Roger Carol Michael Nathan, 2nd Baron Nathan (5 December 1922 – 19 July 2007) was an English

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and

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

Family

Nathan was the son of Harry and Eleanor Nathan. His father was a Liberal politician who joined the Labour Party in 1934, who was created Baron Nathan in 1940 after he stood down as MP for Wandsworth Central to allow

Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1940 and ...

to take the seat.

Early life

Nathan 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. ...

and at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

. He was called up in 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 ...

. After training at Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the 17th/21st Lancers in 1942 and saw active service in

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Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. He was mention in dispatches, and

demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...

with the rank of captain in 1946.

Law career

He returned to New College, Oxford, and read law. From 1948, he took his articles with his father, then on leave as Minister of Civil Aviation, and joined his father's firm, Herbert Oppenheimer Nathan and Vandyk. He became a partner when he qualified in 1950, on the same day as his marriage. He worked on the flotations of

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

and

Plessey The Plessey Company plc was a British electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after World War II by acquisition of companies and formed overseas compani ...

on the

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. He succeeded his father as the 2nd Baron Nathan in 1963 and sat on the crossbenches. He became senior partner of Herbert Oppenheimer in 1978. The firm collapsed in 1988, and he joined many of its former partners at Denton Hall Burgin and Warren, where he was a consultant until 1992.

Notable activities

He was involved in environmental issues, and various charities. He was a member of the Cavalry Club, and served as Master of the Gardeners' Company. He was chairman and then a vice-president of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

from 1975 to 1977. He was president of the Jewish Welfare Board from 1967 to 1971, and chairman and later honorary president of the Central British Fund for Jewish Relief and Rehabilitation. He became an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

in 1988. He was president of the Society of Sussex Downsmen in 1987, and later chairman of the South Downs Conservation Board.

Personal life

He lived at Collyers Farm at Lickfold in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. He enjoyed playing the piano and the violin. He also enjoyed horse riding, hunting with the Eridge Hunt and Cowdray Hunt. His memoirs, ''The Spice of Life'', were published in 2003 by the Memoir Club. He married Philippa Solomon in 1950, daughter of Major J. B. Solomon, MC. They had two daughters and a son. He was succeeded in the barony by his son, Rupert.

Arms

References

Obituary, ''The Telegraph'', 17 August 2007Obituary, ''The Times'', 24 August 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan, Roger 2nd Baron Nathan 1922 births 2007 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford 2 17th/21st Lancers officers British Army personnel of World War II Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst

Roger Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages">Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...

People educated at Stowe School Jewish British politicians English solicitors Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society 20th-century English lawyers

Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People and biblical figures *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible *Nathan (son of David), a biblical figu ...