John Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles


John Dawson Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles, is a British Conservative peer and businessman. He is one of the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999.

Background and education

The son of the 1st Viscount Eccles and Sybil Dawson, he was educated at Winchester College and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, politics and economics in 1954. He served in the 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps, reaching the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.

Political career

In 1985, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire ; and since 1989 a DSc. On 24 February 1999, he entered his inheritance. Lord Eccles entered the House of Lords upon its reform; however, due to the House of Lords Act, he was soon obliged to vacate his position in the House. He was later invited to election as one of the 92 remaining hereditary peers in a by-election forced by the death of the 4th Baron Aberdare, and returned to the House in 2005.

Directorships and similar

Lord Eccles married Diana Catherine Sturge 29 January 1955, in Bletchingley, Surrey. They have four children:
Viscountess Eccles was created a life peer in her own right in 1990 as Baroness Eccles of Moulton, and so also sits in the House of Lords. They are one of the few couples who both hold titles in their own right.

Arms