Thomas Edward Bridges, 2nd Baron Bridges, (27 November 1927 – 27 May 2017) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsid ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

Early life

Bridges was born on 27 November 1927 to Edward Bridges, later Cabinet Secretary. His grandfather was

Robert Bridges Robert Seymour Bridges (23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930) was an English poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 to 1930. A doctor by training, he achieved literary fame only late in life. His poems reflect a deep Christian faith, and he is ...

, the

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

Career

He joined the Diplomatic Service in 1951. Following postings to, amongst other places,

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, he was HM Ambassador to Italy from 1983 to 1987. He sat as a

crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

from 1975, and was one of the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain under 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 ...

He was on leave of absence from March 2011 to May 2015. Having failed to attend during the whole of the 2015–16 session without being on leave of absence, he ceased to be a member on 18 May 2016 pursuant to section 2 of 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 previou ...

. He died a year later on 27 May 2017 at the age of 89.

Personal life

Bridges was married to Rachel Mary Bunbury (1926–2005), youngest daughter of Sir Henry Noel Bunbury . They had three children: *

Mark Bridges, 3rd Baron Bridges Mark Thomas Bridges, 3rd Baron Bridges, KCVO (born 25 July 1954) is the solicitor to, among others, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the Princess Royal and the Duchy of Lancaster. He is the son of Thomas Edward Bridges, 2nd Baron Bridge ...

(b. 1954), Private Solicitor to the Queen * Nicholas Edward Bridges (b. 1956), an architect * Harriet Elizabeth Bridges The Conservative peer The Lord Bridges of Headley is his nephew.

Honours

In 1969, Bridges succeeded to the barony of Bridges upon the death of his father. In the

1975 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1975 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1975 to celeb ...

, he was appointed to the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

as a Companion (CMG). In the

1983 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1983 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, Bridges was promoted within the same Order as a Knight Commander (KCMG). In the

1988 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1988 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, Bridges was promoted within the same Order as a Knight Grand Cross (GCMG).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Thomas Edward, 2nd Baron 1927 births 2017 deaths People educated at Eton College 2 Crossbench hereditary peers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Italy Diplomatic peers Alumni of New College, Oxford Members of HM Diplomatic Service 20th-century British diplomats Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999 Peers removed under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014