Geoffrey Freire Marreco

Geoffrey Freire Marreco was born on 25 February 1882 to Walter Freire Marreco and Gertrude Blechynden Waggert. His father Walter Marreco was a public accountant. The family had Portuguese ancestry through his grandfather Antonio Joaquim Freire Marreco (1787-1850).
Family
Marreco married Hilda Gwendoline Beaufoy Francis in Westminster, London, England on 5 December 1914.
They had one son Anthony Marreco. Also known as Tony Marreco, he was a barrister and took part in the Nuremberg trials as a junior counsel after the Second World War. He later became a founding director of Amnesty International with Peter Benenson.
Marreco lived at Port Hall, a large country house in the village of Porthall near Lifford in Co. Donegal, Ireland. Port Hall house is a five bay two story house built circa 1746 on the shores of the River Foyle. The house was built for Judge John Vaughan who was a Grand Juror for County Donegal. Lifford being the County Town of County Donegal was the seat of the Grand Jury sitting at Lifford Courthouse.
He had a sister Barbara Freire-Marreco; she was an English anthropologist and folklorist. She was also godmother to her nephew Anthony.
Geoffrey and Barbara were the only children of the family to grow to adulthood. The siblings had a fall out for unknown reasons and this rift lasted until their later years when the two had a 'tearful hugging reunion' according to his son Anthony.
In the 1920s Marreco worked as a liquidator with Marreco, Houseman and Brandon, at 10, New-court, Carey Street, London, he was involved with the winding up of companies under the Companies Acts, 1908 to 1917.
Military career
Marreco was promoted to temporary Lieutenant in the 6th Battalion of the Suffolk Volunteer Regiment on 1st September 1916. This was published in The London Gazette on 14th October 1916.
On 5th Feb 1920 he relinquished his commission and was granted the honorary rank of Lieutenant.
In 1950 he was again an officer, this time in the Territorial Army (Reserve of Officers) in Cornwall with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. His service number was 332800. On 1 April 1950 he was promoted to Lieutenant for service in the Army Cadet Force.
Marreco retired from the Army Cadets on 29th Sept. 1951 having exceeded the age limit.
Death
Marreco died at Port Hall on the 15 September 1965 aged 83.
An oil on canvas portrait image of Geoffrey Freire Marreco was painted by Guy Lipscomb in 1944.

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