REA, Rt Hon 3rd Baron (1928 - 2020)

[Henry W]

From Hansard:

The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler): My Lords, I regret to inform the House of the death of the noble Lord, Lord Rea, on 1 June. On behalf of the House, I extend our very sincere condolences to the noble Lord’s family and friends.

(John) Nicholas REA, 3rd Baron REA was the eldest son of the Hon James Russell REA (1902-54), second son of 1st Baron REA (1873 - 1948), and Betty Marion BEVAN (died 1965).

He m 1stly 1951 (div 1991) Elizabeth Anne ROBINSON and with her had 4 sons. He m 2ndly 1991 Judith Mary POWELL, no issue.  He also had 2 dau out of wedlock. He succeeded to the Peerage in 1982 on the death of his uncle, the 2nd Baron REA.

His eldest son succeeds him: Matthew James REA, 4th Baron REA (born 1956), m 1992 Jenny HASLAM, and has issue 1 son (born 1991) and 1 dau.

He was an elected hereditary peer since 1999, sitting amongst the few Labour hereditaries.

[bx...@yahoo.com]

The only son of the new baron is not in remainder.

He was born in 1991, and his parents married in 1992.

The heir presumptive should be the baron's  next brother, Daniel William (b. 1958).

He is married  to Rebecca, the youngest daughter of Lord Llewelyn-Davies.

They have 3 sons, including  the eldest, William Alexander, b. Oct 8, 1991, who is next in the line of succession.

Brooke

[www.maltagenealogy.com]

Updated.

[colinp]

Obit in Daily Telegraph 4 June 2020 - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2020/06/03/lord-rea-london-gp-hereditary-peer-spoke-labour-lords-obituary/

EXTRACTS

The 3rd Lord Rea, who has died aged 91, was a North London GP who used his hereditary membership of the House of Lords to promote his concerns about public health – and especially smoking – and was briefly a Labour front-bench spokesman.

John Nicolas Rea was born on June 6 1928 to James Rea, second son of the 1st Baron, and the former Betty Bevan. He was educated at Dartington Hall; Belmont Hill school, Massachusetts, in wartime; Dauntsey’s; and Christ’s College, Cambridge, where he took his MD. He trained at University College Hospital in Public Health and Obstetrics.

Rea took his seat in the Lords – and the Labour whip – in 1982, the year after succeeding his uncle, a merchant banker and Liberal leader in the upper house. Keeping up his practice, he found that being a peer enabled him to highlight medical issues, notably the need to prevent heart disease. For relaxation, he played the bassoon.

In 1992, as Rea was winding down his practice, John Smith brought him on to the front bench as spokesman on health, development and co-operation. His age impeded him from joining Tony Blair’s government, but when the upper house was reformed in 1999, he was one of the Labour hereditaries elected by colleagues to continue.

He was chairman of the Parliamentary Food and Health Forum, and of Healthlink Worldwide, formerly the Appropriate Health Resources and Technology Action Group.

Rea married Elizabeth Robinson in 1951; they had four sons and two daughters. The marriage was dissolved in 1991, in which year he married Judith Powell. He is succeeded as 4th Baron by his eldest son Matthew Rea.

The 3rd Lord Rea, born June 6 1928, died June 1 2020