John Robert Warrender, 2nd Baron Bruntisfield,

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 ...

MC TD (7 February 1921 – 14 July 2007)Tam Dalyell (Sir Tam Dalyell of the Binns). "Lord Bruntisfield: Wartime MC and loyal Tory peer" published in ''The Independent'' 19 July 2007. was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

soldier, farmer and

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.

Biography

Warrender was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. He was the eldest son of Sir Victor Warrender, 8th Baronet, and his first wife, Dorothy Rawson. His father served as Conservative MP for

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

from 1923 to 1942, when he was created 1st

Baron Bruntisfield Baron Bruntisfield, of Boroughmuir in the City of Edinburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1942 for the Scottish Conservative politician and former Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, Sir Victor Warrender, 8th ...

. Warrender studied 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 then the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, from where he was commissioned into the

Royal Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England, continuing until 1971 when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of ...

. He stood 6 ft 4 in high, and was powerfully built. He won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for his actions while serving at a lieutenant in Italy in November 1942. It was later rumoured that his actions could have merited a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

. He served as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the regiment, and was an Aide-de-camp to the

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized ...

from 1946 to 1948. He became a farmer when he retired from the Army. He was lieutenant colonel of the newly amalgamated

North Somerset Yeomanry The North Somerset Yeomanry was a part-time cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1798 to 1967. It maintained order in Somerset in the days before organised police forces, and supplied volunteers to fight in the Second Boer War. It served on ...

and

44th Royal Tank Regiment The 44th Royal Tank Regiment (44 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army, which was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps that saw active service in World War II. The 44th RTR was formed before Wor ...

from 1957 to 1962, and was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

in 1967. He later joined the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a pers ...

, and was a Brigadier from 1973 to 1985. He received the

in 1963, and stood as the Conservative candidate for the safe Labour seat of

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

in the 1964 general election, losing to the incumbent, Labour's Arthur Pearson, by a wide margin. He became Deputy Lieutenant of Somerset in 1965. He inherited the barony on the death of his father in 1993, but was excluded from the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

by the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

. He married three times. He was first married to (Ann) Moireen Campbell in 1948. They had two sons and two daughters, one of his granddaughters being Alice Warrender (born 1983), a former investment manager who became a devout Catholic writer, painter and artist following a radical conversion. She died in 1976, and he remarried, to Shirley Crawley (née Ross), in 1977. His second wife died in 1981, and he remarried again, to Jan Graham (née Joanna Kathleen Chancellor), in 1985. He died in Edinburgh. His heir was his son, Michael (b. 9 January 1949), who became the 3rd Baron. He is married and has a son, John Michael Patrick Caspar Warrender (b. 1 June 1996).

References

External links

Obituary, ''The Independent'', 19 July 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruntisfield, John Warrender, 2nd Baron 1921 births 2007 deaths Nobility from Edinburgh 2 British Army personnel of World War II People educated at Eton College Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Scots Greys officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Deputy lieutenants of Somerset Officers of the Order of the British Empire North Somerset Yeomanry officers Members of the Royal Company of Archers 20th-century Scottish farmers Bruntisfield