Bertram Bowyer, 2nd Baron Denham

Bertram Stanley Mitford Bowyer, 2nd Baron Denham (3 October 1927 – 1 December 2021), was a British Conservative politician, hereditary peer, writer and member of the House of Lords. He is one of few people to have served in the governments of five different prime ministers.

The Right Honourable The Lord Denham KBE PC
Portrait by Walter Bird, 1963
Chief Whip of the House of Lords Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms
In office 4 May 1979 – 22 May 1991
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher John Major
Preceded by	The Baroness Llewelyn-Davies of Hastoe
Succeeded by	The Lord Hesketh
Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Lords Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard
In office 20 November 1971 – 11 March 1974
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	The Viscount Goschen
Succeeded by	The Lord Strabolgi
Lord-in-waiting
Government Whip
In office 24 June 1970 – 20 November 1971
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	The Lord Hilton of Upton
Succeeded by	The Lord Bethell
In office 27 June 1961 – 16 October 1964
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan Alec Douglas-Home
Preceded by	The Earl Jellicoe
Succeeded by	The Lord Hobson of Brent
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office 9 December 1949 – 11 November 1999 as a hereditary peer
Preceded by	The 1st Baron Denham
Succeeded by	Seat abolished [a]
In office 11 November 1999 – 26 April 2021[b] as an elected hereditary peer
Preceded by	Seat established [a]
Succeeded by	The 8th Earl of Leicester
Personal details
Born	Bertram Stanley Mitford Bowyer (1927-10-03)3 October 1927 Newport Pagnell, England
Died	1 December 2021(2021-12-01) (aged 94) Milton Keynes, England
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	King's College, Cambridge

Family background

Born in Newport Pagnell,^[1] Denham was educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge. He was the youngest child and second son of George Bowyer, 1st Baron Denham, and succeeded his father to become 2nd Baron Denham and 2nd Baronet, of Weston Underwood, when he died in 1948, his elder brother having been killed in the Second World War. In 1950, he also succeeded his kinsman, Sir George Bowyer, Bt., as 10th Baronet, of Denham Court.

Denham's mother was the Hon. Daphne Freeman-Mitford (1895–1996), youngest daughter of Bertram Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale, making Denham a first cousin of the Mitford sisters and their brother Thomas (Tom).

Political career

Denham served as a House of Lords whip from 1961 until 1964, under both Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home. Upon the Conservatives return to power at the 1970 general election, he was once again made a whip under Edward Heath. In 1972, he was promoted to become Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, the post associated with being the Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords. He served in this post until the Conservatives left power in 1974.

Upon the victory of Margaret Thatcher in the 1979 general election, Denham was made Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms, the post associated with being Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords. He held the post for the entirety of the Thatcher years, leaving office six months into the John Major government in 1991. He was made a Privy Councillor in the 1981 New Year Honours,^[2] and in the 1991 New Year Honours was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) for his political service.^[3]

With the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999, Denham and almost all other hereditary peers lost their automatic right to sit in the House of Lords. He was however elected as one of the 92 elected hereditary peers to remain in the Lords pending completion of House of Lords reform. Following the death of Lord Carrington in July 2018, Denham became the longest-serving current member of the House of Lords.^[4] He retired from the House after 71 years' service on 26 April 2021.^[5] At his retirement, he was the last member of the Lords to have taken his seat during the reign of George VI.

Denham died in Milton Keynes^[6] on 1 December 2021, at the age of 94.^[7]

Literary career

As Bertie Denham, Bowyer wrote four mysteries featuring detection by House of Lords Conservative Whip Derek Thyrde, second Viscount Thyrde. He was a member of the Detection Club, and contributed to their 2020 anthology Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club.^[8]

Novels by Bertie Denham

• The Man Who Lost His Shadow (1979) OCLC 5652900 (complete list of all editions)
• Two Thyrdes (1983) OCLC 12462501 (complete list of all editions)
• Foxhunt (1988) OCLC 23870741 (complete list of all editions)
• Black Rod (1997) OCLC 39504349 (complete list of all editions)

Arms

Coat of arms of Bertram Bowyer, 2nd 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.[9]

Notes

1. Pursuant to the House of Lords Act 1999.
2. Retired under Section 1 of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.