Vivian Hugh Smith, 1st Baron Bicester (9 December 1867 – 17 February 1956) was a British

merchant banker A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in commodi ...

Early life

Vivian Hugh Smith was born on 9 December 1867. He was the elder son of

Hugh Colin Smith Hugh Colin Smith (31 October 1836 – 8 March 1910) was an English banker who was Governor of the Bank of England from 1897–99. Early life Smith was born in London, the son of John Abel Smith (1802–1871), Member of Parliament for Chichester ...

(son of John Abel Smith and

Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent grooming their successor. The governor of the Ba ...

from 1897 to 1899) and Constance Maria Josepha (née Adeane). 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, ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. His brother Aubrey followed the different path of joining the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

at the age of eleven and later rose to be an admiral.

Career

Smith served as the Chairman of Yule Catto & Company Ltd (present-day Synthomer), Governor of the

Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation The Royal Exchange Assurance, founded in 1720, was a British insurance company. It took its name from the location of its offices at the Royal Exchange, London. Origins The Royal Exchange Assurance emerged from a joint stock insurance enterpr ...

from 1914 to 1956, and a Director of

Morgan Grenfell & Co Morgan, Grenfell & Co. was a leading London-based investment bank regarded as one of the oldest and once most influential British merchant banks. It had its origins in a merchant banking business commenced by George Peabody. Junius Spencer Morgan ...

. Between 1934 and 1956, he also held the honorary position of

Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Oxfordshire. Deputy lieutenants A deputy lieutenant of Oxfordshire is commissioned by the Lord Lie ...

. On 29 June 1938, Smith was raised to the peerage as

Baron Bicester Baron Bicester, of Tusmore in the County of Oxford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 29 June 1938 for the banker Vivian Smith. the title is held by his great-grandson, the fifth Baron, who succeeded his firs ...

, of Tusmore in the

County of Oxford Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

Personal life

In 1897, Smith was married to Lady Sybil Mary McDonnell, daughter of

William McDonnell, 6th Earl of Antrim Earl of Antrim is a title that has been created twice, both times in the Peerage of Ireland and both times for members of the MacDonnell family, originally of Scottish origins. History The MacDonells of Antrim descended from Sorley Boy MacDo ...

and the former Louisa Jane Grey (a granddaughter of

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845), known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was a British Whig politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834. He was a member of the no ...

). Together, they were the parents of seven children: * Randal Hugh Vivian Smith, 2nd Baron Bicester (1898–1968), who married Dorothea Gwenllian James, eldest daughter of

Walter James, 3rd Baron Northbourne Walter John James, 3rd Baron Northbourne (2 September 1869 – 22 December 1932), was an English painter, etcher, and hereditary peer. Biography James was born on 2 September 1869. He is the son of Walter James, 2nd Baron Northbourne, and his ...

. * Victoria Alexandrina Vivian Smith (1899–1969), who died unmarried. * Mary Constance Vivian Smith (1901–1981), who married

Francis Rodd, 2nd Baron Rennell Major-General Francis James Rennell Rodd, 2nd Baron Rennell (25 October 1895 – 15 March 1978), known as Lord Rennell, was an army officer and the second but eldest surviving son of the diplomat Rennell Rodd, 1st Baron Rennell. He served as a ...

. * Lt.-Col. Stephen Edward Vivian Smith (1903–1952), who married Eleanor Anderson Hewitt, a daughter of Edward Shepard Hewitt of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, in 1929. They divorced in 1947 and he married Mabel Lovering, eldest daughter of Albert William Rogers Lovering, in 1948. * Joyce Sybil Vivian Smith (1905–1983), who married Maj.-Gen.

Gerald Lloyd-Verney Major-General Gerald Harry George Lloyd-Verney DSO & Bar MVO (10 July 1900 – 3 April 1957) was a senior British Army officer who commanded the 7th Armoured Division ("The Desert Rats") during World War II. He changed his name by Deed poll f ...

, eldest son of Sir

Harry Lloyd-Verney Sir Harry Lloyd Verney (23 January 1872 – 28 February 1950) was a British courtier who served in successive Royal Households of the United Kingdom. Early life Verney was the second, but eldest surviving, son and heir of Col. George Hope Lloyd ( ...

. *

Honor Mildred Vivian Smith Honor Mildred Vivian Smith (13 November 1908 – 18 January 1995) was an English neurologist who specialised in the treatment of tuberculous meningitis. She worked and taught at the teaching hospitals of the University of Oxford, and was appoint ...

(1908–1995), a neurologist. * Maj. Hugh Adeane Vivian Smith (1910–1978), who married Lady Helen Dorothy Primrose, the daughter of Albert Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery. Lord Bicester died in February 1956, at the age of eighty-eight, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Randal. His wife died in 1959.

Descendants

Through his second son Stephen, he was a grandfather of Angus Edward Vivian Smith (1932–2014) and Hugh Charlers Vivian Smith (1934–2016), the 3rd and 4th Barons Bicester.

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bicester, Vivian Smith, 1st Baron 1867 births 1956 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Knights of the Order of St John Lord-Lieutenants of Oxfordshire People educated at Eton College English bankers Vivian 1 Barons created by George VI