Life peerage for Sir Charles Elworthy

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32880, 1 April 1972, Page 1

Life peerage for Sir Charles Elworthy

(N.Z.PA. Staff Correspondent) LONDON, March 31. Sir Charles Elworthy, a former chief of Britain’s defence staff, whose elevation to a life peerage was announced yesterday, was born in New Zealand in 1911. He spent his early life in Timaru and came to Britain at the age of 12. In London only two previous New Zealand-born peers could be recalled—Lord Grey, who is the present British Governor in Northern Ireland, and the late Lord Rutherford, the famous atomic scientist. Sir Charles Elworthy—*Sam” to his friends—h« kept close association with New Zealand and visited it frequently during his 38 year career with the Royal Air Force. Lady Elworthy is also a New Zealander, having come to Britain in 1935. They have three sons and a daughter. After graduating from Cambridge, Sir Charles Elworthy was called to the

Bar in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, in 1935; but he bad learned to fly in Yorkshire in 1933 and, after joining the R.AF. reserve, he obtained a permanent commission in 1936. Sir Charles Elworthy served in the war as an air commodore with bomber command and was decorated for a series of missions beI tween January and April, i 1941. He was knighted in 1962 and became Chief of Air . Staff in 1963, relinquishing i the post in 1967 to become I chief of the Defence staff—- ; Britain's - top military post—i which he held until retirel ment in April of last year. i Sir Charles Elworthy is at present the Constable and . Governor of Windsor Castle,

besides holding directorships in several major firms including Plessy, 8.P., Rolls-Royce, British Oxygen, Lloyds Bank and the National Bank of New Zealand. He said yesterday that though he had spent only a short part of his life actually living in New Zealand, he had many continuing connections with the Dominion. “I’ve been back at least 20 times on visits and we have a host of family in New Zealand. My mother is there, as is a son, a brother and a sister.” Sir Charles Elworthy said that he considered his peerage to be "a very nice compliment to the services.”-He had not yet chosen his title but he expected it would be nothing more complicated than Lord Elworthy.