Bruce Anderson

A tribute to Baroness Trumpington: the funniest woman in the House of Lords

Baroness Trumpington has died at the age of 96. In February last year, Bruce Anderson paid tribute to her here:

To the Western Isles, or at least to its embassy in Belgravia. Boisdale restaurant always claims to be extra-territorial. There was an awards ceremony, and the principal recipient was a remarkable old girl. Ninety-four years into an extraordinarily diverse life, Jean Trumpington is one of the funniest people I have ever met. She is also one of the bravest. She was born in easy circumstances, a child of the affluent upper middle classes, and the first disruption occurred when her mother lost a lot of money in the Great Crash. Her family did not exactly become poor, but she had her first lesson in adversity, and on the unwisdom of taking anything for granted.

At the beginning of the war, she set off to be a land-girl on David Lloyd George’s farm. She is now the sole survivor of the various females whom the old goat chased around his fields. Then came code-breaking at Bletchley Park. Jean had the right attitude to the war. When on duty, hard work in the national interest; when off duty, hard play in the interests of fun. Air raids merely spiced up the merriment. Under wartime restrictions, restaurants were not allowed to charge more than five bob for dinner. That made the Ritz a bargain. Jean enjoyed herself.

After the war, she escaped Attlee’s austerity by moving to New York: a lot more fun. She returned to England with a husband, Alan Barker, one of the foremost schoolmasters of his generation. By the time he was 50, he was a headmaster, apparently assured of all the glories that beak-dom could offer. It seemed inevitable that he would become a chairman of various public bodies, a lauded recipient of honours and emoluments.

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