Walter Layton, 1st Baron Layton
Encyclopedia
Walter Thomas Layton, 1st Baron Layton, CH, CBE
(15 March 1884 - 14 February 1966), was a British
economist, editor and newspaper proprietor.
, Surrey
, and Mary Johnson. He was educated at King's College School
, Westminster City School
, University College, London and Trinity College, Cambridge
.
in 1908, then from 1909 to 1914 he was a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College
. A notable economist, Layton worked for the Ministry of Munitions during the First World War. In 1922 he was appointed editor of The Economist
, a post he held until 1938, and from 1944 to 1963 was also Chairman of The Economist Newspaper Ltd. His editorship was of profound importance to the newspaper, and he was probably the person to whom it owes most thanks for its survival and continued independence. He was editorial director of the News Chronicle
(1930-40), and returned to the Chronicle after the war, where he remained until the newspaper ceased publication in 1960.
He was a member of the Liberal Party
committee that produced 'Britain's Industrial Future', otherwise known as the 'Little Yellow Book'. He stood as a Liberal Parliamentary candidate, contesting the London University seat in 1929. Layton was again drafted in to work for the government during the Second World War, holding positions in the Ministry of Supply
(from May 1940) and the Ministry of Production
. Head of Joint War Production Staff 1942 to 1943. After the war, he served as Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
from 1949 to 1957.
in 1917 and a Companion of Honour in 1919. He was knighted in 1930 and in 1947 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Layton, of Danehill in the County of Sussex.
in 1922
, Cardiff South
in 1923
and in 1929
he switched again to fight the London University seat
. However, Layton's importance in Liberal politics had much more to do with his work at the News Chronicle
and The Economist
where he became a prominent member of a group of Liberals who had a major influence on public opinion. Their orbits were the Whitehall
and Westminster
villages. They moved in Fleet Street
, the City
, and Oxbridge
circles. Among their contemporaries were Maynard Keynes, William Beveridge
, Gilbert Murray
, and Seebohm Rowntree. Layton would later chair the executive committee of the Liberal Industrial Inquiry which produced the celebrated Yellow Book of 1928.
Layton died in February 1966, aged 81, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(15 March 1884 - 14 February 1966), was a British
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...
economist, editor and newspaper proprietor.
Background & education
Layton was the son of Alfred John Layton of WokingWoking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, 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...
, and Mary Johnson. He was educated at King's College School
King's College School
King's College School, commonly referred to as KCS, King's, or KCS Wimbledon, is an independent school for day pupils in Wimbledon in south-west London. The school was founded as the junior department of King's College London and occupied part of its premises in Strand, before relocating to...
, Westminster City School
Westminster City School
Westminster City School is a voluntary aided Christian school for boys in Westminster, London. The school has 800 students on its roll, and it offers 105 of 130 places each year to boys practising the Christian faith in the Anglican dioceses of London and Southwark. The other 25 spaces are...
, University College, London and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
.
Career
He became a lecturer in economics at Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1908, then from 1909 to 1914 he was a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
. A notable economist, Layton worked for the Ministry of Munitions during the First World War. In 1922 he was appointed editor of The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, a post he held until 1938, and from 1944 to 1963 was also Chairman of The Economist Newspaper Ltd. His editorship was of profound importance to the newspaper, and he was probably the person to whom it owes most thanks for its survival and continued independence. He was editorial director of the News Chronicle
News Chronicle
The News Chronicle was a British daily newspaper. It ceased publication on 17 October 1960, being absorbed into the Daily Mail. Its offices were in Bouverie Street, off Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 8DP, England.-Daily Chronicle:...
(1930-40), and returned to the Chronicle after the war, where he remained until the newspaper ceased publication in 1960.
He was a member of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
committee that produced 'Britain's Industrial Future', otherwise known as the 'Little Yellow Book'. He stood as a Liberal Parliamentary candidate, contesting the London University seat in 1929. Layton was again drafted in to work for the government during the Second World War, holding positions in the Ministry of Supply
Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...
(from May 1940) and the Ministry of Production
Ministry of Production
The Ministry of Production was a British government department created in February 1942, initially under the title Ministry of War Production, but the following month "War" was dropped from the title...
. Head of Joint War Production Staff 1942 to 1943. After the war, he served as Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
from 1949 to 1957.
Honours
Layton was made a CBEOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1917 and a Companion of Honour in 1919. He was knighted in 1930 and in 1947 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Layton, of Danehill in the County of Sussex.
Liberal politics
Layton stood unsuccessfully for parliament three times as a Liberal. He fought BurnleyBurnley (UK Parliament constituency)
Burnley is a borough constituency centred on the town of Burnley in Lancashire, which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
in 1922
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
, Cardiff South
Cardiff South (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff South was a borough constituency in Cardiff, Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
in 1923
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
and in 1929
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
he switched again to fight the London University seat
London University (UK Parliament constituency)
London University was a university constituency electing one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1868 to 1950.-Boundaries, electorate and history:...
. However, Layton's importance in Liberal politics had much more to do with his work at the News Chronicle
News Chronicle
The News Chronicle was a British daily newspaper. It ceased publication on 17 October 1960, being absorbed into the Daily Mail. Its offices were in Bouverie Street, off Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 8DP, England.-Daily Chronicle:...
and The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
where he became a prominent member of a group of Liberals who had a major influence on public opinion. Their orbits were the Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
and Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
villages. They moved in Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
, the City
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
, and Oxbridge
Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
circles. Among their contemporaries were Maynard Keynes, William Beveridge
William Beveridge
William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge KCB was a British economist and social reformer. He is best known for his 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Services which served as the basis for the post-World War II welfare state put in place by the Labour government elected in 1945.Lord...
, Gilbert Murray
Gilbert Murray
George Gilbert Aimé Murray, OM was an Australian born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greece, perhaps the leading authority in the first half of the twentieth century...
, and Seebohm Rowntree. Layton would later chair the executive committee of the Liberal Industrial Inquiry which produced the celebrated Yellow Book of 1928.
Marriage and children
Lord Layton married Eleanor Dorothea Osmaston, daughter of Francis Beresford Plumptre Osmaston, in 1910. They had seven children:- Michael John Layton, 2nd Baron Layton married Dorothy Cross, two children
- Lt. Col. the Hon. David Layton MBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
BABachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
, educ. Gresham's SchoolGresham's SchoolGresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
and Cambridge University, married Elizabeth Gray, three children - The Hon. Christopher Walter Layton, married Anneliese Margaret von Thadden, four children
- The Hon. Margaret Dorothea Layton MAMaster of Arts (Oxbridge)In the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts of these universities are admitted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree...
, married Alfred Geiringer of ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data... - The Hon. Jean Mary Layton, married Paul Eisler, two children
- The Hon. Olive Shirley Layton(18 December 1918 - 22 June 2009), actress, married Peter GellhornPeter GellhornPeter Gellhorn was a German conductor, composer, pianist and teacher who settled in London and made a career in Britain that lasted unbroken until his death....
, conductor, four children - The Hon. Ruth Francis Layton, born 27 April 1923, served in ATSATS-Societies:*Adventist Theological Society*American Temperance Society, an early American civic organization promoting temperance*American Thoracic Society, a society for lung physicians, health related professionals and researchers-Systems:...
, married Edward Gutierrez Pegna, four children
Layton died in February 1966, aged 81, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son.
External links
- Photograph (1953-01-10): Jean Monnet and Lord Layton on European NAvigator