Charles Ian Orr-Ewing, Baron Orr-Ewing,

OBE 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 ...

(10 February 1912 – 19 August 1999) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician.

Early life

Orr-Ewing was a great-grandson of Sir Archibald Orr-Ewing, Bt. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

. At Trinity College he qualified as an electrical engineer, with an MA in physics. Then, as a 22-year-old graduate apprentice at

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

in 1934, he was part of a team of three which built the first production

television set A television set or television receiver (more commonly called TV, TV set, television, telly, or tele) is an electronic device for viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or as a computer monitor. It combines a tuner, display, and loudspeake ...

.Lord Orr-Ewing
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''; Orbituary by Andrew Roth; 24 August 1999

Career

Orr-Ewing worked with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

from 1937 until 1939, when he joined the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

and served in the

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

North-West Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The term is used in geographic, history, and military contexts. Geographic definitions Geographically, Northwestern ...

theatres during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was also

General Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

's Chief Radar Officer in 1945. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(OBE) in 1945. After the war, he returned to the BBC until 1949. Orr-Ewing's political career began in 1950, when he was elected Member of Parliament for Hendon North, a seat he held for five elections. During this time, he was: Parliamentary Private Secretary to

Walter Monckton Walter Turner Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, (17 January 1891 – 9 January 1965) was a British lawyer and politician. Early years Monckton was born in the village of Plaxtol in north Kent. He was the eldest child of paper manu ...

, the

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

, from 1951 to 1955; Parliamentary Under-Secretary to George Reginald Ward, the

Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a secretary of state position in the British government that existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretary of State for Air was supported by ...

, from 1957 to 1959;

Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy The Roy ...

in 1959;

Civil Lord of the Admiralty The Civil Lord of the Admiralty formally known as the Office of the Civil Lord of Admiralty also referred to as the Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty was a member of the Board of Admiralty who was responsible for managing the Royal N ...

from 1959 to 1963; Vice-President of the

Parliamentary and Scientific Committee The UK Parliamentary and Scientific Committee (P&SC) is a United Kingdom parliamentary organization established in 1939. It is an all-party parliamentary group. Overview The P&SC provides a forum for scientific and technological issues in the UK. ...

in 1966 and Vice-Chairman of the Defence Committee from 1966 to 1970. Between 1951 and 1954, he served on the Council of the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

. Having been created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1963, Orr-Ewing retired from the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in 1970 and was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 30 April 1971, as Baron Orr-Ewing, of

Little Berkhamsted Little Berkhamsted is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, five miles south-west of the town of Hertford. The village is in a hilly location, some 120 metres (400 feet) above sea level. It has a row of weather-boarded cottage ...

in the County of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

Personal life

Orr-Ewing was an amateur radio enthusiast, holding the call sign ''G5OG'' until his death. The format of his call sign indicates that his licence was issued between 1921 and 1939. In November 1976 during the opening of Parliament, prior to his announcement of Presidency of the

Radio Society of Great Britain The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) is the United Kingdom's recognised national society for amateur radio operators. The society was founded in 1913 as the London Wireless Club, making it one of the oldest organisations of its kind in the ...

George Wallace, Baron Wallace of Coslany George Douglas Wallace, Baron Wallace of Coslany (18 April 1906 – 11 November 2003) was a British Labour Party politician. Wallace was born in Cheltenham and attended Cheltenham Central School. He became an office manager before volunteering ...

quipped that Orr-Ewing held an amateur licence and that he was colloquially known as "George Five Old Girl", a play on his call sign using non-standard phonetic alphabet.Hansard H
Deb. vol.378 cols.8
7 August 2019. nline etrieved 14 May 2018 Orr-Ewing died on 19 August 1999.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orr-Ewing, Ian 1912 births 1999 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Orr-Ewing, Ian Orr-Ewing, Baron Lords of the Admiralty Officers of the Order of the British Empire Ian Ian People educated at Harrow School Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs who were granted peerages People from Little Berkhamsted European amateur radio operators Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 Life peers created by Elizabeth II