Francis Tombs, Baron Tombs

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English

File:Lord Tombs 2014.jpg
Tombs's last parliamentary speech, 2014

Francis Leonard Tombs, Baron Tombs (17 May 1924 – 11 April 2020) was an English industrialist and politician who served as a crossbench member of the House of Lords from 1990 until his retirement in 2015.

Background

Tombs was born to a Catholic family in Walsall in 1924, one of three sons born to Joseph and Jane (née Bouncer) Tombs.[1] He was educated at Elmore Green School, Walsall, and at the University of London.[1] He worked for the General Electric Company from 1944 to 1946.[1]

Career

Tombs had a career in industry, particularly in electricity generation.[2] He was chairman of the South of Scotland Electricity Board,[3] the Electricity Council[4] and Rolls-Royce.[5] Tombs was president of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1981[6] and became an Honorary Fellow of its successor organisation the Institution of Engineering and Technology in 1991.[7] Tombs was named chairman of Turner & Newall P.L.C.,[1] Britain's largest manufacturer of asbestos products on 30 November 1982,[8] and remained there throughout much of the 1980s.

Knighted in 1978,[9] Tombs was created a life peer on 29 February 1990, as Baron Tombs, of Brailes in the County of Warwickshire.[10][11][12] He sat in the House of Lords as a crossbencher, and was on a number of committees. Tombs was granted a leave of absence in March 2008, which lasted until July 2010.[13][14] He wrote a memoir, Power Politics: Political Encounters in Industry and Engineering, which was published later that year.[15] Tombs retired from the House of Lords on 31 March 2015.[16]

Personal life and death

In 1949, Tombs married Marjorie Evans; they had three daughters and were married until her death in 2008.[1]

Tombs died from complications of dementia at a care home in Coventry on 11 April 2020, at the age of 95.[1][17]

Coat of arms

Template:Infobox COA wide

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. a b c d e f Script error: No such module "template wrapper". Template:Link note
  2. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "London Gazette util".
  10. Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "London Gazette util".
  11. Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "London Gazette util".
  12. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. House of Lords Journal for 14 July 2008
  15. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords/retired-lords/ Retired members of the House of Lords
  17. TOMBS, Francis Leonard (Lord Tombs of Brailes)

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Template:Authority control Template:Life-peer-stub