Sir Ralph Verney, 5th Baronet

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DL (18 January 1915 – 17 August 2001) was a British Army officer, local politician and landowner, who served as Chairman of the Nature Conservancy Council
from 1980 to 1983.

Early life

Born at Claydon House, Buckinghamshire,[1] Verney was the son of Sir Harry Verney, 4th Baronet and Lady Rachel Catherine Bruce, the daughter of Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin. He was educated at Canford School and Balliol College, Oxford, from where he graduated in 1937.[2] He then began his training as an accountant.

Military career

Following the outbreak of the

Second World War, in 1940 he was commissioned into the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry.[3] He served as an instructor at Catterick Garrison and was later deployed to India with the Berkshire Yeomanry. He saw active service in the liberation of British Malaya in 1945. He ended the war with the rank of Major.[4]

Conservation and public work

After returning from the Far East, Verney began a major restoration project on his family seat,

National Trust, on the understanding that he and his family would always be able to live at the property. Between 1960 and 1996 Verney was Chairman of the Radcliffe Trust.[5]

In 1980 he became Chairman of the Nature Conservancy Council, and used the NCC to promote the designation of some 4,000 locations as "sites of special scientific interest" under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, often against opposition from farmers and other interested parties. Verney's unpopularity among some in the landed element of the Conservative Party led to him not being reappointed by the government when his term expired in 1983.[6]

For 30 years Verney was a trustee of the

baronetcy
.

Personal life

He married Mary Vestey, daughter of Percy Charles Vestey and Dorothy Emmeline Johnston, on 7 July 1948. Together they had four children.[9]

References

  1. .
  2. ^ "Sir Ralph Verney Bt". The Telegraph. London. 30 August 2001. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  3. ^ "No. 34877". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 June 1940. p. 3767.
  4. ^ "No. 38026". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 July 1947. p. 3531.
  5. ^ "Sir Ralph Verney Bt". The Telegraph. London. 30 August 2001. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Sir Ralph Verney Bt". The Telegraph. London. 30 August 2001. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  7. ^ "No. 44908". The London Gazette. 31 July 1969. p. 7865.
  8. ^ "No. 46310". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 July 1947. p. 6799.
  9. ^ "Sir Ralph Verney Bt". The Telegraph. London. 30 August 2001. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Baronet

(of Claydon House)
1974–2001
Succeeded by