Obituary: 5th Baron Monkswell 1947-2020

_. Lord Monkswell, the 5th Baron, who died 12 July, 2020, aged 73, was a Labour hereditary peer until he lost his seat in the House of Lords in 1999.

Gerard Collier was born 28 January, 1947, son of William Adrian Larry Collier [1913-1984], by his second wife the former Helen Dunbar. His father succeeded to the barony of Monkswell on the death of his uncle, the 3rd Baron, 14 Jan, 1964, and disclaimed the peerage for life, 7 April, 1964.

Gerard Collier succeeded as 5th Baron on his father's death, 27 July, 1984, and sat as a Labour peer in the upper house until Tony Blair axed the hereditary element in 1999. Lord Monkswell failed on several occasions to be elected to the Lords.

He was educated at Portsmouth Polytechnic [BSc, Mech Eng, 1971]., and Slough Polytechnic [Cert in Works Management, 1972]; Massey Ferguson Manufacturing Co Ltd: Product Quality Engineer, 1972; Service Administration Manager, 1984-89; a Labour Member of Manchester City Council, 1989-94; &c.

He married in 1974, Ann Valerie Collins, who survives him, together with two sons and a daughter. The elder son, the Hon James Adrian Collier, who was born 29 March, 1977, now succeeds as 6th Baron Monkswell.

-=-