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Related image(Alexander) Gavin Henderson, 2nd Baron Faringdon (20 March 1902 – 29 January 1977) was a British Labour politician. He was a member of the Hypocrites' Club.

He was the son of Lt-Col. the Hon. Harold Henderson and grew up in Shellingford. Henderson was sent to Eton College, then attended McGill University in Montreal, before graduating from Christ Church, Oxford, in 1924.[1] At Oxford he was part of the Hypocrites' Club.[2]

Described by David Cargill as a "roaring pansy", Henderson was known for his effeminate demeanour, once opening a speech in the House of Lords with the words "My dears" instead of "My Lords".[3] His marriage, to the Hon. Honor Chedworth Philipps (the daughter of Owen Philipps, 1st Baron Kylsant), lasted only four years (consecrated in 1927; annulled in 1931).[1]

He succeeded to the title of 2nd Baron Faringdon, and inherited the estate of Buscot Park from his grandfather Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon in 1934.[4] In early life he had been prominent among the bright young things,[5] but by the late 1930s had joined the Labour Party, and was a keen supporter of the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, after serving in a field hospital in Aragon in 1936. In 1938 he gave a home to 40 child evacuees from Spain, as well as to several other notable exiles, at his Oxfordshire estate.[6]

A noted pacifist, Faringdon served in the London Fire Brigade during World War II. Post-war he was a prominent member of the Fabian Society, and also served on the London County Council. He was elected as a councillor on 16 April 1958 for the Woolwich West division but was defeated by a Conservative at the 1961 election.[7][8] Following his defeat, he was appointed an alderman, a post he held until 1965.[9] He then served on the Greater London Council's Historic Buildings Committee.[4]

Gavin Henderson died in 1977 without issue, and was succeeded by his nephew Charles Michael Henderson as 3rd Baron Faringdon.[1]

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  1. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. 1 (107th ed.). Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. p. 1389.
  2. "AP The Anthony Powell Newsletter 65" (PDF). anthonypowell. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  3. Wheen, Francis (2001). Tom Driberg: The Soul of Indiscretion. London: Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins. p. 258. ISBN 1-84115-575-6.
  4. "Owners of the Buscot Park Estate". Buscot Park & The Faringdon Collection. 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  5. Johnson, Gaynor (May 2007) [2004]. "Henderson, (Alexander) Gavin, second Baron Faringdon (1902–1977)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31218. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  6. Murphy, Martin (September 2004). "The Exiles of Eaton Hastings" (PDF). Basque Children of ’37 Association Newsletter (2): 4–5.
  7. "London County Council Election Results. Many Labour Gains". The Times. 17 April 1958. p. 5.
  8. "London County Council Election Results. Labour Retain Control". The Times. 14 April 1961. p. 8.
  9. Jackson, William Eric (1965). Achievement: A Short History of the London County Council. Longmans. p. 262.