Aidan Merivale Crawley Born 10 April 1908(1908-04-10) Benenden Died 3 November 1993(1993-11-03) (aged 85) Banbury, Oxfordshire Nationality English Occupation Journalist, television executive and editor, and politician Aidan Merivale Crawley, MBE (10 April 1908 Benenden, Kent – 3 November 1993 Banbury, Oxfordshire)1 was a British journalist, television executive and editor, and politician. He was a member of both of Britain's major political parties: the Labour Party and Conservative Party, and was elected to the House of Commons as a Labour MP from 1945 to 1951, and as a Conservative MP from 1962 to 1967. Contents 1 Education 2 Life and career 3 Family 4 Marriage and issue 5 Notable relatives 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links 9 Further reading Education Crawley was educated at Harrow School, a famous independent school in Harrow on the Hill in north-west London, followed by Trinity College at the University of Oxford in Oxford. He played cricket for Oxford University Cricket Club and Kent. Life and career The bulk of Crawley's career was in the late 1920s and early 1930s, but he played a few first-class games after the Second World War, while a sitting MP. He was also a prisoner of war.2 He was Labour Member of Parliament for Buckingham from 1945 to 1951, when he lost to the Conservative candidate Frank Markham, himself an ex-Labour MP. In 1955, he was the first editor-in-chief of Independent Television News and was responsible for introducing American-style newscasters to British media and pledged to transform television's attitudes to politicians.3 He left ITN after a row when the company tried to trim down the news operations and rejoined the BBC.4

In 1962, he was elected to Parliament as a Conservative, winning the by-election in West Derbyshire. He held the seat through two general elections,5 before resigning in 1967 to become Chairman of London Weekend Television where he remained until 1973. He became President of the M.C.C. in 1972. Crawley authored several books, including biographies of Konrad Adenauer and Charles De Gaulle. De Gaulle: A Biography (London: Collins, 1969) Escape from Germany 1939-1945 Spoils of the War: The Rise of Western Germany 1945-1972 Patterns of Government in Africa Leap before you look: a memoir, 1988. Aidan Crawley was Under-Secretary of State for Air in Clement Attlee's Labour Government; in the 1960s he was Conservative MP for West Derbyshire, and finally, from 1969 to 1973, chairman of London Weekend Television Family Aidan Crawley was the second son (of three sons and two daughters) of the Rev. (Arthur) Stafford Crawley, Canon of Windsor, himself the youngest son of a successful railway contractor, George Baden Crawley (1833–1879),6 and his wife Inez, who married as her second husband Rear-Admiral JE Pringle. His mother was the former Anstice Katherine Gibbs (usually known as Nancy), sixth of the ten children of Antony and Janet Gibbs of Tyntesfield, Somerset. Stafford Crawley was the brother-in-law of the Earl of Cavan who was first married to his sister Caroline Inez Crawley (dsp 1920). His own wife Nancy was related to the Lords Wraxall, of Tyntesfield and the Lords Aldenham and Hunsdon. Stafford Crawley was chaplain to the Archbishop at Bishopthorpe and later Canon of St George's Chapel, Windsor. The Crawleys had three sons and two daughters, of whom Aidan was the middle son. A daughter Anstice, Lady Goodman (see below), was also prominent in public life.7 Marriage and issue

