Edward Baldwin, 4th Earl Baldwin Of Bewdley

Edward Alfred Alexander Baldwin, the 4th Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, was born on January 3, 1938. He was the only child of Arthur Baldwin, the 3rd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, and Joan Elspeth Tomes (1901–1980). His paternal lineage included his grandfather Stanley Baldwin, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times, and his grandmother Lucy Baldwin. His maternal grandparents were Harriot Hancock Tomes and Charles Alexander Tomes, an American-born merchant associated with Shewan, Tomes & Co., in the Far East.

Baldwin received education at Eton College and subsequently studied modern languages and law at Trinity College, Cambridge. Prior to his university education, he served as a second lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps from 1956 to 1958.

In his professional career, Baldwin worked in education, initially as a school teacher specializing in German and French from 1970 to 1987. He later served as the Area Education Officer for Oxfordshire from 1980 to 1987.

He inherited his peerage following his father's death in 1976, becoming a member of the House of Lords. He was among the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain after the House of Lords Act 1999. Baldwin sat as a crossbencher until his retirement under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 in May 2018.

Baldwin was actively involved in organizations related to alternative medicine. From 1990 to 1998, he served as Chairman of the British Acupuncture Accreditation Board and was joint chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Alternative and Complementary Medicine from 1992 to 2002. He participated in the Select Committee of Inquiry into Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2000. Between 2005 and 2010, he was joint chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group Against Fluoridation, and he also served as Secretary of the Associate Parliamentary Food and Health Forum.

He engaged in efforts to rehabilitate the reputation of his grandfather, Stanley Baldwin, especially criticizing portrayals that he considered misrepresentations, such as in the film "The King's Speech." Baldwin expressed dissatisfaction with its historical accuracy and its depiction of his grandfather.

In his personal life, Baldwin married Sarah MacMurray in 1970, whom he met through her family from Upwood Park, Abingdon, Berkshire. They resided at Manor Farm House, Upper Wolvercote, Oxford. The couple had three sons: Benedict Alexander Stanley Baldwin, born on December 28, 1973, who became the 5th Earl Baldwin of Bewdley; Hon. James Conrad Baldwin, born on March 13, 1976; and Hon. Mark Thomas Maitland Baldwin, born on July 24, 1980. Sarah Baldwin died in 2001.

In 2015, Baldwin married Lydia Segrave, a sculptor and the widow of economist Ian Little. Baldwin was a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club and resided in Cumnor Hill, near Oxford. He passed away on June 16, 2021, at the age of 83. His eldest son, Benedict, succeeded him as the Earl Baldwin of Bewdley.

He was involved in scholarly work, notably as an editor of "Baldwin Papers: A Conservative Statesman, 1908–1947," published by the University of Durham in 2004 (ISBN 978-0-521-58080-9).

There are recorded contributions by Baldwin in Parliament, available through Hansard from 1803 to 2005.