Frank Byers

Who was Frank Byers?

Charles Frank Byers, Baron Byers, OBE, PC, DL was a British Liberal Party politician.

Byers was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, moved with the family to Potters Bar and was educated at Westminster School, followed by Christ Church, Oxford, where he won a Blue for athletics. At Oxford he was president of the Union of Liberal Students and president of the University Liberal Club. His treasurer was Harold Wilson, later Labour Party prime minister. He was also an Exchange Scholar at Milton Academy, Massachusetts. While at the University of Oxford, where he gained his Degree in PPE, he met Joan Oliver, whom he married in 1939. They had a son and three daughters. Joan Oliver was a committed Liberal in her own right and was a constant help to her husband during his political career. Byers joined Grays Inn after university but broke off his legal education to enlist. During World War II, Byers served in the Royal Artillery, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and for a time serving on Field Marshal Montgomery's staff. He was mentioned in dispatches three times, was created a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, was awarded the Croix de Guerre and in 1944 was made an OBE.