A Service of Thanksgiving for the life and work of the Rt Hon the Lord Carr of Hadley

21st June 2012 at 12:00 pm

A Service of Thanksgiving for the life and work of the Rt Hon the Lord Carr of Hadley was held in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey, at noon on Thursday 21st June 2012.

Leonard Robert Carr, Baron Carr of Hadley, was born on the 11th November 1916. He was educated at Westminster School and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he read Natural Sciences, graduating in 1938. After graduation he worked in metallurgy at John Dale & Co, the family metal engineering firm, and later became a director of Metal Closures.

In 1950 Lord Carr was elected Member of Parliament for Mitcham for the Conservative Party. He served as a Member of Parliament for Mitcham and Carshalton until 1976, after which he became a member of the House of Lords. He was appointed Secretary of State for Employment in Edward Heath’s Government and was responsible for the Industrial Relations Act 1971.

During his political career he also held the posts of Secretary of State for Technical Cooperation, Lord President of the Council, Leader of the House of Commons and Home Secretary.

Carr developed his business interests after retiring from the House of Commons. He was a director of Cadbury-Schweppes (1979-87), Securicor (1974-85), and the Prudential Assurance Company (1976-85).

He was involved in many other organisations, and was chair of Business in the Community (1984-97,) president of Surrey Cricket Club (1985-86) and a vice president of the AELTC; his involvement at Wimbledon went back to his time as an umpire there after leaving university.

He headed an Arts Council committee to coordinate touring opera companies in 1978 and in 1985 he was elected a Fellow at Imperial College, where he served on the governing body.

Lord Carr died on 17th February 2012 at the age of 95. He is survived by his wife, Lady Joan Carr, who he married in 1943, and their two daughters. Their son died in a road accident in 1965.