In 1945, he married the sometime war correspondent (Harriet) Virginia Spencer Cowles OBE (24 August 1910 Brattleboro, Vermont-6 September 1983 near Biarritz in a car crash),89 daughter of the controversial10 society doctor, Edward Spencer Cowles MD.11 with whom he had 3 children. However, Crawley suffered several tragedies. His wife died in 1983 in a road accident in France. Five years later, he lost both his sons in a plane crash (they were travelling together to their sister's 40th birthday party), leaving young children and widows who were seven months pregnant. He then lost heavily in the Lloyds crash and at the time of his death, Crawley was virtually penniless.12 He was survived by his daughter Harriet, his two widowed daughters-in-law and six grandchildren (two children from his elder son Andrew, three from his younger son Randall, and one from his daughter). Children: Andrew Hayward Crawley (1947-11 September 198813); md 1986 Sarah Lawrence, and had issue, one son and a posthumous daughter.14 Andrew and Randall were killed when their private plane hit a mountain on the way to their sister's 40th birthday party.15 Randall Stafford Crawley (14 July 195016 - 10 September 1988 Italy), who was married 3 November 1982 to Marita Georgina Phillips, now Mrs Andrew Knight (b. 28 May 1954), third daughter of Lt.-Col. Harold Pedro Joseph Phillips, by his wife Georgina Wernher, and sister of the Duchess of Abercorn and the Duchess of Westminster. Randall left issue, two sons (the younger Galen born after his death, and godson of HRH The Prince of Wales) and a daughter.17 His widow Marita, recently remarried in 2006 Andrew Knight (b. 1939), former journalist and editor. Harriet Spencer Crawley (b. 1948), a successful author and former television presenter of "Collecting Now", married firstly Gleb Chestekov in 1993. She married 2ndly circa 2001 Julian Ayer (1939-26 December 2004, died Galle, Sri Lanka in the Boxing Day Tsunami18), the adoptive son of the philosopher Sir Alfred Jules Ayer, or "Freddie" Ayer.1920 They had no issue. Harriet also has issue one son Spencer Henry Crawley, now a promising cricketer.212223 Notable relatives Crawley's sister was Anstice, Lady Goodman (7 December 1911 - 4 January 2001), whose marriage to Sir Victor Goodman was childless.24 Crawley's niece Penelope Anstice Crawley (b. 1950) married 1971 Lord Guernsey, now 12th Earl of Aylesford (b. 1947), the heir to the 11th Earl of Aylesford and has issue, including one son. Her husband succeeded to the earldom on 12 February 2008, and her son is now styled Lord Guernsey. This is not the first notable marriage for a Crawley female; her great-aunt Caroline Inez Crawley (d. 1920, without issue) was first wife of Field Marshal the 10th Earl of Cavan. An ancestress Matilda Crawley-Boevey (1817–1877), of the Crawley-Boevey baronets married William Gibbs of Tyntesfield and Clyst St. George, and had issue, seven children, of whom four are listed in the Plantagenet Roll.25 Her granddaughter Anstice Katharine Gibbs married a Crawley cousin (above), and was mother of Aidan Merivale Crawley. Anstice's first cousin patrilineally was 1st Baron Wraxall, while close relatives patrilineally were the Lords Aldenham and Hunsdon (now united as of 1939). Notes ^ Aidan Merivale Crawley entry in Cricinfo database online. [1], Retrieved 18 September 2007. ^ Hansard debates for 22 May 1997. [2]. Retrieved 18 September 2007. "Aidan Crawley was elected as the first Labour Member of Parliament for Buckingham in 1945. He lost the seat and was elected elsewhere as a Conservative Member of Parliament." ^ " Boring old blokes on TV - an A to Z: The changing culture of the political interview" The Guardian Saturday November 11, 2000 [3] and [4]. Also see "A Brief History of Broadcast Journalism: The Early Years" [5]. Retrieved 18 September 2007. ^ Aidan Crawley profile. "He appeared on 'In the News' and 'Viewfinder' on BBC, and became Independent Television News's first editor-in-chief, but later rejoined the BBC. [6]. See also [7]. Retrieved 18 September 2007. ^ Phillip Whitehead obituary notes that he was defeated by the former Labourite, now Conservative, Aidan Crawley in 1966. "Whitehead's first attempt at Parliament was in the 1966 general election when as vice-chairman of the Young Fabian Group he was selected to take on Aidan Crawley in West Derbyshire. It was a particularly acrimonious campaign. Crawley was well known on the television screen and had been a much-favoured young minister in the Attlee government when he was a Labour MP for Buckingham, 1945-51, as Under-Secretary for Air. In 1957 he had resigned from the Labour Party and had been adopted as Conservative candidate in 1959. Crawley won by 18,383 votes to Whitehead's 13,791 with Mrs M.V. Edwards for the Liberals gaining 4,874." [8]. Retrieved 18 September 2007. ^ He was descended from the younger brother of Sir Thomas Crawley-Boevey, 2nd Baronet (1744-1818), who inherited 1789 by special remainder as husband of the granddaughter of the first Baronet's brother, a rare remainder. The Crawley family itself was landed. The name of Crawley-Boevey dates to 1726, when the 