Jane Ewart-Biggs (1929-1992) was the wife of a murdered British ambassador and, later, a campaigner for peace in Northern Ireland. She was born Felicity Jane Randall in India, the daughter of a British Army major who died three months later. Randall returned to England and was educated in Berkshire. After leaving school she took a secretarial job at the British Foreign Office. There she met diplomat Christopher Ewart-Biggs, a World War II veteran who had lost an eye at the Battle of El Alamein. The pair were married in 1960. During the 1960s Christopher Ewart-Biggs served as a consul in strife torn Algeria, then in Belgium and France. In 1976 he was appointed British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland. Two weeks after arriving in Dublin Ewart-Biggs and his secretary were assassinated by a large landmine, planted by members of the Provisional IRA. Jane Ewart-Biggs learned of his death from a radio report while driving in London.
Ewart-Biggs appeared on Irish television shortly after her husband’s murder. Upset but composed, she told viewers that “I want something constructive to come out of my husband’s destruction”. With the help of public donations she established the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize, a cash award for a significant contribution to Irish culture and Anglo-Irish understanding. Ewart-Biggs joined the Peace People, which was emerging during this period, and was photographed marching alongside Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams. She also became politically active, joining the Labour Party and seeking election to the European Parliament and London Council. She was made a life peer in 1981, styling herself as Baroness Ewart-Biggs of Ellis Green. She became an outspoken and popular member of the House of Lords, speaking regularly on Ireland and serving for a time as Labour’s shadow spokesperson on home affairs.
Baroness Ewart-Biggs died in October 1992 after a brief battle with cancer.
© Alpha History 2017. Content on this page may not be republished or distributed without permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use.
This page was written by Jennifer Llewellyn and Steve Thompson. To reference this page, use the following citation:
J. Llewellyn & S. Thompson, “Jane Ewart-Biggs”, Alpha History, accessed [today’s date], https://alphahistory.com/northernireland/jane-ewart-biggs/.