William George Michael Spens, 2nd Baron Spens,
QC (18 September 1914 – 23 November 1984) was a British
peer.
Spens was the eldest son of
Patrick Spens, 1st Baron Spens
William Patrick Spens, 1st Baron Spens, KBE, PC, KC (9 August 1885 – 15 November 1973) was a British lawyer, judge and Conservative politician. He served as Chief Justice of India from 1943 to 1947.
Biography
Spens was the eldest of the s ...
and his first wife, Hilda. He served with the 97th (Kent Yeomanry) Field Brigade, was promoted to
Second Lieutenant in 1936 and transferred to the
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
in 1938. On 30 June 1941, Spens married Joan Goodall (died 1994) and they had three children:
*
Patrick Michael Rex (1942–2001)
*William David Ralph (born 1943)
*Mallowry Ann (born 1949)
In the
Queen's Birthday Honours of 1954, Spens, as a Temporary Senior Executive Officer of the Control Commission for Germany, was appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE).
On the death of Spens' father in 1973, he inherited the
barony of Spens and on his own death in 1984, the title passed to his eldest son, Patrick.
His MBE honour was
revoked in 1975, following his
sentencing
In law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences for mult ...
a year earlier, to two years in
jail for stealing money from the
Federation of British Carpet Manufacturers, a company he founded and of which he was a director.
''The Times'' - The 3rd Lord Spens' obituary.
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spens, William Spens, 2nd Baron
1914 births
1984 deaths
Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Royal Artillery officers
British people convicted of theft
People stripped of a British Commonwealth honour
Place of birth missing
20th-century British Army personnel