Charles Coupar Barrie, 1st Baron Abertay, (7 June 1875 – 6 December 1940), was a Scottish businessman and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and later Liberal National politician in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Background and education

Charles Barrie was born in Glasgow, the eldest son of Sir Charles Barrie, Lord Provost of Dundee, and Jane Ann Cathro. He was educated at the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is a private, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only private sc ...

and Blairlodge School,

Polmont Polmont () is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal (Scotland), Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village. Due to its situation in Central Sco ...

Political career

Barrie served 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 ...

in an advisory capacity at the Transport Department of the Admiralty, and latterly in the Ministry of Shipping. He was the

Minister of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis o ...

representative in Paris during the

Peace Conference A peace conference is a diplomatic meeting where representatives of states, armies, or other warring parties converge to end hostilities by negotiation and signing and ratifying a peace treaty. Significant international peace conferences in ...

, and was a Member of the

Supreme Economic Council The Supreme Economic Council was established in February 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference by the allied powers Belgium, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Background The Allied Maritime Transport Council (AMTC) had been ...

. He also served as Chairman of the Navy, Army, and Air Force Institutes and as a Member of the Advisory Council to the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...

. He was Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Elgin Burghs briefly during 1918, for

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

from 1918 to 1924 and later sat for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

from 1931 to 1940 as a Liberal National. Barrie was appointed a

CBE 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 ...

in 1918 and a

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

in 1921. On 26 June 1940, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Abertay, of Tullybelton in the County of Perth. He also held the Russian

Order of St Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Kingdom of Poland between 1765 a ...

and the Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

Business career

Barrie was also a shipowner and merchant, and held a number of business appointments including as a Director of 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 ...

, of the

Central Argentine Railway The Central Argentine Railway, referred to as CA below, (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Central Argentino) was one of the ''Big Four'' Indian gauge, broad gauge, Great Britain, British companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. T ...

, of the Mercantile Bank of India, of Phoenix Assurance Company, and of Cable and Wireless Ltd.

Personal life

In 1926, at age 51, he married Ethel Broom, only daughter of Sir James Broom, and died at Tullybelton,

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

, in 1940, leaving three daughters (June, Rosemary and Caroline).Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, 1948 The peerage became extinct upon his death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abertay, Charles Barrie, 1st Baron 1875 births 1940 deaths Nobility from Perth and Kinross People educated at the High School of Dundee Scottish businesspeople in shipping Ship owners Scottish bankers 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles Scottish justices of the peace Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles Barrie, Charles UK MPs who were granted peerages Barrie, Charles National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians Barons created by George VI Businesspeople awarded knighthoods