2nd Baronet's grandfather Thomas Crawley (1709-1769) inherited Flaxley Abbey and changed his name from Crawley to Crawley-Boevey. However, the junior branches of his descendants used the name of Crawley alone. ^ Crawley family papers. [9]. Retrieved 10 September 2007. ^ "Virginia Cowles b. 24 August 1910, d. 16 September 1983" The Peerage database, last edited 31 January 2005. [10]. Retrieved 18 September 2007. Also see Ann Davenport Dixon, ‘Cowles , (Harriet) Virginia Spencer (1910–1983)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, first published Sept 2004, 1140 words. (Subscription required) ^ Virginia Cowles ^ "Body & Mind Raid" Time magazine, 4 May 1942. In 1941, he was Director of the Park Avenue Hospital, New York; Director of the Body and Mind Foundation and of the Body and Mind Clinic, New York; Staff Physician and Psychiatrist to the Bloodgood Foundation, Johns Hopkins University; Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Source: Amazon.com. ^ Dr Cowles was a cousin of Rear-Admiral William Sheffield Cowles (d. 1923), himself married to Anna Roosevelt (d. 1931), sister of President Theodore Roosevelt. Edward Spencer Cowles and his first wife Florence Wolcott Jacquith had at least one other daughter Mary Howard Cowles whose husband Captain Willard Reed Jr, US Marine Corps, was killed in action in 1942. He later married 1928 Nona Hazelhurst McAdoo, ^ " Ayer's adopted son dies" The Daily Telegraph, 2004. [11] Harriet Crawley loses her husband Julian Ayer, adoptive son of the philosopher Freddie Ayer, in the 2004 tsunami. ^ Andrew Crawley says 11 September, other sources, notably the Harrow page, say 10 September. Retrieved 10 December 1988. ^ Andrew. Retrieved 10 December 2008. His wife's name is obtained from www.the peerage.com. ^ "After the flood: England witness a triumph of the spirit in Sri Lanka" The Independent, 18 December 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2008. ^ Randall Crawley Retrieved 10 December 1988. ^ Randall Crawley Retrieved 10 December 2008. ^ "British Tsunami Toll Around 349 17 January 2005, SkyNews ^ Julian Ayer, whom she met in 1999, was the adoptive son of the philosopher Sir Alfred Jules Ayer, or "Freddie" Ayer (1910-1989). According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Julian was born the elder child of philosopher Sir Stuart Newton Hampshire (1914-2004) by (Grace Isabel) Renée Ayer, née Orde-Lees (d. 1980), who was Ayer's wife at the time. Hampshire married Renee in 1961, twenty years after her first husband divorced her. However, Ayer acknowledged the child Julian as his. See A. Ryan, ‘Hampshire, Sir Stuart Newton (1914–2004)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, Jan 2008 [12], accessed 12 Feb 2008 from then publicly available page ^ "14 ordinary lives remembered from the 125,000 who perished" The Times 31 December 2004. [13] ^ Harriet Crawley speaks about the Crawley Gap Year Scholarships in memory of her brothers.[14] Retrieved 18 September 2007. ^ " Ayer's adopted son dies" The Daily Telegraph, 2004. Ibid. ^ Spencer Crawley's father is allegedly Douglas Percy Codrington Nation (1942-2001), father of Tanya Marie Nation, now married to the Marquess of Hamilton. Hamilton is the nephew of Harriet's sister-in-law Marita Crawley, nee Phillips. ^ Anonymous. "Lady Goodman The Daily Telegraph. 30 January 2001. Retrieved 18 September 2007. Her husband Sir Victor Goodman (d. 29 September 1967), of the Goodman family was first husband of Julian Morrell, daughter of Philip Morrell and Lady Ottoline Morrell, by whom he had issue ^ Marquis de Ruvigny de Raineval et al.Plantagenet Roll: Clarence Volume p. 150. Originally published: London : T.C. & E.C. Jack, 1905. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Com, 1994. Retrieved 10 December 2008 References Daily Telegraph, 14/06/67 Matthew Parris, ‘Crawley, Aidan Merivale (1908–1993)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, first published Sept 2004, 1660 words, with portrait illustration. Subscription required. Ann Davenport Dixon, ‘Cowles , (Harriet) Virginia Spencer (1910–1983)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography first published Sept 2004, 1140 words. Subscription required. Photograph of Aidan Crawley down the page. Virginia Cowles, German Wikipedia (in German). Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages Aidan Crawley from CricketArchive "After the flood: England witness a triumph of the spirit in Sri Lanka" The Independent, 18 December 2007. Describes Harriet Ayer's efforts to build a memorial to her husband, and relates some of the family tragedies. External links Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Aidan Crawley Crawley ancestry can be found at the following sources: the Plantagenet Roll: Clarence Volume the 1895 issue of Debrett's Peerage (archived online). Descendants of the Conqueror: Clarence 25. This shows all the descendants of the Crawley-Boevey baronets, starting with the 2nd Baronet and his brothers. Retrieved 10 December 2008. Rev. Arthur Stafford Crawley (1876-1948), Canon of Windsor, information in the National Archives. Further reading

