Francis Vernon Willey, 2nd Baron Barnby, CMG,

CBE 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 ...

, MVO, TD (29 September 1884 – 30 April 1982) was an English aristocrat, soldier and politician. He was the son of Francis Willey, 1st Baron Barnby and was educated at Eton and

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

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, (B.A.,1906, M.A.,1908). He succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Barnby in 1929, inheriting the Blyth estate. He served as Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the

Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY) was a British Yeomanry regiment. In 1967 it was amalgamated with other units to form the Royal Yeomanry (RY), a light cavalry regiment of the Army Reserve. Originally raised as the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Cav ...

, and was later (with the same rank) Assistant Director of Equipment and Ordnance for the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, 1916–20. He fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

serving in

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and

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. He was the Unionist (Conservative) Member of Parliament for Bradford South, from 1918 to 1922. He was President of the Federation of British Industries (a predecessor of the CBI), 1925–26, a member of the

Central Electricity Board The United Kingdom Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established by the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926. It had the duty to supply electricity to authorised electricity undertakers, to determine which power stations would be 'selected' stations ...

1927–46, a member of the Overseas Settlement Board from 1937, and Chev. of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. He was also

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of the

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in 1919 and 1933. In business, he was a director of

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 ...

. Lord Barnby, despite his advancing years, was an active parliamentarian and attended the House of Lords regularly. He was an early member of the

Conservative Monday Club The Conservative Monday Club (usually known as the Monday Club) was a British political pressure group, aligned with the Conservative Party, though no longer endorsed by it. It also had links to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unio ...

, stating at a club function in 1964 "where would the black African population of

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

have been by now without the civilizing influence of the white population?". In April 1967 he contributed an essay on "Rhodesia" to the ''Monday Club Newsletter''. He was Chairman of the club's ''Action Fund'' 1969–71, and was co-opted onto the club's Executive Council on 11 May 1970.''Monday Club Newsletter'', July/August 1970, p.7 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 ...

in September 1972 he called for the government to suspend aid to

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

and in April 1975 he addressed the club's Africa Group in a committee room at the House of Lords following his recent visit to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

. On his death without male issue, the

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

y of Barnby became extinct. He had married on 20 November 1940, Banning, daughter of the late William Drayton Grange, from Pennsylvania.

References

* Townend, Peter, (editor) ''Burke's Peerage'', 105th edition, London, 1970. * Copping, Robert, ''The Story of The Monday Club - The First Decade'' Current Affairs Information Service, London, April 1972, (P/B).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willey, Vernon 2nd Baron Barnby Barnby, Francis Vernon Willey, 2nd Baron Barnby, Francis Vernon Willey, 2nd Baron 2 British Army personnel of World War I Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Willey, Francis Vernon Members of the Royal Victorian Order Willey, Francis Vernon People from Bassetlaw District Politics of Bradford Willey, Francis Vernon Territorial Force officers Willey, Francis Vernon Barnby, Francis Vernon Willey, 2nd Baron