Evening star., 1955-04-08
Second Of o Series

Although capable OF ouCpurSts
of temper at home or IN his
Second Of q Series
office, Anthony was unfailingly
polite and urbane in company.
on the public platform or in the
House of Commons. His self
control was almost too complete.
This was not at all like his
father, Sir William Eden, sew
enth baronet of West Auckland,
country gentleman. artist, anna
teur boxer, ardent hunter and
gardener. Sir William is re-
membered as a man who could
be magnificently angry.
Defies Barometer
The anecdote most often told
of Sir William relates to the day
it rained when he wanted to
20 hunting. But the barometer
in the hall of Windlestone stood
at "fair" and no amount Of tap
ping on the glass would make 1t
change its mind. Infuriated
with the perverse instrument,
Sir william ripped it from the
wall and threw it out into the
storm with the remark:
There, see for yourself, you
bloody fool!"
So there is plenty of fire in the
Eden background. But it is said
that son Anthony tried deliber-
ately-and with great success
to suppress the family temper In
public. In his earlier days as
Foreign Secretary it used to come
to the surface occasionally with
in the walls of the Foreign ONCE.
He has been known to hurl a
book across q room. or throw an
unsatisfactory document at the
head OF blundering junior, but
1t doesn't happen any more. The
balanced mood has become Sir
Anthony Eden's essential nature.
Sir Anthony Eden was born at
Windlestone June IL, 1897. His
mother, Lady Sybil Frances Grey
Eden, called him "the quiet one"
of her sons. The baronetcy in
the family passed on to his older
brother, Sir Timothy, who con-
ducts a school in Hampshire.
Sir Anthony Eden was reared
In the solid and secure England
of the century's early years, sur
rounded by the amenities Of fine
living-a stately home with a
park for a front yard, pictures,
Hepplewhite and Sheraton furni-
ture and cultured society.
Got Every Advantage
The fierce father with the red
beard often lectured sternly, but
gave his sons every possible ad-
vantage. Anthony went first to
the smart Sandroyd school. Then
he went to a smarter place. Eton,
and after service in the war COM
pleted his education at Christ
Church, oxford. The emphasis
was on Oriental languages, and
his scholarship was so brilliant
that one of his oxford tutors pre-
dicted, "he will be Foreign Secre-
tary by the time he is 40." Sir
Anthony made it at 38.
A gentle influence in his for
native years was his mother
The late Lady Eden, Red Cross
nurse in the first World War, was
an understanding woman who
knew how to shield her "quiet
one" from the tempests stirred
up by Sir william.
After the war, in which he
served with distinction as an
officer of the Kings Royal Rifle
Corps, Sir Anthony considered
a military career. There were
many soldiers in the family al
we'll as bishops. diplomats and
members of Parliament. One an
cestor, Sir Robert Eden, was
Governor of the American colony
of Maryland before the Revolu-
tionary War.
But politics was the greater
attraction. Sir Anthony started
with a reverse. defeated in 1927
as a candidate for Parliament
from his own Durham County
He wiped out that defeat the
next year, winning election tt
the House of Commons from thu
Warwick and bennington con.
stituency. It has changed 1t.
shape somewhat, but he has rep.
resented the district ever since
Except for the first false start
he has never suffered q defeat
at the polls, and his majoritie.
grew steadily.
He was married in the crucia,
days of the 1923 political cam
paign to Beatrice Beckett, at.
tractive daughter Of Banker Sil
Gervase Beckett, who was also 9
director of the Yorkshire Post
The bride helped Sir Anthony
in that early political campaign
and at first seemed the idea
wife of man deeply immersed
in Y,iih1ic affoirs
Conflict Of Interests
But her interest tagged quick.
ly and the Eden home soon wa,
temperamentally divided - sht
preferring bright social life
MI, ,x.,... ,.u,... -: 1.