Adrian Foley, 8th Baron Foley
Adrian Gerald Foley, 8th Baron Foley (9 August 1923 – 12 February 2012), was a British hereditary peer, composer and pianist. Upon the death of his father, Gerald Foley, 7th Baron Foley, in 1927, Foley succeeded to his title at the age of three. He wrote London I Cannot Leave You (1940) at the age of 17, having spent his childhood in Eastbourne.
Also recorded as Adrian Gerald Foley, 8th Baron Foley of Kidderminster · Adrian Gerald Foley, 8th Baron Foley · Adrian Gerald Foley · Adrian Foley
Adrian Foley, 8th Baron Foley

Bassano Ltd · Public domain
- Name
- The Lord Foley
- Birth Name
- Adrian Gerald Foley
- Born
- 9 August 1923
- Died
- 12 February 2012
- Nationality
- United Kingdom · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Occupation
- politician · pianist · composer
- Languages
- English
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Adrian Gerald Foley, 8th Baron Foley (9 August 1923 – 12 February 2012), was a British hereditary peer, composer and pianist. Upon the death of his father, Gerald Foley, 7th Baron Foley, in 1927, Foley succeeded to his title at the age of three. He wrote London I Cannot Leave You (1940) at the age of 17, having spent his childhood in Eastbourne.
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wikidata · Q336186 · wikipedia · Adrian Foley, 8th Baron Foley
In this article
Biography
Biography
In 1942, he supported Britain's Soviet ally with the composition of the song, "Wishing You Well, Mr Stalin". He composed music for the films Piccadilly Incident (1946) and Bond Street (1947). He appeared on an episode of the American game show To Tell the Truth in 1957.
Key facts
Key facts
• Honorific Prefix — The Right Honourable • Name — The Lord Foley • Office — Member of the House of Lords • Status — Lord Temporal • Term Start — 31 January 1945 • Predecessor — The 7th Baron Foley • Term End — 11 November 1999 as a hereditary peer • Successor — Seat abolished • Party — Crossbench • Birth Name — Adrian Gerald Foley • Born — 9 August 1923 • Died — 12 February 2012 • Children — 2
Personal life
Personal life
In 1958, he met a wealthy American heiress, Patricia Meek, née Zoellner, during a stage production of Jane Eyre, produced by Huntington Hartford in New York City. On 23 December 1958, the couple married. They had two children: Alexandra Mary (born 1960) and Thomas Henry (born 1961), before divorcing in 1971. In 1972, he married another wealthy heiress, Ghislaine (née Dresselhuys; former wife of both the 6th Earl of Caledon and the 4th Baron Ashcombe), the only daughter of Dutch-born Long Island resident and former Consul of the Netherlands in London, Cornelius William Dresselhuys and Edith Merandon du Plessis. His second wife died in 2000. On 15 December 2003, he married his third wife, Hannah Steinberg, a member of the Wolfson family.
Death
Death
Lord Foley enjoyed golf and maintained properties near to the golfing areas of the Andalusian region of Spain for several decades. He owned property in Belgravia, London, and lived in retirement near Marbella until his death in Kidderminster in 2012, aged 88.
Places
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Places
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London.
Birth place
Kidderminster.
Death place
Citations
References
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reference work
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 20 August 2026.
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