George Bowyer, 1st Baron Denham

George Edward Wentworth Bowyer, 1st Baron Denham, MC, DL (16 January 1886 – 30 November 1948), was a British Conservative Party politician.

The Right Honourable The Lord Denham MC DL
Comptroller of the Household
In office 21 June 1935 – 6 December 1935
Prime Minister	Stanley Baldwin
Preceded by	Victor Warrender
Succeeded by	Sir Lambert Ward
Member of Parliament for Buckingham
In office 14 December 1918 – 11 June 1937
Preceded by	Sir Harry Verney
Succeeded by	John Whiteley
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 11 June 1937 – 30 November 1948 as a hereditary peer
Preceded by	Peerage created
Succeeded by	The 2nd Baron Denham
Personal details
Born	(1886-01-16)16 January 1886
Died	30 November 1948(1948-11-30) (aged 62)
Political party	Conservative

Biography

Bowyer was educated at Eton and New College, Oxford, and was called to the Bar in 1910. During World War I he served in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, achieved the rank of Captain, and was awarded the Military Cross in the 1917 New Year Honours.^[1]

Bowyer was active in local government and was president of the Urban District Councils Association. At the 1918 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham. He served as a whip for many years. He was vice-chair of the Conservative Party and became Comptroller of the Household in 1935.

Bowyer was knighted in 1929 and made a Baronet, of Weston Underwood, Olney, Buckinghamshire, in 1933. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of the county of Buckingham in 1931.^[2] In 1937 he was created 1st Baron Denham, also of Weston Underwood, Olney, Buckinghamshire.

He was elected as Senior Steward of the National Greyhound Racing Club and was the guest of honour when Oxford Stadium opened in 1939.^[3][4]

He married Daphne Mitford, daughter of Algernon Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale, on 27 February 1919. They had three children:

• Hon. Richard Laurence Grenville Bowyer (17 February 1920 – 29 January 1943), killed in action during World War II
• Hon. Peggy Bowyer (18 May 1925 – 17 February 2024), married David Repard (1921–2011), Royal Navy officer
• Bertram Stanley Mitford Bowyer, 2nd Baron Denham, known as "Bertie" (3 October 1927 – 1 December 2021)

Arms

Coat of arms of George Bowyer, 1st Baron Denham

Crest A falcon rising belled Or. Escutcheon Or a bend Vaire cottised Sable. Supporters Dexter a golden retriever sinister a black greyhound Proper each charged on the shoulder with a portcullis Or.[5]

References

1. "No. 29886". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1916. p. 31.
2. "No. 33699". The London Gazette. 17 March 1931. p. 1805.
3. ""£22M. More Spent On Gambling Last Year." Times, 16 Feb. 1957, p. 4". Times Digital Archives.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
4. Genders, Roy (1990). NGRC book of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 0-7207-1804-X.
5. Debrett's Peerage. 2019. p. 2318.

• Burke's Peerage & Gentry; and Hons & Cousins by F. J. Mitford, 2006.
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages ^{[self-published source] [better source needed]}
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by George Bowyer

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir Harry Verney	Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1918–1937	Succeeded by John Whiteley
Political offices
Preceded by Sir Victor Warrender, 8th Bt	Comptroller of the Household 1935	Succeeded by Sir Lambert Ward
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baron Denham 1937–1948 Member of the House of Lords (1937–1948)	Succeeded by Bertram Bowyer
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baronet (of Weston Underwood) 1933–1948	Succeeded by Bertram Bowyer