Baron Rea
Encyclopedia
Baron Rea, of Eskdale in the County of Cumberland, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
. It was created in 1937 for the businessman and Liberal
politician Sir Walter Rea, 1st Baronet
, who had earlier represented Scarborough
, Bradford North
and Dewsbury
in the House of Commons
. He had already been created a Baronet, of Eskdale in the County of Cumberland, in 1935. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. During the Second World War he served as personal staff officer to Brigadier Colin Gubbins
, the Head of SOE
, a key British intelligence and guerrilla operations agency. Lord Rea served as Leader of the Liberal Party
in the House of Lords
from 1955 to 1967. His daughter, the Right Hon. Ann Felicity Rea, married SOE veteran Malcolm Munthe
in 1945. the titles are held by the second Baron's nephew, the third Baron, who succeeded in 1981. He is a physician. Lord Rea is one of the ninety elected hereditary peer
s that remain in the House of Lords
after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999
, and sits on the Labour
benches.
Russell Rea, father of the first Baron, was also a Member of Parliament
and had been admitted to the Privy Council
in 1909. The sculptor Betty Rea
was the wife of the Hon. James Rea, younger son of the first Baron. They were the parents of the third Baron.
The family surname and the title of the barony, Rea, is pronounced "Ree".
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. It was created in 1937 for the businessman and Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician Sir Walter Rea, 1st Baronet
Walter Rea, 1st Baron Rea
Walter Russell Rea, 1st Baron Rea , was a British merchant banker and Liberal politician.Rea was the son of Russell Rea. He was elected to the House of Commons for Scarborough in 1906, a seat he held until 1918, and served under H. H. Asquith as a Junior Lord of the Treasury from 1915 to 1916...
, who had earlier represented Scarborough
Scarborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Scarborough was the name of a constituency in Yorkshire, electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons, at two periods. From 1295 until 1918 it was a parliamentary borough consisting only of the town of Scarborough, electing two MPs until 1885 and one from 1885 until 1918...
, Bradford North
Bradford North (UK Parliament constituency)
Bradford North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until it was abolished for the 2010 general election, it elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
and Dewsbury
Dewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Dewsbury is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. He had already been created a Baronet, of Eskdale in the County of Cumberland, in 1935. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. During the Second World War he served as personal staff officer to Brigadier Colin Gubbins
Colin Gubbins
Major-General Sir Colin McVean Gubbins KCMG, DSO, MC was the prime mover of the Special Operations Executive in the Second World War....
, the Head of SOE
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
, a key British intelligence and guerrilla operations agency. Lord Rea served as Leader of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
from 1955 to 1967. His daughter, the Right Hon. Ann Felicity Rea, married SOE veteran Malcolm Munthe
Malcolm Munthe
Major Malcolm Munthe MC was a British soldier, writer, and curator, and son of the famous Swedish doctor and writer Axel Munthe and his second wife Hilda Pennington-Mellor.-Early life and Second World War:...
in 1945. the titles are held by the second Baron's nephew, the third Baron, who succeeded in 1981. He is a physician. Lord Rea is one of the ninety elected hereditary peer
Hereditary peer
Hereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...
s that remain in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
, and sits on the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
benches.
Russell Rea, father of the first Baron, was also a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and had been admitted to the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
in 1909. The sculptor Betty Rea
Betty Rea
Elizabeth Marion Rea was an English sculptor and educationalist.- Biography :Betty Rea was born in London in 1904. Her father was Dr...
was the wife of the Hon. James Rea, younger son of the first Baron. They were the parents of the third Baron.
The family surname and the title of the barony, Rea, is pronounced "Ree".
Barons Rea (1937)
- Walter Russell Rea, 1st Baron ReaWalter Rea, 1st Baron ReaWalter Russell Rea, 1st Baron Rea , was a British merchant banker and Liberal politician.Rea was the son of Russell Rea. He was elected to the House of Commons for Scarborough in 1906, a seat he held until 1918, and served under H. H. Asquith as a Junior Lord of the Treasury from 1915 to 1916...
(1873–1948) - Philip Russell Rea, 2nd Baron ReaPhilip Rea, 2nd Baron ReaPhilip Russell Rea, 2nd Baron Rea PC was a British peer, Liberal politician and Merchant Banker.The eldest son of Walter Rea, a Liberal politician, and his first wife, Evelyn, Rea was educated at Westminster School, and then at Oxford University, where he graduated BA and later MA, and lastly at...
(1900–1981) - (John) Nicolas Rea, 3rd Baron ReaNicolas Rea, 3rd Baron ReaJohn Nicolas Rea, 3rd Baron Rea commonly known as Nicolas Rea is a British peer, politician and doctor.The son of James Russell Rea and Betty Rea was educated in Dartington Hall School, in Belmont Hill School, Massachusetts and Dauntsey's School...
(b. 1928)