Walter Thomas Layton, 1st Baron Layton (15 March 1884 – 14 February 1966), was a British economist, editor, newspaper proprietor and Liberal Party politician.

Background and education

Layton was the son of Alfred John Layton of

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The earliest evidence of human activity is ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and Mary Johnson. He was educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London an ...

, Westminster City School, University College, London and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

Career

He became a lecturer in economics at

in 1908, then from 1909 to 1914 he was a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College. A notable economist, Layton worked for the

Ministry of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis of ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. In 1922 he was appointed editor of ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econ ...

'', a post he held until 1938, and from 1944 to 1963 was also Chairman of The Economist Newspaper Ltd. His editorship was of profound importance to the newspaper, and he was probably the person to whom it owes most thanks for its survival and continued independence. He was editorial director of the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the '' Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 b ...

'' (1930–40), and returned to the ''Chronicle'' after the war, where he remained until the newspaper ceased publication in 1960. He was a member of the Liberal Party committee that produced '' Britain's Industrial Future'', otherwise known as the ''Liberal Yellow Book''. He stood as a Liberal Parliamentary candidate, contesting the London University seat in 1929. Layton was again drafted in to work for the government during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, holding positions in the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for airc ...

(from May 1940) and the

Ministry of Production The Ministry of Production was a British government department created in February 1942, initially under the title Ministry of War Production, but the following month "War" was dropped from the title. Its purpose was to fill a gap in the machinery ...

. Head of Joint War Production Staff 1942 to 1943. After the war, he served as Vice-President of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

from 1949 to 1957.

Honours

Layton was made a CBE in 1917 and a

Companion of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...

in 1919. He was knighted in 1930 and in 1947 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Layton, of Danehill in the County of Sussex.

Liberal politics

Layton stood unsuccessfully for parliament three times as a Liberal. He fought

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

, Cardiff South in 1923 and in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

he switched again to fight the London University seat. However, Layton's importance in Liberal politics had much more to do with his work at the ''

'' and ''

'' where he became a prominent member of a group of Liberals who had a major influence on public opinion. Their orbits were the

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament ...

and

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

villages. They moved in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was ...

, the

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, and

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...

circles. Among their contemporaries were Maynard Keynes,

William Beveridge William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge, (5 March 1879 – 16 March 1963) was a British economist and Liberal politician who was a progressive and social reformer who played a central role in designing the British welfare state. His 19 ...

Gilbert Murray George Gilbert Aimé Murray (2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957) was an Australian-born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greec ...

, and Seebohm Rowntree. Layton would later chair the executive committee of the Liberal Industrial Inquiry which produced the celebrated Yellow Book of 1928.

Marriage and children

Lord Layton married Eleanor Dorothea Osmaston, daughter of Francis Beresford Plumptre Osmaston, in 1910. They had seven children: * The Hon. Margaret Dorothea Layton MA (13 March 1911 – 5 July 1962), married Alfred Geiringer (1911-1996) of

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was establ ...

, four children * Michael John Layton, 2nd Baron Layton (28 September 1912 – 23 January 1989), married Dorothy Rose Cross (1916-1994), two children * Lt. Col. the Hon. David Layton

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language of t ...

BA (5 July 1914 – 31 July 2009), educ. Gresham's School and

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, married (1) (Joan) Elizabeth Gray, three children; married (2) Joy Parkinson (d. 2013) * The Hon. Jean Mary Layton (14 April 1916 – 8 July 2017), violinist and music therapist, 100th birthday marked by Classic FM in 2016, married Paul Eisler (d.1966), two children * The Hon. Olive Shirley Layton (18 December 1918 – 22 June 2009), actress, married Peter Gellhorn, composer and conductor (1912-2004), four children * The Hon. (Elizabeth) Ruth Frances Layton (27 April 1923 – 4 June 2016), served in ATS, marrie
Edward Gutierrez Pegna
(1919-2009), four children * The Hon. Christopher Walter Layton (born 31 December 1929), married (1) Anneliese Margaret von Thadden, two children; married (2) Margaret Ann Moon, three children; married (3) Wendy Elizabeth Christine Bartlett, one child Layton died in February 1966, aged 81, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son. Great great grandfather to SP.

References

External links

Photograph (1953-01-10): Jean Monnet and Lord Layton
on European NAvigator * {{DEFAULTSORT:Layton, Walter Layton, 1st Baron of 1884 births 1966 deaths Alumni of University College London British magazine editors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Knights Bachelor Liberal Party (UK) hereditary peers Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour People educated at King's College School, London People educated at Westminster City School The Economist editors Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Barons created by George VI