BARSTOW
,
Sir
GEORGE LEWIS
, (
1874
-
1966
),
civil servant, president of University College Swansea
.
Born
20 May 1874
in
India
, the son of
Henry Clements
Barstow
, a
civil servant
, and
Cecilia Clementina
Baillie
. The
Barstows
were long-established and prominent
merchants
in
York
. Following his marriage to the only daughter of
Sir
Alfred Tristram
Lawrence
,
1st Baron Trevethin
,
George
Barstow
established a home near
Builth
and a connection with
Wales
.
Barstow
graduated from
Emmanuel College
,
Cambridge
, in
1895-96
with first class in both parts of the classical tripos and then
entered the civil service
. In
1898
, he joined the
Treasury
where he was involved, before
World War I
, in the
conversion of the Navy from coal to oil fuel
. During the war and up to
1927
,
Barstow
was responsible within the
Treasury
for supply. In
1927
, he was appointed the
government director
of the
Anglo-Persian Oil Company
. He was also a
director
of the
Midland Bank
and
Chairman
of the
Prudential Assurance Company
.
In
Wales
,
Barstow
took a special interest in the
Church in Wales
and in higher education. He was principally
responsible for reorganising the finances
of the recently founded
Church in Wales
and for addressing its
financial administration
. He was a
governor
of
Christ College Brecon
and
President
of
University College Swansea
from
1929 to 1955
. Appointed
C.B.
in
1913
,
Barstow
was
knighted
in
1920
. The
University of Wales
awarded him an honorary
LL.D.
in
1937
.
In
1904
,
Barstow
m.
Enid Lilian
Lawrence
and they had two sons and a daughter. He d. at his home,
Chapel House
,
Builth
, on
29 Jan. 1966
.
Bibliography:
-
Who was who?
;
-
Who's who in Wales
1921
and
1937
;
-
Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography
,
1961-70
.
Author:
Evan David Jones, F.S.A., (1903-87), Aberystwyth
