Hugh Seely, 1st Baron Sherwood

The Right Honourable The Lord Sherwood
Under-Secretary of State for Air
In office 1941–1944 Serving with The Lord Balfour of Inchrye (1941–44)
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	Anthony Muirhead
Succeeded by	Rupert Brabner
Member of Parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed
In office 14 November 1935 – 14 August 1941
Preceded by	Alfred Todd
Succeeded by	George Grey
Member of Parliament for East Norfolk
In office 6 December 1923 – 29 October 1924
Preceded by	Michael Falcon
Succeeded by	Reginald Neville
Personal details
Born	(1898-10-02)2 October 1898
Died	1 April 1970(1970-04-01) (aged 71)
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal
Spouses	Hon. Molly Chetwode ​ ​ (m. 1942; div. 1948)​ Catherine Thornton Ranger ​ ​ (m. 1970)​
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army,Auxiliary Air Force
Years of service	1914–1918, 1936–1938
Rank	Lieutenant, Squadron Leader
Unit	Grenadier Guards, No. 504 Squadron RAF
Commands	No. 504 Squadron RAF
Battles/wars	First World War Western Front

Hugh Michael Seely, 1st Baron Sherwood (2 October 1898 – 1 April 1970), known as Sir Hugh Seely, 3rd Baronet, of Sherwood Lodge, Nottinghamshire, from 1926 to 1941, was a British Liberal politician.

Early life

Seely was born on 2 October 1898 into a family of politicians, industrialists and significant landowners. His great-grandfather Charles Seely, grandfather Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet, father Sir Charles Seely, 2nd Baronet, and uncle J. E. B. Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone, were all members of Parliament. His mother, Hilda Lucy Grant, was the daughter of Richard Tassell Anthony Grant and the granddaughter of inventor Sir Thomas Tassell Grant. His brother Victor's son was Sir Nigel Seely.

Seely was educated at Eton College and became a lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards.

Career

Seely served with the Auxiliary Air Force and was the Commanding Officer for No. 504 Squadron RAF from 1936 to 1938. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for East Norfolk from 1923 to 1924, High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire for 1925 and MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed from 1935 to 1941. He was the Joint Under-Secretary of State for Air during a large part of the Second World War (1941–45). In 1946 he acquired and was Chairman of the famous gunmaker James Purdey and Sons.

He was created Baron Sherwood, of Calverton in the County of Nottingham on 14 August 1941.

Personal life

On 23 March 1942, Seely married the Hon. Molly Patricia (née Berry) Chetwode, daughter of William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose, who owned The Daily Telegraph newspaper. She was the widow of Roger Charles George Chetwode (a son of Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode), with whom she had two sons. The marriage was short-lived, however, as the couple divorced in 1948. She later married Sir Richard Cotterell, 5th Baronet, in 1958.

Lord Sherwood remarried to Catherine (née Thornton) Ranger (widow of John Osborne Ranger) on 16 March 1970, shortly before his death on 1 April 1970. As he had no children, the barony became extinct upon his death. His brother Victor inherited the baronetcy.

See also

• Seely baronets

Further reading

• Burke's Peerage and Baronetage 107th Edition Volume III [ *Burke's Peerage and Baronetage 107th Edition Volume III [1] Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Information on the Seely family estates at the UK National Registry of Archives
• Wight Life April/May 1975 article on The Seely Family and their Island Homes [2]
• The Great Houses of Nottinghamshire, Sherwood Lodge (1881)
• Correspondence with Winston Churchill [3]

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Hugh Seely