Ralph Francis Alnwick Grey, Baron Grey of Naunton, (15 April 1910 – 17 October 1999) was a New Zealand peer who served as the last

Governor of Northern Ireland The governor of Northern Ireland was the principal officer and representative in Northern Ireland of the British monarch. The office was established on 9 December 1922 and abolished on 18 July 1973. Overview The office of Governor of Northern I ...

. He 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 Baron Grey of

Naunton Naunton is a village in Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the River Windrush in the Cotswolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, area of outstanding natural beauty. Stow-on-the-Wold is about 6 miles to the east. Community The populati ...

on 17 September 1968.

Early life and education

Ralph Grey was born in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, on 15 April 1910 the only son of Francis Arthur Grey and Mary Wilks Spencer. He attended both Scots College and Wellington College before going up to University College, Auckland where he graduating as LLB. He then pursued postgraduate studies at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

and thereafter was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Career

Early career

Grey began his legal career as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

before practising as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. He was appointed a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand in 1932. He joined the Colonial Administrative Service in 1936, as a probationer.

Nigeria

The following year he was an administrative service cadet at

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. After World War II, he was promoted Assistant Financial Secretary in 1949. Two years later, he was an Administrative Officer First Class, quickly moving up to Deputy Secretary. He was Secretary to the Governor-General and General Council of Ministers in 1954, and Chief Secretary of the Federation the following year. Two years later he was raised up as Deputy Governor-General until just before independence in 1959.

West Indies

Grey was transferred to

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

as Governor and Commander-in-Chief for five years. As befitted a Governor he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG) in 1964. Grey became Governor of the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

in 1964. A 1965 Order deemed the Governor of the Bahamas to also be the Governor of the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and no ...

. Grey remained in both posts until 1968.

Northern Ireland

That year Grey became

during the period of civil rights marches and increasing levels of street violence. The IRA announced a 'bombing campaign' against British rule which reached new intensity in 1971–72. In the depths of an economic recession, local government was suspended;

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

was subjected to

Direct Rule In political science, direct rule is when an imperial or central power takes direct control over the legislature, executive and civil administration of an otherwise largely self-governing territory. Examples Chechnya In 1991, Chechen separat ...

from

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, and Lord Grey of Naunton was recalled. During the same period he was President of the Scout Council of Northern Ireland. From 1970 Grey was appointed Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries of Northern Ireland, supporting industry as an Honorary Member of the Chambers of Commerce and Honorary President of the Lisburn Chamber of Commerce. From 1970 he was also an Honorary Bencher of the Inns of Court for Northern Ireland. Lord Grey of Naunton was the last Governor of Northern Ireland until 1973, having been appointed on 11 November 1968. He took office on 3 December 1968. When the post was abolished in 1973, he was promoted Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO). At the same time, he was Knight Commander of Ards, then Bailiff of Egle from 1975, until appointment as Lord Prior of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (1988–91).

Memberships

Grey was a Council member of Cheltenham Ladies College, where his daughter, Amanda, was educated. As well as regional commitments to

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the "Big Four (banking)#England and Wales, Big Four" clearing house ...

, he served on its board in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

during 1970s. Lord Grey served as Chairman of the Central Council of the Royal Overseas League (1976–81). He was Chancellor of the New University of Ulster from 1980, and then from 1984 to 1993, he was

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

. In retirement, Grey was invited to be admitted to

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. He was Grand President of the Royal Overseas League in 1993, Chairman of its General Council, but had been president since 1981.

Honours and awards

Grey was appointed an

Officer of the Most Excellent 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 ...

(OBE) in 1951. In 1955, he was appointed a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG) and, in 1959, a Knight Commander (KCMG) . He was first appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1956. Grey received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

(the NUI) in 1985 and Honorary doctorates of Literature and Science by the

Personal life

In 1944 he married Esme Mae, daughter of Albert Victor Kerry Burcher, of Remuera,

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

(and widow of Pilot Officer Kenneth Kirkaldie, REFVR). Lady Grey of Naunton, died on 22 March 1996. The couple had three children: * The Hon. Jolyon Kenneth Alnwick Grey (b.1946) * The Hon. Jeremy Francis Alnwick Grey (b.1948) * The Hon. Amanda Mary Alnwick Grey (b.1950). The Grey family lived in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

among the rolling Cotswold hills at Overbrook in the village of

, which provided the territorial designation of his peerage title.

Death

Baron Grey died on 17 October 1999 in Naunton.

Arms

References

;Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Ralph 1910 births 1999 deaths Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Order of St John British diplomats British governors of the Bahamas Colonial Administrative Service officers Diplomatic peers Governors of British Guiana New Zealand Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George New Zealand Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order New Zealand recipients of a British peerage Life peers created by Elizabeth II 20th-century New Zealand lawyers New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Grey of Naunton People educated at Scots College, Wellington People educated at Wellington College, Wellington 20th-century British politicians Chancellors of Ulster University 20th-century Bahamian politicians