HERON, (Antony) Giles 1928-2026

[Richard R]

He was s of Tom HERON 1890-1983 by his 1918 m reg Q3 W Yorks to Eulalie Mabel 1891-1986 d of Michael Philip DAVIES 1861-1931 (congregational minister). He m 1963 Mary Rosalie 1922-2019 d of Henry Vernon Flower BARRAN 1894-1943 (gs of Sir John BARRAN 1 Bt 1821-1905) and Cicely 1899-1985 d of Vice-Adm Francis Wade CAULFEILD CBE 1872-1947 (4xgt gs of 1 Viscount CHARLEMONT c1624-1671) and Katherine Ann 1867-1940 d of John Clarke HAWKSHAW 1841-1921 and Cicely Mary 1837-1917 d of Francis WEDGWOOD 1800-88 (gs of the eponymous potter Josiah WEDGWOOD FRS 1730-95 who was 2xgt gf of 1 Baron WEDGWOOD 1872-1943 and Sir Ralph Lewis WEDGWOOD 1 Bt 1874-1956) and Frances 1809-74 d of Rev John Peploe MOSLEY 1766-1833 (s of Sir John Parker MOSLEY 1 Bt 1732-98 who was 2xgt gf of 1 & only Baron ANSLOW 1850-1933, as well 4xgt gf of the blackshirt leader Sir Oswald Ernald MOSLEY 6 Bt 1896-1980 who was f of 3 Baron RAVENSDALE 1923-2017) and Sarah Maria 1770- d of William PAGET 1735-85 (bro of Richard PAGET 1730-1803 who was gt gf of Sir Richard Horner PAGET 1 Bt 1832-1908) and Sarah SALMON 1737-84. No issue.

Obit in the Times of 12 Feb 2026:

E X T R A C T

Giles Heron obituary: pioneering organic farmer

History teacher who blazed a trail in sustainable agriculture after salvaging a ramshackle farm and its 136 acres on the North York Moors, dies aged 97

… Antony Giles Heron was born in Penzance, Cornwall, in 1928, the son of Tom Heron, a businessman and poet, and his wife, Eulalie (née Davies). His father founded a clothing company called Cresta Silks, which specialised in avant-garde designs and worked with several artists, including Paul Nash and Stanley Spencer.

Tom and Eulalie had three other children including Patrick, who became a leading abstract painter; Michael, who became a Benedictine monk and wrote several books on spiritual life under the name of Dom Benedict; and Joanna, who brought up her own family and made a name for herself as an orienteering champion.

The Herons were Christian pacifists who embraced the early organic movement. Giles’s father was a member of the editorial board of The New English Weekly, which addressed questions of food quality and health and threats to the environment. Another member of the board was TS Eliot.

Giles was a free-spirited child. At the age of four, after the family had moved to Welwyn Garden City, he walked out of the house and set off on his own towards his father’s factory before being apprehended by a concerned citizen and taken to the police station. He remained indignant about the “busybody woman” for the rest of his life.

He was educated in Welwyn at Sherrardswood School, which belonged to the progressive school movement, before winning a scholarship to Abbotsholme, where he developed passions for literature, rugby and hiking. After leaving in 1946, he registered as a conscientious objector and undertook National Service with the Friends’ Ambulance Unit in France. He won an exhibition to read history at Jesus College, Oxford, and set his sights on a career in education. He taught at several schools, including Kingham Hill in Oxfordshire, before returning to Abbotsholme.

As the Fifties gave way to the Sixties, at a choral gathering Heron met Mary Barran, who also had a degree in history from Oxford. She was six years older than Giles and had served with the Women’s Royal Naval Service as a signaller during the war, but had powerful bonds with the land.

Her father, a London barrister who preferred farming in West Sussex, had strong connections with early environmental groups such as the “Men of the Trees”, which influenced Mary. She became an assistant to Eve Balfour, the founder of the Soil Association, before marrying Heron in 1963. The couple had no children, which Giles regarded as a “tragedy”…

… Heron was buried next to his wife, who died in 2019, on the hillside above Bank House Farm, overlooking the Esk Valley.

Giles Heron, teacher and organic farmer, was born on September 24, 1928. He died on December 17, 2025, aged 97

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/giles-heron-xgs2kr0hg  

Colin posted news of his wife’s death in April 2020: https://groups.google.com/g/peerage-news/c/CZTXShMBvWQ/m/P8X_0-BqAQAJ