Grant-Ferris grave Harvington Chaddesley Corbett Worcestershire 02

Robert Grant Grant-Ferris, Baron Harvington, AE PC (30 December 1907 – 1 January 1997) was a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician. Born Robert Grant Ferris, he was educated at

Douai School Douai School was a public (independent) school run by the Douai Abbey Benedictine community at Woolhampton, England, until it closed in 1999. History 1615–1818 The monastic community was founded in Paris in 1615 and moved to Douai aft ...

and served in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during the War, receiving the

Air Efficiency Award The Air Efficiency Award, post-nominal letters AE for officers, was instituted in 1942. It could be awarded after ten years of meritorious service to officers, airmen and airwomen in the Auxiliary and Volunteer Air Forces of the United Kingdom ...

in 1942. He was the son of Mrs. Ellen Ryan Ferris (1870–1955), who is known to have purchased and given the

Harvington Hall Harvington Hall is a moated medieval and Elizabethan manor house in the hamlet of Harvington in the civil parish of Chaddesley Corbett, south-east of Kidderminster in the English county of Worcestershire. It is open to the public. History Har ...

to the

Archdiocese of Birmingham The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin-rite Catholic administrative divisions of England and Wales in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. The archdiocese covers an area of , encompassing Staffordshir ...

in 1923. In 1930, he married Florence Brennan de Vine (d. 30 December 1996), with whom he had a daughter and a son. He was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for St Pancras North from 1937 to 1945, and for

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...

from 1955 until his retirement at the February 1974 general election. He served as

Chairman of Ways and Means In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies. The incumbent is Dame Eleanor Laing, MP for Epping Forest, who was first elected to the office on ...

and Deputy Speaker from 1970 to 1974. Ferris's

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

to Parliament was in March 1937, in a debate on the Air Ministry estimates, in which he spoke as a member of the

Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

. Grant-Ferris was a staunch supporter of fellow devout

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. His son Fr Piers Grant-Ferris (b. April 9, 1933) pleaded guilty at

Leeds Crown Court Leeds Crown Court, more accurately the Crown Court at Leeds, is a venue of the Crown Court in West Yorkshire, England. The buildings are situated on Westgate in Leeds city centre, adjacent to Leeds magistrates courts. Notable cases As Leeds As ...

to indecently assaulting 15 boys while teaching at Gilling Castle, North Yorkshire, the preparatory school for nearby Ampleforth College, between 1966 and 1975. He changed his name from Ferris to Grant-Ferris by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party. Et ...

in August 1942. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1969, and sworn to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1971. On 24 June 1974 he was given a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages Ac ...

as Baron Harvington, of

in the County of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

References

* 1907 births 1997 deaths Grant-Ferris Conservative Party (UK) life peers Grant-Ferris English Roman Catholics Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Douai School Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Grant-Ferris Grant-Ferris Grant-Ferris Grant-Ferris Grant-Ferris Grant-Ferris UK MPs who were granted peerages Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1900s-stub