Ian Stewart, Baron Stewartby Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Lord Stewartby
Office3:Minister of State for Northern Ireland
Primeminister3:Margaret Thatcher
Term Start3:25 July 1988
Term End3:25 July 1989
Predecessor3:John Stanley
Successor3:John Cope
Office4:Minister of State for the Armed Forces
Primeminister4:Margaret Thatcher
Term Start4:13 June 1987
Term End4:25 July 1988
Predecessor4:John Stanley
Successor4:Archie Hamilton
Office5:Economic Secretary to the Treasury
Primeminister5:Margaret Thatcher
Term Start5:19 October 1983
Term End5:11 June 1987
Predecessor5:John Moore
Successor5:Peter Lilley
Office6:Member of Parliament
for North Hertfordshire
Term Start6:28 February 1974
Term End6:16 March 1992
Predecessor6:Shirley Williams
Successor6:Oliver Heald
Birth Date:10 August 1935
Party:Conservative

Bernard Harold Ian Halley Stewart, Baron Stewartby, (10 August 1935 – 3 March 2018) was a British Conservative Party politician and numismatist. He was the Member of Parliament for Hitchin from February 1974 to 1983, and for North Hertfordshire from 1983 to 1992. He sat in the House of Lords from 1992 to 2015.

Early life

Stewart was the son of Harold Charles Stewart FRSE and Dorothy Irene Lowen, and was named after his grandfather, Bernard Halley Stewart.[1] He was educated at Haileybury College and Jesus College, Cambridge, where he gained a first-class degree in the Classical Tripos; he was made an honorary fellow of the college in 1994.

Parliamentary career

Stewart contested Hammersmith North at the 1970 general election, being beaten by Labour's Frank Tomney. He was Member of Parliament for Hitchin from February 1974 to 1983, and for North Hertfordshire from 1983 until he stood down in 1992. He served as junior minister for Defence Procurement, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, and Minister for the Armed Forces.

House of Lords

After he left the House of Commons, Stewart was created a life peer as Baron Stewartby, of Portmoak in the District of Perth and Kinross on 20 July 1992. He sat in the House of Lords until his retirement on 12 November 2015.[2]

Interest in numismatics

Stewartby's interest in Scottish coins had started when he was a schoolboy. Noting the lack of a complete book on the subject more recent than Edward Burns' 1887 work "Coinage of Scotland", he was encouraged to write his own. The result, "The Scottish Coinage", was published by Spink and Son in 1955. The preface, dated December 1953, gives the location as Haileybury College, Hertford, which he attended from 1949 to 1954, as a member of Allenby House.

In July 2007, Stewartby's collection of antique Scottish coins dating back to the 12th century and worth an estimated £500,000 was stolen from his home near Peebles.[3] The coins have yet to be recovered, and in November 2008, a £50,000 reward was offered for their return.[4]

Honours

In 1971, Stewartby was awarded the Sanford Saltus Gold Medal by the British Numismatic Society in recognition of his contributions to British numismatics.[5] He was awarded the medal of the Royal Numismatic Society in 1996.[6]

On 30 March 1970, Stewartby was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA).[7] In 1981, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in the Archaeology section.[8] In 1986, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE).[9]

In the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Knight Bachelor "for political service". On 26 November, he received the accolade from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

Arms

Escutcheon:Or a fess chequy Azure and Argent between a portcullis with chains in chief and a lymphad sails furled oars in action Sable flagged Gules in base all within a bordure Azure a label of three points Gules.
Crest:A lymphad as in the shield between two fleurs-de-lys Or.
Supporters:Dexter a stag Proper attired Or gorged with a collar engrailed Gules sinister a lion Proper gorged with a collar engrailed chequy Argent and Gules.
Motto:There Remaineth A Rest[10]

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Person Page.
  2. http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-stewartby/986 Lord Stewartby
  3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/6283688.stm Rare coins worth £500,000 stolen
  4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7705730.stm £50,000 reward in coin theft hunt
  5. Web site: Sanford Saltus Gold Medal. British Numismatic Society. 24 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20161112055541/http://britnumsoc.org/mpandf/sanfordsaltus.shtml. 12 November 2016. dead.
  6. Web site: The Society's Medal. 23 May 2014.
  7. Web site: The Rt Hon Lord Bernard H Stewartby FSA. Fellows Directory. Society of Antiquaries of London. 24 July 2015. 25 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150725020545/https://www.sal.org.uk/about-us/fellows-directory/?fs=Stewartby. dead.
  8. Web site: STEWARTBY, Lord (Ian), FRSE. British Academy Fellows. British Academy. 24 July 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150725014953/http://www.britac.ac.uk/fellowship/directory/ord.cfm?member=2412. 25 July 2015. dmy-all.
  9. Web site: RSE Fellows . Royal Society of Edinburgh . 24 July 2015 . 49 . 23 July 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160330014912/https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/lists/fellows.pdf . 30 March 2016 . dmy-all .
  10. Book: Debrett's Peerage . 2003 . 1516.