Herbert Austin, 1st Baron Austin

The son of a farmer, he was born in Little Missenden, Buckinghamshire in South East England, but the family moved to Wentworth Woodhouse, near Rotherham, Yorkshire in 1870 when his father was appointed farm bailiff. Herbert Austin first went to the village school, later continuing his education at Rotherham Grammar School.

In 1884, he emigrated to Australia, travelling with a maternal uncle, who lived in Melbourne but had recently returned to England on a family visit. They travelled to Australia by ship, via the Cape.

From 1918 to 1924, Austin served as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham King's Norton but never made a speech in the House of Commons. In 1936, he was created Baron Austin, of Longbridge in the City of Birmingham. In 1937, he received a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from the University of Birmingham.

Lord Austin died from a heart attack and a bout of pneumonia. His only son Vernon had been killed in action in France in 1915 and the peerage became extinct upon his death. He and his wife also had two daughters, Irene (later to become Mrs. Waite) and Zeta (later to become Mrs. Lambert).

He was buried with his wife Helen, Lady Austin in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Lickey, near his former home at Lickey Grange and the factory at Longbridge, close to both Bromsgrove and Birmingham.