Audrey Pellew Hylton-Foster, Baroness Hylton-Foster DBE (''née'' Brown; 19 May 1908 – 31 October 2002), was the daughter of Douglas Clifton Brown, 1st Viscount Ruffside, and Violet Cicely Kathleen Wollaston. She married Sir Harry Braustyn Hylton-Foster, who had started a distinguished career at the Bar in 1931; they had no children. Her great-grandparents were Charles Rowe, who was mixed race, due to being of African descent, and his

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

-born wife Sarah. Born in

Simla Shimla, also known as Simla (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summe ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, she was educated at St George's, Ascot, and Ivy House, Wimbledon. Both her father and husband served as Speaker of the House of Commons.

Red Cross work

Audrey Hylton-Foster first lived at Speaker's House during her father's time there, when she went to recover from

measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...

. While she was convalescing she started working for the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...

, and this, apart from politics, became her life's work. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she was a nurse at St Luke's Hospital, Chelsea. She cycled thousands of miles around London on her Red Cross duties. In 1950 she became director of the Chelsea division of the British Red Cross. She was at various times president, chairman and patron of the London branch. In late 1980 she was acting as consultant at the national headquarters.

Politics

Her husband began his political career after World War II. He lost his first attempt to gain a seat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

, for the Shipley constituency, in 1945. By 1950 he was Member of Parliament (MP) for York. In 1951 and 1955 his majorities were slim; however, in 1959, after changing constituencies, his majority was a very healthy 17,000. After her husband's death in office in 1965, she was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baroness Hylton-Foster, of the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

on 7 December 1965. Despite her prior objections to women politicians, she became an active member of 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 ...

, and for many years served as Convenor of the

Crossbench A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...

peers. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE) in the 1990

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

Honourable Lady Hylton-Foster's Annuity Act 1965

The Honourable Lady Hylton-Foster's Annuity Act 1965 (c. 70) provided an

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals based on a contract with a lump sum of money. Insurance companies are common annuity providers and are used by clients for things like retirement or death benefits. Examples ...

(essentially, a pension) of £1,667 a year to Audrey Hylton-Foster for the rest of her life. It was granted in consideration of the service provided by her husband, Sir Harry Hylton-Foster, as Speaker of the House of Commons between October 1959 and September 1965, when he died in office. Baroness Hylton-Foster herself died on 31 October 2002, and consequently the act was repealed in 2004.

Death

She died on 31 October 2002, at her home, aged 94.

Arms

References

External links

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hylton-Foster, Audrey Hylton-Foster, Baroness 1908 births 2002 deaths 20th-century British philanthropists 20th-century British women politicians Anglo-Indian people Black British women politicians Hylton-Foster Crossbench life peers Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Daughters of viscounts English people of Peruvian descent Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II People from Surrey Red Cross personnel Wives of knights