Born in
Edmonton, Middlesex, Lewis was the only son of the first
Lord Essendon, the shipping magnate, by his wife Eleanor (died 1967), daughter of R. H. Harrison of
West Hartlepool. In 1938, Lewis married Mary Duffil, widow of Albert Duffil, daughter of G. W. Booker of
Los Angeles. Educated at
Malvern, and
Pembroke College, Cambridge, Lewis was a Director of
Furness Withy (the family shipping firm), Barry Aikman Travel Ltd and Godfrey Davis & Co Ltd. Lewis raced
Frazer Nashes in England in the 1920s and entered a private Maserati 8CM at the
Swiss Grand Prix 1935. As
The Times put it in 1978: :'Along with a distinguished band that included
Lord Howe, Sir
Henry Birkin, and the
Earl of March, later the Duke of Richmond, he was one of a bunch of titled and talented amateurs who did much for the image of British motor racing in the 1920s and 1930s, albeit mainly at the wheel of foreign cars.' In 1930, along with noted pilot
Charles Barnard, Lewis founded Brian Lewis and C.D. Barnard Ltd as aircraft dealers, becoming the main UK agent for
de Havilland. In 1931 the company became Brian Lewis and Company Ltd and merged with
Selfridges Aviation Department, declaring itself as “The largest retailers in the world”. Based at
Heston Aerodrome in
Middlesex, the company expanded to
Hooton Park Aerodrome,
Liverpool and later to
Renfrew Airport,
Glasgow and
Ipswich. It later moved from Heston to
Elstree Aerodrome, then known as Aldenham. In the late 1930s, Lewis was a motoring correspondent of the
News Chronicle and a President of the
Guild of Motoring Writers. Lord Essendon succeeded his father in the peerage and barony in 1944. His main recreation was
golf. He was a member of the
Bath Club in London. Lewis lived in London and at Avenue Eglantine 5,
Lausanne, Switzerland. He died in Lausanne, Switzerland. == Motorsports career results ==