Aidan Crawley. Leap before you look: a memoir, (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, April 7, 1988) Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by Lionel Berry Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1945–1951 Succeeded by Frank Markham Preceded by Edward Wakefield Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire 1962–1967 Succeeded by James Scott-Hopkins Persondata Name Crawley, Aidan Merivale Alternative names Short description Date of birth 10 April 1908 Place of birth Benenden Date of death 3 November 1993 Place of death Banbury, Oxfordshire

Aidan Crawley. Leap before you look: a memoir, (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, April 7, 1988) Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by Lionel Berry Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1945–1951 Succeeded by Frank Markham Preceded by Edward Wakefield Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire 1962–1967 Succeeded by James Scott-Hopkins Persondata Name Crawley, Aidan Merivale Alternative names Short description Date of birth 10 April 1908 Place of birth Benenden Date of death 3 November 1993 Place of death Banbury, Oxfordshire

Aidan Crawley. Leap before you look: a memoir, (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, April 7, 1988) Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by Lionel Berry Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1945–1951 Succeeded by Frank Markham Preceded by Edward Wakefield Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire 1962–1967 Succeeded by James Scott-Hopkins Persondata Name Crawley, Aidan Merivale Alternative names Short description Date of birth 10 April 1908 Place of birth Benenden Date of death 3 November 1993 Place of death Banbury, Oxfordshire

Aidan Crawley. Leap before you look: a memoir, (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, April 7, 1988) Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by Lionel Berry Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1945–1951 Succeeded by Frank Markham Preceded by Edward Wakefield Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire 1962–1967 Succeeded by James Scott-Hopkins Persondata Name Crawley, Aidan Merivale Alternative names Short description Date of birth 10 April 1908 Place of birth Benenden Date of death 3 November 1993 Place of death Banbury, Oxfordshire

Aidan Crawley. Leap before you look: a memoir, (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, April 7, 1988) Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by Lionel Berry Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1945–1951 Succeeded by Frank Markham Preceded by Edward Wakefield Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire 1962–1967 Succeeded by James Scott-Hopkins Persondata Name Crawley, Aidan Merivale Alternative names Short description Date of birth 10 April 1908 Place of birth Benenden Date of death 3 November 1993 Place of death Banbury, Oxfordshire

Aidan Crawley. Leap before you look: a memoir, (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, April 7, 1988) Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by Lionel Berry Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1945–1951 Succeeded by Frank Markham Preceded by Edward Wakefield Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire 1962–1967 Succeeded by James Scott-Hopkins Persondata Name Crawley, Aidan Merivale Alternative names Short description Date of birth 10 April 1908 Place of birth Benenden Date of death 3 November 1993 Place of death Banbury, Oxfordshire

Aidan Crawley. Leap before you look: a memoir, (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, April 7, 1988) Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by Lionel Berry Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1945–1951 Succeeded by Frank Markham Preceded by Edward Wakefield Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire 1962–1967 Succeeded by James Scott-Hopkins Persondata Name Crawley, Aidan Merivale Alternative names Short description Date of birth 10 April 1908 Place of birth Benenden Date of death 3 November 1993 Place of death Banbury, Oxfordshire