Ralph William Ernest Beckett, 3rd Baron Grimthorpe, TD, DL (1891–1963), was a banker and breeder of racehorses. Beckett was son of

Ernest Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe Ernest William Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe (born Ernest William Beckett-Denison; 25 November 1856 – 9 May 1917) was a British banker and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 until 1905 when he inherited the Grimt ...

. He was a partner in the

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

firm of Beckett & Co., which later became part of the Westminster Bank, and in the aeronautical firm

Airspeed Ltd. Airspeed Limited was established in 1931 to build aeroplanes in York, England, by A. H. Tiltman and Nevil Shute Norway (the aeronautical engineer and novelist, who used his forenames as his pen-name). The other directors were A. E. Hewitt, ...

His racehorses included

Fortina Fortina (1941–1968) was a French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1947 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was and remains the only entire horse to win the race. After establishing himself as a top-class steeplechaser in France he was sent to Engl ...

, which won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1947, and Fragrant Mac, which won the

Scottish Grand National The Scottish Grand National is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ayr, Scotland, over a distance of about 4 miles (3 ...

in 1952.

Personal life

Beckett was educated in 1903 at

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 ...

. He was educated at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

. Beckett gained the title of 3rd Baron Grimthorpe on 9 May 1917. Beckett fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He gained the rank of Lieutenant in the service of the Yorkshire Hussars in the RAF. He was Lieutenant-Colonel of the Yorkshire Hussars between 1936 and 1940. Beckett fought in

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 opposin ...

, where he 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 ...

. He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. And was

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

under secretary of state of war in 1919. He married, firstly, Mary Alice Archdale, daughter of Colonel Mervyn Henry Archdale and Mary de Bathe, on 3 September 1914. He and Mary Alice Archdale were divorced in 1945. He married, secondly, Angela Courage, daughter of Edward Hubert Courage and Beatrice Mary Awdry, on 25 March 1945. He died on 22 February 1963 at age 71. Beckett frequently took part in the Cresta Run, St Moritz, Switzerland. His interest in aviation included ownership of two light aircraft. As a major investor in Airspeed Ltd, he became chairman of the company. He founded an airline,

North Eastern Airways North Eastern Airways (NEA) was a British airline which operated from 1935 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Based initially in Newcastle upon Tyne, it operated routes from Scotland to London in competition with the railways, retaining ...

in 1935, using several aircraft produced by Airspeed, until it was grounded by

, He was also president of Yorkshire Aero Club.

Arms

References

Book source

* Grimthorpe, 3rd Baron 1891 births 1963 deaths Deputy Lieutenants of the West Riding of Yorkshire British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Yorkshire Hussars officers Ralph People educated at Eton College Alumni of University College, Oxford {{UK-baron-stub