Special London service for lord

Westminster church to host event to remember baron

A service of thanksgiving for Angus peer Lord Charles Lyell is to be held in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey next month.

The third Baron Lyell, he passed away in January this year aged 77.

He was fondly remembered at a funeral service in Kirriemuir’s Old Parish Church, during which a packed congregation heard of the unique character of the Eton-educated former Conservative whip in the House of Lords in a eulogy delivered by lifelong friend, Lord Glenarthur.

The congregation included figures from politics and the Angus community which Lord Lyell held close to his heart, having spent his life at Kinnordy House on the outskirts of Kirriemuir.

Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, he was made a House of Lords whip on the formation of the 1979 Conservative government.

He also served in the Northern Ireland Office as a parliamentary Under Secretary of State and with the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999 was then elected as one of the 92 hereditary peers to remain in the house.

The barony became extinct on his passing.

He had a broad range of interests from skiing and swimming to sports cars, as well as being a follower of both Forfar Athletic and Everton.

Tickets for the service are available at www.eventbrite.co.uk, or via a stamped addressed envelope to Mr M Arnoldi, Room 2, 20 Dean’s Yard, London SW1P 3PA. Tickets will be posted by June 16.

Lord Charles Lyell, the Third Baron Lyell, died in January.