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Ralph Beckett, 3rd Baron Grimthorpe

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The Right Honourable
The Lord Grimthorpe
TD DL
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
as a hereditary peer
9 May 1917 – 22 February 1963
Preceded byThe 2nd Baron Grimthorpe
Succeeded byThe 4th Baron Grimthorpe
Personal details
Born
Ralph William Ernest Beckett

3 May 1891
Died22 February 1963(1963-02-22) (aged 71)
Political partyConservative
OccupationBanker, soldier, horse owner

Ralph William Ernest Beckett, 3rd Baron Grimthorpe, TD, DL (3 May 1891 – 22 February 1963), was a banker and breeder of racehorses. Beckett was son of Ernest Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe. He was a partner in the Leeds firm of Beckett & Co., which later became part of the Westminster Bank, and in the aeronautical firm Airspeed Ltd. His racehorses included Fortina, which won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1947, and Fragrant Mac, which won the Scottish Grand National in 1952.[citation needed]

Biography

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Beckett was educated in 1903 at Eton College. He was a member of Eton's contingent of the Junior Division, Officers Training Corps, and reached the rank of cadet corporal.[1] He went on to study at University College, Oxford.[2]

On 9 May 1917, following the death of his father, Becket inherited the family titles: he became the 3rd Baron Grimthorpe and the 7th Baronet.[2] As a peer, he had an automatic seat in the House of Lords, and first sat in the Lords on 27 February 1919.[3]

On 13 February 1913, Beckett was commissioned as a supernumerary second lieutenant in the Yorkshire Hussars Yeomanry, Territorial Force, British Army.[1] He fought in the First World War, serving in France from 1915 to 1917.[4] He was made an adjutant on 15 January 1917, with the temporary rank of lieutenant.[5] Having been promoted to temporary captain, he relinquished the rank on 21 August 1917 and reverted back to the substantive rank of lieutenant.[6] He vacated the appointment of adjutant on 17 September 1917.[7] He was appointed to an infantry service battalion on 12 September 1917,[8] and he promoted to captain on 16 October 1917.[9] On 16 May 1918, he was given a temporary commission in the Administrative Branch of the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a lieutenant (honorary captain).[2][10] Having been awarded his pilot wings, he transferred to the Flying Branch, back dated to 6 November 1918.[11] He was a parliamentary private secretary to the Under-Secretary of State for War (Viscount Peel) in 1919.[2] He was demobilised by March 1921.[11]

Beckett maintained his involvement with the military in the interwar period. In 1926, he was confirmed as a major in the Yorkshire Hussars, backdated to 7 May 1924.[12] He was a lieutenant-colonel of the Yorkshire Hussars between 1936 and 1940. Beckett fought in World War II, where he was mentioned in despatches.[2] He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Beckett frequently took part in the Cresta Run, St Moritz, Switzerland.[citation needed] His interest in aviation included ownership of two light aircraft. As a major investor in Airspeed Ltd, he became chairman of the company. He founded an airline, North Eastern Airways in 1935,[13] using several aircraft produced by Airspeed, until it was grounded by World War II,[14] He was also president of Yorkshire Aero Club.[15]

Lord Grimthorpe died on 22 February 1963, at age 71.[citation needed]

Family

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Beckett married, firstly, Mary Alice Archdale, daughter of Colonel Mervyn Henry Archdale and Mary de Bathe, on 3 September 1914.[2] Together, they had two sons and one daughter;[4] his heir, Christopher, was born in 1915.[2] He and Mary were divorced in 1945, and she died in 1962.[4] He married, secondly, Angela Courage, daughter of Edward Hubert Courage and Beatrice Mary Awdry, on 25 March 1945.

Arms

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Coat of arms of Ralph Beckett, 3rd Baron Grimthorpe
Crest
A boar’s head couped Or pierced by a cross patée fitchée erect Gules.
Escutcheon
Gules a fess between three boars' heads couped Erminois.
Supporters
Two sangliers Erminois each gorged with a collar and pendant therefrom an escutcheon Gules charged with a cross patée fitchée Or.
Motto
Prodesse Civibus (To Serve The State)[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b "No. 28715". The London Gazette. 2 May 1913. p. 3153.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g (Hesilrige 1921, p. 426)
  3. ^ "Lords Chamber". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 33. House Of Lords. 27 February 1919. col. 391–.
  4. ^ a b c "Grimthorpe, 3rd Baron, (Ralph William Ernest Beckett) (3 May 1891–22 Feb. 1963)". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  5. ^ "No. 29925". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 January 1917. p. 1136.
  6. ^ "No. 30239". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 August 1917. p. 8549.
  7. ^ "No. 30456". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1918. p. 266.
  8. ^ "No. 30594". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 March 1918. p. 3717.
  9. ^ "No. 30621". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 April 1918. p. 4380.
  10. ^ "No. 30714". The London Gazette. 31 May 1918. p. 6385.
  11. ^ a b "No. 32254". The London Gazette. 11 March 1921. p. 1999.
  12. ^ "No. 33154". The London Gazette. 23 April 1926. p. 2780.
  13. ^ Davies, R. E. G. (2005). British Airways: An airline and its aircraft Volume 1: 1919 - 1939. McLean, Virginia, USA: Paladwr Press. ISBN 1-888962-24-0. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  14. ^ Middleton, D. H. (1982). Airspeed The Company and its Aeroplanes. Lavrnham, UK: Terence Dalton Ltd. pp. 5–6. ISBN 0-861-38-009-6.
  15. ^ "Yorkshire Aero Club". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  16. ^ Debrett's Peerage. 1921.

Book source

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[edit]
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baron Grimthorpe
1917–1963 		Succeeded by
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baronet
(of Leeds)
1917–1963 		Succeeded by
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