Sir Berkeley Digby George Sheffield, 6th Baronet, DL (19 January 1876 – 26 November 1946) was a British Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party.

Background

Sarah Purser Berkeley and Dorothy Sheffield 1885

He was born in London, the son of Sir Robert Sheffield, 5th Baronet, of Normanby Hall, whom he succeeded as

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 1886. Sheffield was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and in France and Germany. He served with the Lincolnshire Regiment and in the

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles. History Origins In the 1790s, following the ...

, with the Diplomatic Service and in the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

. On 19 July 1904 he married Dutch Baroness Julie Marie (Julia Mary) de Tuyll van Serooskerken, born at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, daughter of Baron Reginald de Tuyll van Serooskerken and wife Countess Anna Mathilda van Limburg-Stirum (alleged illegitimate daughter of

William III of the Netherlands William III (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk''; English: ''William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis''; 19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until ...

); Lady Sheffield was an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and a Lady of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees, ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume III: 1919-1945'', Harvester Press 1979, p. 325. They had one daughter and four sons, including George Berkeley Sheffield. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served as a Captain in the Lincolnshire Yeomanry.WO 374/61841 held in the National Archives, Kew. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C731962 Sheffield was a director of

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...

from 1908 until it was combined with the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

in 1923. Postwar, he was member of Parliament for Brigg between 1922 and 1929. He was a Justice of the Peace in Lincolnshire. He was Mayor of Scunthorpe in 1936 and he was Deputy Lieutenant of Lincolnshire. He lived at 8 South Audley Street in London, and was a member of the Turf Club, the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

, the Orleans Club and the Beefsteak Club. Sheffield is one of the great-great-grandfathers of Cara Delevingne and is great-grandfather of Samantha Cameron.

Political career

Sheffield was a member of Lindsey County Council from 1902 to 1906 and an alderman from 1908 to 1915. He was

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilit ...

in 1905. In February 1907 he was elected to Parliament for the Brigg division of Lincolnshire; he was defeated at the February 1910 election. Re-elected for Brigg in 1922, he sat until defeated in May 1929. When

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town in Lincolnshire, England, and the county's third most populous settlement after Lincoln, England, Lincoln and Grimsby, with a population of 81,286 in 2021. It is the administrative centre and largest settleme ...

was granted its charter as a municipal borough in 1936, Sheffield was the borough's first mayor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheffield, Berkeley 1876 births 1946 deaths People educated at Eton College Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Deputy lieutenants of Lincolnshire High sheriffs of Lincolnshire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 Royal Lincolnshire Regiment officers Berkeley Sheffield Members of Lindsey County Council