Roger Richard Edward Chorley, 2nd Baron Chorley (14 August 1930 – 21 February 2016), was a British chartered accountant and peer. The son of the Robert Chorley, 1st Baron Chorley, Roger Chorley was educated at

Stowe School The Stowe School is a public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, England. It was opened on 11 May, 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, and at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in natural sciences and economics in 1953. He succeeded to his father's title in 1978. Chorley worked for Coopers and Lybrand from 1954 to 1990, as partner from 1967 to 1989. He was a member of the Royal Commission on the Press between 1974 and 1977, and of the Ordnance Survey Review Committee in 1978 and 1979. From 1980 to 1991, he was also a board member of the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

, and from 1981 to 1999 of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

. Between 1991 and 1999, he was also the latter's deputy chairman. Between 1985 and 1987 Chorley chaired the Committee on Handling of Geographic Information, known as the Chorley Committee. This made recommendations on the conversion of

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

maps from paper to computer form, making more Government data available, Grid referencing and

Postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

referencing of data, measures to promote the use of computerised Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and investment required in training and research and development. Chorley was a member of the Top Salaries Review Body from 1981 to 1991, of the Ordnance Survey Advisory Board from 1982 to 1985, and of the

Natural Environment Research Council The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is a British Research Councils UK, research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences. History NERC began in 1965 when several envir ...

1988 to 1994. Between 1987 and 1990, he was President of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. He was a member of The Integrated Sciences Advisory Panel. He was one of the ninety elected hereditary peers to remain in 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 the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

. Being the runner-up in the 1999 election, he replaced the 7th Earl of Carnarvon, after the latter's death in 2001, sitting as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or 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. They take their name fr ...

. He resigned from the House under the

House of Lords Reform Act 2014 The House of Lords Reform Act 2014 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was a private member's bill. It received royal assent on 14 May 2014. The Act allows members of the House of Lords to retire or resign – actions previous ...

on 17 November 2014.

Mountaineering

Chorley's parents were both enthusiastic climbers, his father was a President of the Fell & Rock Climbing Club (1935 - 1937) and became Vice President of the

Alpine Club (UK) The Alpine Club was founded in London on 22 December 1857 and is the world's first list of alpine clubs, mountaineering club. The primary focus of the club is to support mountaineers who climb in the Alps and the Greater Ranges of the world's mo ...

(1957 - 1958) and his mother was Vice-President of the Fell & Rock Climbing Club in 1953 and became President of the Ladies' Alpine Club (1953 - 1955). Chorley inherited their enthusiasm for mountaineering and the environment, he joined the Cambridge University Mountaineering Club when he became a student and later became the club's President (1952-1953). He was a member of the management committee of the

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

Foundation (1968-70), President of the

Alpine Club Alpine clubs are typically large social clubs that revolve around climbing, hiking, and other outdoor activities. Many alpine clubs also take on aspects typically reserved for local sport associations, providing education and training courses, se ...

from 1983–1985, and patron of the British Mountaineering Council. In 1954 he was part of a

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

team, led by Alfred Tissières, which attempted to ascend

Rakaposhi Rakaposhi (; ) also known as Dumani () is a mountain within the Karakoram range in Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. It is situated in the middle of the Nagar and Bagrote valleys. The mountain is extremely broad, measuring almost from east to west ...

() which, at that time, had never been climbed. The party included George Band, who was a member of the team that made the first ascent of

Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at its ...

, and Major General

Mian Hayaud Din Mian Hayaud Din (2 July 1910 – 20 May 1965) was a Pakistani military officer who served in the British Indian Army during the Second World War and later became Chief of General Staff. Early life and education Mian Hayaud Din was born in P ...

, the Chief of General Staff of the Pakistan Army. He went to

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

in 1957 as part of a British team to attempt

Machapuchare Machapuchare, Machhapuchchhre or Machhapuchhre (, Tamu: कतासुँ क्लिको), is a mountain situated in the Annapurna massif of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. Its highest peak has never been officially climbed due to ...

which was also unclimbed. Wilfrid Noyce and A. D. M. Cox climbed to within of the summit, adhering to the word of honor given to the then

King Mahendra Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until his death in 1972. He led the 1960 Nepal coup d'état, 1960 coup d'état, in which he dismissed the government, jailed other political ...

, they descended without stepping on to the summit. However, early in the expedition Chorley contracted

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

and with the assistance of Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Roberts, the expedition leader, he left the expedition to seek medical assistance. He was a founding member of the Mountain Heritage Trust and he donated his library of mountaineering material to the Trust in 2013.

Family

He married Ann Elizabeth Debenham in 1964 and they had two sons. He died on 21 February 2016 at the age of 85.Announcement

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

23 February 2016. and she died on 20 August 2021 at the age of 90. She is buried at St Michael and All Angels Church, Hawkshead,

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, with a gravestone which marks their lives in the churchyard.

Arms

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chorley, Roger Chorley, 2nd Baron 1930 births 2016 deaths 2 Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society People educated at Stowe School Crossbench hereditary peers

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 Presidents of the Alpine Club (UK) Polio survivors Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge British mountain climbers