 1965 to 1968.
Sandford succeeded his father in the barony in 1959 and took his seat on the Conservative benches 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 ...
. He was an Opposition Whip in the House of Lords from 1966 to 1970 and served in the
Conservative administration of
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...
as Joint
Parliamentary Secretary to the
Ministry of Housing and Local Government
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed following the Second World War, covering the areas of housing and local government.
It was formed, as the Ministry of Local Government and Planning, ...
in 1970, as Joint
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...
for the
Department of the Environment
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...
from 1970 to 1973 and as Joint
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...
for the
Department of Education and Science
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
from 1973 to 1974. As chair of the National Parks Policy Review Committee from 1971 to 1974 he gave name to the
Sandford Principle The Sandford Principle is a concept in the management of protected landscapes in the United Kingdom. It is called the Sandford Principle after Lord Sandford who chaired the National Parks Policy
Review Committee which reviewed national parks of Eng ...
. He was the Chairman of the
Institution of Environmental Sciences
The Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES) is a professional body (professional association) in the United Kingdom. The organisation is a registered charity with the object of "to advance environmental protection and improvement by promoting ...
, from 1977 to 1980, and was awarded Honorary Fellowship in 1981. Sandford has later served as President of the Council for Environmental Education from 1975 to 1984, as Chairman of the Community Task Force from 1977 to 1982 and of the Conference in South-East regional Planning from 1981 to 1988, as President of the Association of District Councils from 1980 to 1986 and as a
Church Commissioner
The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...
from 1981 to 1988. He remained a member of the House of Lords until the passing of the
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...
removed the automatic right of
hereditary peer
The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsid ...
s sit in the upper chamber of Parliament.
Sandford married Catharine Mary, daughter of Reverend Oswald Andrew Hunt, in 1947. They had two sons and two daughters. His elder son,
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
, succeeded him.
Arms
References
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
*
*''Who's Who 2007: An Annual Biographical Dictionary''. London: A & C Black, 2007.
Commander the Rev Lord Sandford—Commander the Reverend 2nd Lord Sandford , who has died aged 88, had an impressive apprenticeship as a decorated naval officer and a Hertfordshire curate before becoming a Conservative whip and junior minister in the House of Lords. The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
, 9 February 2009.
Lord Sandford: seaman, clergyman, politician and conservationist The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
, 23 January 2009. Als
Lives remembered: Lord Sandford and Reg Gutteridge 29 January 2009.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandford, John Edmondson, 2nd Baron
1920 births
2009 deaths
Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers
People educated at St Cyprian's School
Royal Navy officers of World War II
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
20th-century English Anglican priests
Ordained peers
English conservationists
English environmentalists
Alumni of Westcott House, Cambridge
People educated at Eton College
Sandford