Sir Hugh Barrett-Lennard, 6th Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Hugh Dacre Barrett-Lennard, 6th Baronet (27 June 1917 – 21 June 2007) was a Catholic
priest. He previously served in the British Army
in the Second World War, being mentioned in dispatches
and ending the war as a Captain. He became a priest of the London Oratory
after the war, where he was noted for his eccentricity.
and in East Africa in the First World War, and became a judge in Malaya
, then Johore and Kedah, and finally Chief Justice of Jamaica.
He was educated at Radley College
in Oxfordshire. He and his mother converted to Roman Catholicism in the 1930s. He became a teacher at St Philip's prep school in Kensington
, and was due to join the London Oratory
when the Second World War broke out.
.
After the Essex Regiment received severe casualties on 11 June/12 June 1944, he took over the post of Battalion Intelligence Officer until August 1944. Very early one morning at the time of the fighting at Falaise
, he was responsible for a reconnaissance far into German lines in a jeep with only a driver for support. He was thus able to establish for the Brigade and 49th Division that the Germans had swiftly retreated and advance was possible.
At the farthest extent of their patrol, they spoke to the local mayor while the Germans packed up and left on the other side of the Mairie. When challenged as to his identity by the major, Lt. Barrett-Lennard replied "Je suis L’Armee Britannique!" On return, his driver is reputed to have told all and sundry that Lt. Barrett-Lennard was bonkers.
He finished his army career as a Captain and had been mentioned in dispatches. Two weeks prior to his demobilisation, he was in Berlin. With the war over, he established a school for soldiers preparing men for their demob and return to civilian life.
. He studied at the Pontifical Beda College in Rome, and was ordained as a Catholic priest at the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome in 1950, alongside a German that he had shot at in Normandy. After his ordination, he became a parish priest at the London Oratory
.
Father Hugh succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of a distant cousin, the 5th baronet, Sir Richard Fiennes Barrett-Lennard, at Swallowfield Park, Reading on 28 December 1977.
Father Hugh helped at the Mass
said in Bayeux Cathedral for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of D-Day
, in 1994. He also addressed the congregation and unveiled a plaque near the cathedral entrance to the soldiers of 56th Infantry Brigade - the 2nd Battalions of the Essex Regiment, the Gloucestershire Regiment and the South Wales Borderers - who landed on Gold Beach
on 6 June 1944 and pushed inland to secure the right flank of the British Army by that evening, liberating Bayeux
the following day.
A colleague said of him that he shared "St Philip's eccentricity, especially about dress and those type of things. His family had a certain reputation for a lack of grandeur". He apparently inherited this from his eccentric great grandfather, Sir Thomas Barrett-Lennard, 1st Baronet
, who wore very old and shabby clothing and had been mistakenly apprehended by the police as a miscreant and also assumed to be a servant when he opened the park gates to a carriage for which he received a tip.
Father Hugh died a few days before his ninetieth birthday. A requiem mass was held at Brompton Oratory on 3 July 2007. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by a distant cousin.
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priest. He previously served in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in the Second World War, being mentioned in dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
and ending the war as a Captain. He became a priest of the London Oratory
London Oratory
The London Oratory is a Catholic oratory, a community of lay-brothers, and the name given to the London Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri...
after the war, where he was noted for his eccentricity.
Early life
Barrett-Lennard's father, Sir Fiennes Cecil Arthur Barrett-Lennard (1880-1963), was a British soldier, who fought in the Boer WarBoer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
and in East Africa in the First World War, and became a judge in Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, then Johore and Kedah, and finally Chief Justice of Jamaica.
He was educated at Radley College
Radley College
Radley College , founded in 1847, is a British independent school for boys on the edge of the English village of Radley, near to the market town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, and has become a well-established boarding school...
in Oxfordshire. He and his mother converted to Roman Catholicism in the 1930s. He became a teacher at St Philip's prep school in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, and was due to join the London Oratory
London Oratory
The London Oratory is a Catholic oratory, a community of lay-brothers, and the name given to the London Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri...
when the Second World War broke out.
Second World War
On the outbreak of the war, Barrett-Lennard enlisted as a private in the London Scottish Regiment. He was commissioned and joined the Intelligence Corps before being transferred to the 2nd Battalion, Essex RegimentEssex Regiment
The Essex Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army that saw active service from 1881 to 1958. Members of the regiment were recruited from across Essex county. Its lineage is continued by the Royal Anglian Regiment.-Origins:...
.
After the Essex Regiment received severe casualties on 11 June/12 June 1944, he took over the post of Battalion Intelligence Officer until August 1944. Very early one morning at the time of the fighting at Falaise
Falaise pocket
The battle of the Falaise Pocket, fought during the Second World War from 12 to 21 August 1944, was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy...
, he was responsible for a reconnaissance far into German lines in a jeep with only a driver for support. He was thus able to establish for the Brigade and 49th Division that the Germans had swiftly retreated and advance was possible.
At the farthest extent of their patrol, they spoke to the local mayor while the Germans packed up and left on the other side of the Mairie. When challenged as to his identity by the major, Lt. Barrett-Lennard replied "Je suis L’Armee Britannique!" On return, his driver is reputed to have told all and sundry that Lt. Barrett-Lennard was bonkers.
He finished his army career as a Captain and had been mentioned in dispatches. Two weeks prior to his demobilisation, he was in Berlin. With the war over, he established a school for soldiers preparing men for their demob and return to civilian life.
Post-war career
Back in London, he joined the London Congregation of the Oratory of St Philip Neri in KnightsbridgeKnightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
. He studied at the Pontifical Beda College in Rome, and was ordained as a Catholic priest at the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome in 1950, alongside a German that he had shot at in Normandy. After his ordination, he became a parish priest at the London Oratory
London Oratory
The London Oratory is a Catholic oratory, a community of lay-brothers, and the name given to the London Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri...
.
Father Hugh succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of a distant cousin, the 5th baronet, Sir Richard Fiennes Barrett-Lennard, at Swallowfield Park, Reading on 28 December 1977.
Father Hugh helped at the Mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
said in Bayeux Cathedral for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, in 1994. He also addressed the congregation and unveiled a plaque near the cathedral entrance to the soldiers of 56th Infantry Brigade - the 2nd Battalions of the Essex Regiment, the Gloucestershire Regiment and the South Wales Borderers - who landed on Gold Beach
Gold Beach
Gold Beach was the code name of one of the D-Day landing beaches that Allied forces used to invade German-occupied France on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
on 6 June 1944 and pushed inland to secure the right flank of the British Army by that evening, liberating Bayeux
Bayeux
Bayeux is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France.Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England.-Administration:Bayeux is a sub-prefecture of Calvados...
the following day.
A colleague said of him that he shared "St Philip's eccentricity, especially about dress and those type of things. His family had a certain reputation for a lack of grandeur". He apparently inherited this from his eccentric great grandfather, Sir Thomas Barrett-Lennard, 1st Baronet
Sir Thomas Barrett-Lennard, 1st Baronet
Sir Thomas Barrett-Lennard, 1st Baronet FSA, DL was a British politician and baronet.He was the illegitimate son of the 17th Baron Dacre and Elizabeth FitzThomas. Barrett-Lennard was educated at Downing College, Cambridge. He entered the British House of Commons for Essex South in 1832 and was a...
, who wore very old and shabby clothing and had been mistakenly apprehended by the police as a miscreant and also assumed to be a servant when he opened the park gates to a carriage for which he received a tip.
Father Hugh died a few days before his ninetieth birthday. A requiem mass was held at Brompton Oratory on 3 July 2007. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by a distant cousin.