Ronald Gorell Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, (16 April 1884 – 2 May 1963) was a British peer,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician, poet, author and newspaper editor.

Early life and education

Gorell was the second son of John Gorell Barnes, 1st Baron Gorell, President of the Probate Divorce and Admiralty Division of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

. Gorell was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

, Harrow School and Balliol College, Oxford. While at Oxford, he played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

for the University cricket team. After leaving Oxford, Gorell played with

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) for 13 seasons, 431 runs and 43 wickets in his 19-match career. In 1909 he was admitted to

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

, to practice as a barrister, and worked as a journalist for ''

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'' (f ...

'' from 1911 to 1915.

Military and career

During

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 served in the Rifle Brigade, where he reached the rank of captain, was mentioned in despatches and, in 1917, received the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

. Barnes succeeded as third Baron Gorell on 16 January 1917 after his unmarried elder brother was killed in the War. After the war, he took his seat on the Liberal benches in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

and in July 1921 he was appointed

Under-Secretary of State for Air The Under-Secretary of State for Air was a junior ministerial post in the United Kingdom Government, supporting the Secretary of State for Air in his role of managing the Royal Air Force. It was established on 10 January 1919, replacing the previou ...

in the coalition government of

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

, an office he held until the government fell in October 1922. He was the founder of the (Royal) Army Education Corps in which he enabled the army "to take an immense step forward; the biggest it has ever taken" (Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff). Barnes' autobiography is ''One Man... Many Parts''. After the war, he spent two years working at the War Office as Deputy Director of Staff Duties (Education), and then served a year as

from 1921 to 1922. In 1925, he left the Liberals and joined the Labour Party. He then devoted his life to literature, editing the ''

Cornhill Magazine ''The Cornhill Magazine'' (1860–1975) was a monthly Victorian magazine and literary journal named after the street address of the founding publisher Smith, Elder & Co. at 65 Cornhill in London.Laurel Brake and Marysa Demoor, ''Dictiona ...

'', while still serving on many public and private committees.

Charitable work

Gorell was involved with many charities, particularly those that were educational or literary in nature. He was chairman of the Teachers' Registration Council (1922–1935),

King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed b ...

(1929–1933), and of

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school for Single-sex education, boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, it began as the Col ...

and

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 co-educational, independent, Church of England, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation ...

(1949–1959), and president of the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child (1928–1962), the Royal Society of Teachers (1929–1935), and of the Royal Literary Fund (1951–1962).

Personal life and honours

Gorell was invested as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

and as a Commander of the same order in 1919. He was also invested as an ''Officier'' of the Order of Leopold in 1919. He was later editor of the ''

'' from 1933 to 1939. He was co-president of the

Detection Club The Detection Club was formed in 1930 by a group of British mystery writers, including Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Arthur Morrison, Hugh Walpole, John Rhode, Jessie Rickard, Baroness Emma Orczy, R. ...

with Agatha Christie from 1956 to 1963. Lord Gorell married Maud Elizabeth Furse Radcliffe (1886–1954), eldest daughter of Alexander Nelson Radcliffe and Isabel Grace Henderson, in 1922. He died at his home in Arundel, aged 79, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Timothy John Radcliffe Barnes.

Bibliography

Gorell wrote 14 works of fiction, mainly detective stories, and several collections of poetry, published by John Murray. *''In the Night'' (1917) *''DEQ'' (1922) *''Venturers All'' (1927) *''The Devouring Fire'' (1928) *''He Who Fights'' (1928) *''Devil's Drum'' (1929) *''Red Lilac'' (1935) *''Wild Thyme and other stories'' (1941) *''Murder at Mavering'' (1943) *''Luck and other new stories'' (1948) *''Let Not Thy Left Hand'' (1949) *''Earl's End'' (1951) *''Where There's a Head'' (1952) *''Murder at Manor House'' (1954)

References

Sources

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.

External links

CricketArchive profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Ronald 3rd Baron Gorell Gorell, Ronald Gorell Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, Ronald Gorell Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, Ronald Gorell Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, Ronald Gorell Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, Ronald Gorell Barnes, 3rd Baron Rifle Brigade officers Military personnel from London Recipients of the Military Cross British Army personnel of World War I Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Oxford University cricketers English cricketers People educated at Winchester College People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Suffolk cricketers British male novelists 20th-century British novelists British mystery writers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Younger sons of barons 20th-century British male writers Members of the Detection Club British sportsperson-politicians