William Henry Grenfell was born on 30 October 1855 in London. He was educated at Harrow and Balliol College, Oxford, where he excelled at sports. In 1880, he was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for Salisbury, and again in 1885, losing his seat the following year after a general election. In 1892, he won the seat for Hereford City but resigned in the same year in protest against William Gladstone's second Home Rule bill. Grenfell did not stand again until he won the Wycombe division of Buckinghamshire as a Conservative in 1900, a seat he held until 1905. He sat on numerous committees, including the London Chamber of Commerce, and served as president of the Olympic Games held in London in 1908. In 1905, he was created first Baron Desborough of Taplow and was knighted in 1908. From 1924 to 1929, he was captain of the Yeomen of the Guard. He died on 9 January 1945 at Panshanger, Hertford.
From the guide to the Baron Desborough of Taplow collection, 1914, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
