Harold Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Inchrye
Encyclopedia
Harold Harington Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Inchrye MC & Bar
(1897 – 1988) was a Conservative Party
politician in the United Kingdom
, and First World War flying ace. As Under-Secretary of State for Air
in 1944 he was instrumental in the establishment of London Heathrow Airport
.
, Surrey
, England
on 1 November 1897 and educated at Chilverton Elms School, Dover
, Kent
and later at the Royal Navy College, Osborne
, Isle of Wight
.
. After training he was posted to 60 Squadron
. In 1917 he was serving with No. 43 Squadron
when he downed two enemy aircraft while flying a Sopwith 1½ Strutter
. He was injured in a crash and moved on to the School of Special Flying, 40 Squadron
, then returned to 43 Squadron
. Now piloting the Sopwith Camel
he claimed 7 more victories and was promoted to Major. Balfour then took command of a training school until 1919. He was private secretary and Aide-de-camp
to Sir John Salmond
1921-22 and temporary ADC to Sir Samuel Hoare, Secretary for Air, 1923. He retired from the Royal Air Force
in 1923 to follow a career in journalism and business. Balfour was interviewed on 30 September 1978 by the art historian Anna Malinovska. The interview is reproduced in Voices in Flight (Pen & Sword Books, 2006)
without success in 1924 and was elected in 1929 as Member of Parliament
(MP) for Isle of Thanet
. He served in the Air ministry from 1938 and was Minister Resident in West Africa
, 1944-45. He left the House of Commons in 1945 and was raised to the peerage as Baron Balfour of Inchrye, of Shefford in the County of Berkshire. Balfour died on 21 September 1988 aged 90. He was married twice in 1921 and 1946 with a son from the first marriage and a daughter from the second. One of his wives was Mary Ainslie Profumo, sister of the disgraced cabinet minister, John Profumo
. After Profumo resigned and Lord Hailsham attacked his morals, Balfour remarked on live television, "When a man has by self-indulgence acquired the shape of Lord Hailsham sexual continence requires no more than a sense of the ridiculous". Balfours's son, diamond historian Ian Balfour, become the 2nd Baron Balfour of Inchrye on his father's death.
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(1897 – 1988) was a Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and First World War flying ace. As Under-Secretary of State for Air
Secretary of State for Air
The Secretary of State for Air was a cabinet level British position. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. It was created on 10 January 1919 to manage the Royal Air Force...
in 1944 he was instrumental in the establishment of London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
.
Early years
Balfour was born at CamberleyCamberley
Camberley is a town in Surrey, England, situated 31 miles southwest of central London, in the corridor between the M3 and M4 motorways. The town lies close to the borders of both Hampshire and Berkshire; the boundaries intersect on the western edge of the town where all three counties...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 1 November 1897 and educated at Chilverton Elms School, Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and later at the Royal Navy College, Osborne
Osborne
- Places :Australia* Osborne, South Australia, an industrial suburb of Adelaide in South Australia* Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina regionCanada* Osborne Village, a neighbourhood in Winnipeg...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
.
Aviator and fighter ace
Balfour joined the 60th Rifles in 1914 and served in France for three months before he transferred to the Royal Flying CorpsRoyal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
. After training he was posted to 60 Squadron
No. 60 Squadron RAF
No. 60 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1916 at Gosport. It is currently part of the Defence Helicopter Flying School based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire....
. In 1917 he was serving with No. 43 Squadron
No. 43 Squadron RAF
No. 43 Squadron was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron originally formed in 1916 as part of the Royal Flying Corps. It last operated the Panavia Tornado F3 from RAF Leuchars, Scotland in the air defence role until disbanded in July 2009.-In World War I:...
when he downed two enemy aircraft while flying a Sopwith 1½ Strutter
Sopwith 1½ Strutter
The Sopwith 1½ Strutter was a British one or two-seat biplane multi-role aircraft of the First World War. It is significant as the first British-designed two seater tractor fighter, and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised machine gun...
. He was injured in a crash and moved on to the School of Special Flying, 40 Squadron
No. 40 Squadron RAF
No. 40 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1916 at Gosport as No 40 Squadron RFC and was disbanded for the last time in 1957.Edward Mannock gained 16 of his 73 victories while with 40 Squadron, 15 of which he shot down while flying a Nieuport Scout...
, then returned to 43 Squadron
No. 43 Squadron RAF
No. 43 Squadron was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron originally formed in 1916 as part of the Royal Flying Corps. It last operated the Panavia Tornado F3 from RAF Leuchars, Scotland in the air defence role until disbanded in July 2009.-In World War I:...
. Now piloting the Sopwith Camel
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...
he claimed 7 more victories and was promoted to Major. Balfour then took command of a training school until 1919. He was private secretary and Aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to Sir John Salmond
John Salmond
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Maitland Salmond, GCB, CMG, CVO, DSO and Bar was a British military officer who rose to high rank in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I...
1921-22 and temporary ADC to Sir Samuel Hoare, Secretary for Air, 1923. He retired from the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in 1923 to follow a career in journalism and business. Balfour was interviewed on 30 September 1978 by the art historian Anna Malinovska. The interview is reproduced in Voices in Flight (Pen & Sword Books, 2006)
Politician
He contested StratfordStratford West Ham (UK Parliament constituency)
Stratford was a parliamentary constituency in the Borough of West Ham in the South-West of Essex , which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.The constituency was created for the 1918...
without success in 1924 and was elected in 1929 as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Isle of Thanet
Isle of Thanet (UK Parliament constituency)
Isle of Thanet was a county constituency which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885, until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election....
. He served in the Air ministry from 1938 and was Minister Resident in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, 1944-45. He left the House of Commons in 1945 and was raised to the peerage as Baron Balfour of Inchrye, of Shefford in the County of Berkshire. Balfour died on 21 September 1988 aged 90. He was married twice in 1921 and 1946 with a son from the first marriage and a daughter from the second. One of his wives was Mary Ainslie Profumo, sister of the disgraced cabinet minister, John Profumo
John Profumo
Brigadier John Dennis Profumo, 5th Baron Profumo CBE , informally known as Jack Profumo , was a British politician. His title, 5th Baron, which he did not use, was Italian. Although Profumo held an increasingly responsible series of political posts in the 1950s, he is best known today for his...
. After Profumo resigned and Lord Hailsham attacked his morals, Balfour remarked on live television, "When a man has by self-indulgence acquired the shape of Lord Hailsham sexual continence requires no more than a sense of the ridiculous". Balfours's son, diamond historian Ian Balfour, become the 2nd Baron Balfour of Inchrye on his father's death.
Awards and decorations
- 26 May 1917: Balfour was awarded the Military CrossMilitary CrossThe Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
"for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on many occasions. He was carried out many valuable reconnaissances under very adverse conditions. He has shot down two hostile machines" - 22 April 1918: Balfour was awarded a bar to the Military CrossMilitary CrossThe Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
"for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. On three occasions during one month he has destroyed one hostile machine and driven down two others completely out of control. On one occasion, flying at very low altitude, under extreme adverse weather conditions, he carried out a reconnaissamce, in which he bombed two guns and silenced them, bombed large bodies of troops in a market square, and fired into the hangars and huts in a hostile aerodrome, several casualties being observed. He has at all times shown himself to be a leader of exceptional dash and ability, and offensive patrols led by him have constantly attacked enemy formations with marked gallantry and determination' - 5 July 1945: Balfour gained the title 1st Baron Balfour of Inchrye, of Shefford in the County of Berkshire.