Roger Mynors Swinfen Eady, 3rd Baron Swinfen, (14 December 1938 – 5 June 2022) was a British politician and philanthropist, who was one of the ninety two

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

s elected to remain in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

following 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 ...

. He sat as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Early life and education

Swinfen was born in 1938, the elder son of Charles Swinfen Eady, second Baron Swinfen and his novelist wife

Mary Wesley Mary Aline Siepmann CBE (24 June 191230 December 2002), known by the pen name Mary Wesley, was an English novelist. During her career, she was one of Britain's most successful novelists, selling three million copies of her books, including ten ...

. His parents divorced in 1945. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and at the

Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town o ...

, after which he received a Short Service Commission in

The Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I. The regiment existed co ...

before leaving the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Later life

A philanthropist, he was the Founding Trustee of the Swinfen Charitable Trust and was

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of the

American Telemedicine Association The American Telemedicine Association (ATA), established in 1993, is a non-profit organization whose goal is to promote access to medical care for consumers and health professionals via telecommunications technology (alternatively referred to ...

from 2009 until 2013. Swinfen was President of the South East Region British Sports Association for the Disabled and between 1983 and 1997, he served as a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the Direct Mail Services Standards Board. In 1988, he became Patron of the

Disablement Income Group The Disablement Income Group (DIG) was a British disability advocacy group, pressure group formed in 1965 in Godalming, Surrey. It is considered to be one of the first pan-impairment pressure groups in Britain, and was created to campaign for the in ...

, in 1996, Patron of Labrador Rescue South East, in 2002, Patron of World Orthopaedic Concern, and of the Kunde Foundation in 2007. Swinfen was a

Liveryman A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the "Wors ...

of the

Worshipful Company of Drapers The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 111 Livery Company, livery companies of the City of London, formally styled The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Virgin Mary, Blessed Mary the Virgin o ...

as well as a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

House of Lords

Swinfen became the third Baron Swinfen on the death of his father in 1977. As a

member of the House of Lords This is a list of current members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Current sitting members Lords Spiritual Twenty-six bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords: the Archbishops ...

, he was a member on various UK Parliamentary Committees.

Marriage and children

Swinfen married Patricia Anne Blackmore on 24 October 1962. They had four children: *

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People Given name * Cho Hŏn (1544–1592), Joseon militia leader * Ho Hon (1885–1951), North Korean politician Surname * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French fo ...

Georgina Mary Rose Swinfen Eady (born 1 February 1964) * Hon Katherine Anne Dorothy Swinfen Eady (born 18 May 1966) * Hon Arabella Victoria Eleanor Swinfen Eady (born 10 March 1969) * Charles Roger Peregrine Swinfen Eady, 4th Baron Swinfen (born 8 March 1971) Lady Swinfen died in 2023.

Death

Swinfen died on 5 June 2022, at the age of 83. He was succeeded in the barony by his only son, Charles.

Honours and fellowships

UK Baron ('' suc.'' 1977) * MBE (2016, for "services to international telemedicine and for his work with the Swinfen Charitable Trust") ** Justice of the Peace (JP) for

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

(1983) *

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

, Industry and Parliament Trust (FIPT) (1983) *

, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) (1998) ** ARICS (1970) * Hon. Research Fellow, Centre for Online Health (COH), UQ (2001)

Selected published works

*''An Evaluation of the First Year's Experience with a Low-cost Telemedicine Link in Bangladesh'' (2001) *''Store-and-Forward Teleneurology in Developing Countries'' (2001) *''Experience with a Low-cost Telemedicine System in Three Developing Countries'' (2001)

Arms

References

External links

Parliamentary profile

''Debrett's People of Today''
*
www.swinfencharitabletrust.org

''Swinfen Charitable Trust Newsletter''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swinfen, 3rd Baron 1938 births 2022 deaths 3 Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers People educated at Westminster School, London Royal Scots officers Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Members of the Order of the British Empire Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999