Diana Josceline Barbara Neave, Baroness Airey of Abingdon (born Diana Josceline Barbara Giffard; 7 July 1919 – 27 November 1992) was a Conservative 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 ...

after receiving 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 ...

age in August 1979.

Personal life

Diana Giffard was daughter of Thomas Arthur Walter Giffard, MBE, DL, for Staffordshire, of

Chillington Hall Chillington Hall is a Georgian country house near Brewood, Staffordshire, England, four miles northwest of Wolverhampton. It is the residence of the Giffard family. The Grade I listed house was designed by Francis Smith in 1724 and John Soane ...

, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire and his wife Angela Erskine Trollope, elder daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Henry Trollope, 10th Bt. She married

Airey Neave Lieutenant Colonel Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, () (23 January 1916 – 30 March 1979) was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1953 until his assassination in 1979. During the Second World War he was the first ...

, elder son and first child of Sheffield Airey Neave. They had three children: # Hon. Marigold Elizabeth Cassandra Neave, now Hon. Mrs Webb (born 5 May 1944); married 8 June 1968 William Richard Broughton Webb, son of Lt.-Cdr. William Frank Broughton Webb, and has issue, one son and one daughter. # Hon. Richard Patrick Sheffield Neave (born 12 Nov 1947); married 1980 Elizabeth Mary Catherine Riddell, daughter of Cuthbert Edward Alphonso Riddell, and had issue, three sons, whose common second last name is Airey. # Hon. William Robert Sheffield Neave (born 13 Aug 1953); married 1986 Joanna Mary Stuart Paton, daughter of James Stuart Paton, and has issue, two sons, Richard Digby Stuart Neave (born 21 May 1987); Sebastian Airey Stuart Neave (born 11 May 1989).

Career

At the beginning of the

Second World War 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 worked as a nurse in an RAF hospital. Later she was enrolled by the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

to carry out work in secret intelligence with the

Political Warfare Executive During World War II, the Political Warfare Executive (PWE) was a British clandestine body created to produce and disseminate both white and black propaganda, with the aim of damaging enemy morale and sustaining the morale of countries occupied ...

, in particular liaising with the Polish Ministry of Information. Diana Neave was created Baroness Airey of Abingdon, of Abingdon in the County of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, on 6 August 1979, a few months after her husband – a British Conservative Member of Parliament – was killed in an attack by the

Irish National Liberation Army The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA, ) is an Irish republicanism, Irish republican Socialism, socialist paramilitary group formed on 8 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seeks to remove ...

using a car-bomb in the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

on 30 March 1979. She was on the governing body of

Abingdon School Abingdon School is an independent day and boarding school in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It is the List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, twentieth oldest Independent School (UK), independent British school. In May 202 ...

from 1981 to 1987. She was a trustee of the Imperial War Museum, the

National Heritage Memorial Fund The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up in 1980 to save the most outstanding parts of the British national heritage, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. It replaced the National Land Fund, which had fulfilled t ...

, the Dorneywood Trust and the Stansted Park Foundation. She was President of the Anglo-Polish Conservative Society.

Death

She died in 1992 and is buried in the churchyard with her husband at

Hinton Waldrist Hinton Waldrist is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, England. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The village is between Oxford and Faringdon, southwest of Oxford. The p ...

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neave, Diana Baroness Airey of Abingdon Airey of Abingdon Airey of Abingdon Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Airey of Abingdon Airey of Abingdon, Diana Neave, Baroness Airey of Abingdon 20th-century British women politicians Governors of Abingdon School