Arthur Windham Baldwin, 3rd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (22 March 1904 – 5 July 1976) was a British businessman,

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

, and author. His books included a combative defence of the posthumous reputation of his father, Stanley Baldwin, the former

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

of the UK, in which he severely criticised several leading historians of the time.

Early life

Baldwin was the younger son of Stanley Baldwin, later 1st Earl of Baldwin of Bewdley, and his wife,

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

, . He was known to his family and friends by the nickname "Bloggs". 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. ...

."Baldwin of Bewdley"
Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, April 2014, retrieved 5 August 2015

Career

In the inter-war years Baldwin was a director of several companies, including the Round Oak Steel Works, Redpath, Brown, and the Great Western Railway, and between 1938 and 1974 he was a director of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. He served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

.Obituary, Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, ''The Times'', 8 July 1976, p. 18 Despising patronage, he successfully set out to gain a commission through the ranks.Buckley, L. R. "Reaching for the skies", ''The Times'', 7 September 1967, p. 7 Baldwin published three books in the 1950s and 60s. The first was a biography of his father, written as a result of his strong feeling that the official biography by G. M. Young did not do Stanley Baldwin justice. Baldwin strongly criticised not only Young, but other historians, including

John Wheeler-Bennett Sir John Wheeler Wheeler-Bennett (13 October 1902 – 9 December 1975) was a conservative English historian of German and diplomatic history, and the official biographer of King George VI. He was well known in his lifetime, and his inter ...

, D. C. Somervell and

Sir Lewis Namier Sir Lewis Bernstein Namier (; 27 June 1888 – 19 August 1960) was a British historian of Polish-Jewish background. His best-known works were ''The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III'' (1929), ''England in the Age of the Ameri ...

for, in his view, misjudging the former prime minister. His second book, ''The Macdonald Sisters'' was a study of the four daughters of the Rev G. B. Macdonald: Alice married

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's father; Georgiana married

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...

; Agnes married

Edward Poynter Sir Edward John Poynter, 1st Baronet (20 March 183626 July 1919) was an English painter, designer, and draughtsman, who served as President of the Royal Academy. Life Poynter was the son of architect Ambrose Poynter. He was born in Paris, F ...

; and Louisa married Alfred Baldwin, Windham's paternal grandfather. In 1967 he published a memoir of his wartime experiences. The reviewer in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', commented, "He tells it all with amusement and skill … the atmosphere of the RAF seeps unmistakably through."

Peerage

On 10 August 1958, on the death of the second earl, his elder brother, Oliver, Baldwin succeeded to the United Kingdom titles of

Earl Baldwin of Bewdley Earl Baldwin of Bewdley is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1937 for the Conservative politician Stanley Baldwin, who had served as MP for Bewdley from 1908 to 1937 and was Prime Minister of the United Kingdo ...

and Viscount Corvedale. He spoke in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

from time to time, mostly on the subjects of transport and industry.

Personal life

On 25 August 1936, Baldwin was married to Joan Elspeth Tomes, daughter of Charles Alexander Tomes, merchant in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

with Shewan, Tomes & Co. They had one child: * Edward Alfred Alexander Baldwin, 4th Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 January 1938 – 16 June 2021) The 3rd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley died on 5 July 1976, aged 72. The Countess Baldwin of Bewdley died in 1980.

Arms

Works

* * *

Notes, references and sources

;Notes ;References ;Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin of Bewdley, Arthur Baldwin, 3rd Earl of 1904 births 1976 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Earls Baldwin of Bewdley Royal Air Force officers English biographers English autobiographers