Lieutenant Colonel James Richard Scarlett, 8th Baron Abinger, (28 September 1914 – 23 September 2002), was a British peer.

Life

Scarlett was born in

Datchet Datchet is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England, on the north bank of the River Thames. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Buckinghamshire, and the Stoke Hundred, the vi ...

, Berkshire, on 28 September 1914, the son of

Hugh Scarlett, 7th Baron Abinger Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Richard Scarlett, 7th Baron Abinger, (25 November 1878 – 21 July 1943) was a British Army officer and peer. Family Scarlett was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Leopold James Yorke Campbell Scarlett, himself son of Peter ...

, and his wife Marjorie (née McPhillamy). He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, where he read for a BA in Economics. Having been commissioned into 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 1936, he saw service in France, Norway and India, eventually rising to become a lieutenant colonel by the time of his retirement in 1947. After the war, he returned to Magdalene, where he received an MA in 1946. In 1968, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. After the death of his father in 1943, he inherited the baronial title along with

Inverlochy Castle Inverlochy Castle () is a ruined, 13th-century castle near Inverlochy and Fort William, Highland, Scotland. The site of two battles, the castle remains largely unchanged since its construction. It is now in the care of Historic Environmen ...

near Fort William in Scotland. He sold Inverlochy after

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 ...

to a Canadian whiskey merchant, and bought Clees Hall, a mixed farm near

Alphamstone Alphamstone is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located south of Sudbury in Suffolk and is northeast from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Braintree and in the parliamentary constituency of ...

on the

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

border. Scarlett was passionate about the regulation of 'amateur archaeologists' using

metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. A metal detector consists of a control box, an adjustable shaft, and ...

s, and worked from 1979 to 1981 towards legislation to regulate the reporting of finds. His interest in the conservation of the rural environment led to his appointment as chairman for the Essex branch of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, which he held from 1972 to 1982. In 1974, Scarlett co-founded th
Colne Stour Countryside Association
Scarlett was also chairman of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association, his grandmother having been adopted by

Sir Percy Shelley, 3rd Baronet Sir Percy Florence Shelley, 3rd Baronet (12 November 1819 – 5 December 1889), was the son of the English writer and poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and his second wife, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, novelist and author of ''Frankenstein''. He was the ...

, the son of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

and

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

. The Boscombe Collection of Shelley's letters and manuscripts, which Scarlett worked on cataloguing, are now held at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

in Oxford. He was also the Vice-President of the Byron Society, and a Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Scarlett died on 23 September 2002, aged 87.

Marriage

In 1957, Lord Abinger married Isla Carolyn Rivett-Carnac (1925–2011), sister of the last two

Rivett-Carnac baronets The Rivett-Carnac Baronetcy, of Derby, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 12 March 1836 for Sir James Rivett-Carnac, 1st Baronet, James Rivett-Carnac, Chairman of the Honourable East India Company, East India Co ...

. They had two sons: * James Harry (born 1959), who succeeded his father on his death. *Hon. Peter Richard Scarlett (1961–2020)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abinger, James Scarlett, 8th Baron 1914 births 2002 deaths Knights of the Order of St John People educated at Eton College Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Royal Artillery officers Deputy lieutenants of Essex 8

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

British Army personnel of World War II

Abinger Abinger is a large, well-wooded and mostly rural civil parish that lies between the settlements of Dorking, Shere and Ewhurst in the district of Mole Valley, Surrey, England. It adjoins Wotton Common on the same side of Leith Hill and inclu ...