Sir Godfrey Baring, 1st Baronet

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

, DL, JP (18 April 1871 – 24 November 1957) was a Liberal Member of Parliament for the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

and later

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

. A member of the influential Baring family, he was the son of Lieutenant-General Charles Baring, son of Henry Bingham Baring, son of

Henry Baring Henry Baring (18 January 1777 – 13 April 1848) was a British banker and politician. He was the third son of Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, the founder of the family banking firm that grew into Barings Bank. His grandfather Johann Baring emi ...

, third son of

Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet (18 April 1740 – 11 September 1810) was an English merchant banker, a member of the Baring family, later becoming the first of the Baring baronets. Early life He was born at Larkbeare House near Exeter, son ...

. His mother was Helen Graham, daughter of

Sir James Graham, 2nd Baronet Sir James Robert George Graham, 2nd Baronet (1 June 1792 – 25 October 1861) was a British statesman, who notably served as Home Secretary and First Lord of the Admiralty. He was the eldest son of Sir James Graham, 1st Baronet, by Lady Ca ...

. He was a lifelong resident of the

. He became involved in politics and public affairs at an early age: he was elected president of the Isle of Wight Liberal Union aged 23, was made a justice of the peace a year later and was

High Sheriff of Hampshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Hampshire. This title was often given as High Sheriff of the County of Southampton until 1959. List of High Sheriffs 11th and 12th centuries 13th century 14th century 15th century 16th century 17th ...

in 1897 at the age of 26. In 1898 he became chairman of the

Isle of Wight County Council Isle of Wight Council, known between 1890 and 1995 as Isle of Wight County Council, is the local authority for the Isle of Wight in England. Since 1995 it has been a unitary authority, being a county council which also performs the functions of ...

, a position he held for the rest of his life. A keen yachtsman, he was elected to the

Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...

in 1892. He frequently entertained royalty during

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at his residence, Nubia House. Godfrey Baring Vanity Fair 21 September 1910

At the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting e ...

he was elected as member of parliament for the

, but lost the seat at the next election in January 1910. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Nubia House in the parish of Northwood in the

, on 4 February 1911. He returned to parliament in the same year when he was elected MP for

at a by-election. At the 1918 general election, he sought to return to the House as member of parliament again for the Isle of Wight, but finished second. For 33 years he was a member of the management committee of the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

. In 1951, while he was president of the RNLI, the new lifeboat at was named ''Sir Godfrey Baring''. He was made a

Knight Commander of the 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 ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

's first

birthday honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

in 1952 for public services and in recognition of the fact that he had been "Chairman of the Isle of Wight County Council for over fifty years and Chairman of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for twenty-seven years". He married Eva Hermione Mackintosh. Helen Azalea "Poppy" Baring was his daughter.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003 Baring died on 24 November 1957, aged 86.

References

External links

*
Vanity Fair portrait of Sir Godfrey Baring
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baring, Godfrey 1871 births 1957 deaths UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies

201 Year 201 ( CCI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fabianus and Arrius (or, less frequently, year 954 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 201 for this yea ...

Members of Parliament for the Isle of Wight High sheriffs of Hampshire Deputy lieutenants of Hampshire

Godfrey Godfrey may refer to: People * Godfrey (name), a given name and surname * Godfrey (comedian), American comedian, actor Places In the United States * Godfrey, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Godfrey, Illinois, a village * Godfrey, Kansas, an ...

Members of London County Council Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Barnstaple Royal National Lifeboat Institution people