Christopher Beckett, 4th Baron Grimthorpe
Christopher John Beckett, 4th Baron Grimthorpe OBE, DL, the fourth Baron, soldier, company director, landowner, peer of the turf. Christopher John Beckett was born 16 September, 1915, eldest son ofRalph William Ernest Beckett, 3rd Baron Grimthorpe , TD, (1891-1963), a partner in the banking firm of Beckett and Co., of Leeds, Yorkshire, by his first wife, Mary Alice, daughter of Colonel Mervyn Archdale, 12th Lancers.
In February, 1954, he married Lady Elizabeth Lumley, daughter of the Roger Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough, Lord Chamberlain to the Queen.
The wedding took place at the Queen's Chapel, Marlborough Gate, sometimes called the Marlborough House Chapel, by special permission of the sovereign, and the wedding reception took place at St James's Palace. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, & the Duchess of Gloucester attended.
In 1973 Lady Grimthorpe joined the household of the Queen Mother as a Lady of the Bedchamber, and remained in that post at Clarence House until the death of Her Majesty.
Lord Grimthorpe, of Westow Hall, near York, had a distinguished military career, retiring from the Army in 1968 as a Brigadier. He was deputy commander of Malta and Libya from 1964-67 and served as an ADC to the Queen.
He was Colonel Commanding 9th Queen's Royal Lancers, 1955-58, Colonel 9th/12th Lancers (PWO) from 1973, Brigadier Royal Armoured Corps Western Command, 1961-64, and served as a Deputy Lieutenant for North Yorkshire from 1969.
Christopher Beckett was educated at Eton.
He succeeded his father as fourth Baron and eighth Baronet, 1963.
Lord Grimthorpe was a director of Thirsk Race Committee, and was a member of the Jockey Club.
His father, of Easthorpe Hall, Malton, ran a stud in North Yorkshire where he - and his second wife Angela -bred Fragrant Mac which won the Scottish Grand National in 1952. The best horse they owned however was Fortina, winner of the 1947 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
He also served as a consultant and sales respresentative with Sir Alfred McAlpine and Son Ltd.
In 1973 he joined the board of Yorkshire Post Newspapers where his uncle, the Hon Rupert Beckett, had been chairman for 30 years, 1920-50.
Lord Grimthorpe was appointed OBE (military) in 1958.
He is survived by Lady Grimthorpe, two sons, Edward John and Ralph Daniel, and a daughter, Harriet.
External links
 | This English biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This biography of a baron in the peerage of the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Use dmy dates from January 2012
- Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
- 1915 births
- 2003 deaths
- People educated at Eton College
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- 9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers
- 9th/12th Royal Lancers officers
- Deputy Lieutenants of the North Riding of Yorkshire
- British Army personnel of World War II
- English people stubs
- Peerage of the United Kingdom baron stubs