Guy Justus Oscar Farage was a British City of London stockbroker born in Bromley, south-east London, in November 1935, and is best known as the father of politician Nigel Farage. Described by biographer Michael Crick as the “flamboyantly named Guy Justus Oscar Farage,” he was a well-known figure on the Stock Exchange floor, renowned for his Savile Row suits and polished presence. His life traced an arc from post-war financial ambition through personal struggle and eventual reinvention before his death in 2001.
TL;DR
- Guy Justus Oscar Farage, British stockbroker born November 1935 in Bromley, London, widely regarded as the best-dressed man on the Stock Exchange.
- Father of politician Nigel Farage, born 1964; married Barbara Stevens in 1963, divorced 1969; remarried Carol Hyatt in 1980.
- Battled alcoholism in the late 1960s, left the family home circa 1969, quit drinking circa 1971, and returned to trading at the new Stock Exchange Tower in Threadneedle Street in 1972.
- Later transitioned into the antiques trade and co-founded a military museum for the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry.
- Held a corporate directorship in COEPTUS 2008 LLP, registered in Kent; died in 2001.
Quick Bio
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Guy Justus Oscar Farage |
| Known As | Guy Farage |
| Date of Birth | November 1935 |
| Date of Death | 2001 |
| Birthplace | Bromley, south-east London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | British; French Huguenot and German ancestry |
| Religion | Not publicly disclosed |
| Education | Not publicly disclosed; completed National Service |
| Profession | Stockbroker; antiques dealer; military museum co-founder |
| Active Since | 1950s (City of London) |
| Employer / Organisation | London Stock Exchange; COEPTUS 2008 LLP (Kent) |
| Height | Not publicly disclosed (described as shorter than Nigel) |
| Relationship Status | Married Barbara Stevens (1963, divorced 1969); remarried Carol Hyatt (1980) |
| Children | Nigel Farage (b. 1964) and Andrew Farage |
| Net Worth | Not publicly disclosed (estimated) |
Who is Guy Justus Oscar Farage?
Guy Justus Oscar Farage was a British stockbroker who spent the better part of four decades in the City of London, and is best remembered as the father of Nigel Farage, the politician who drove Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Born in Bromley in November 1935, Guy was the son of Harry Farage, a stockbroker’s clerk who had worked in the trade for roughly forty years before retiring around 1950. The family had deep roots in south-east London and suburban Kent, with three successive generations travelling by train into the City each day. Guy followed that path into stockbroking and established himself as a well-regarded presence on the trading floor during the 1950s and 1960s, known among peers for his elegance and self-assurance.
Michael Crick’s biography of Nigel Farage, published in 2022, provides the most authoritative portrait of Guy, describing him as the “flamboyantly named Guy Justus Oscar Farage,” a dapper figure whose stockbroker father background placed him squarely within the City establishment. Nigel himself later recalled his father as “the best-dressed man on the Stock Exchange at that time,” a man who favoured expensive pin-stripe suits from Savile Row, handmade and highly polished shoes, silk ties, a bowler hat, and umbrella. Guy’s distinctive three-part name, with its continental resonance, reflected his family’s French Huguenot and German ancestry.
Early Life and Background
Childhood and Family
Guy Justus Oscar Farage was born in Bromley, south-east London, in November 1935 to Harry Farage and Gladys Victoria Schrod.
Harry Farage, Guy’s father, had begun his working life as a stockbroker’s clerk by the 1911 census and remained in the business for roughly forty years. Gladys Victoria Schrod carried German lineage through the Schrod family, German immigrants who had arrived in London from the Frankfurt area around 1861. This blend of French Huguenot and German ancestry on either side of the family tree gave the Farage name its distinctly continental flavour, a biographical irony that biographers and journalists would later note given Nigel Farage’s career as a leading voice against European integration.
Guy grew up during the Second World War and its immediate aftermath, completing his National Service before entering civilian professional life. He also served as a Territorial Army officer, a fact that later contributed to his involvement in co-founding a military museum dedicated to the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry. His formative years in post-war Bromley set the stage for a conventional but ambitious entry into the City.
Education
Specific details of Guy Farage’s schooling have not been publicly documented, though his trajectory into the City of London followed a typical route for a middle-class south-east London family of the mid-20th century.
Guy completed his National Service and served as a Territorial Army officer before entering stockbroking, a career path that followed his father Harry’s long involvement in the same industry. His Territorial Army service and later co-founding of a regimental museum reflect an organised, institutional dimension to his character beyond the trading floor. Formal educational records have not entered the public domain.
Career Journey
Before Fame
Before establishing himself on the Stock Exchange floor, Guy Farage followed his father Harry into the City of London financial world, entering stockbroking in the 1950s during a period of post-war economic recovery.
The City in the 1950s and 1960s was a world of gentlemen brokers, long working days, and an intense social culture built around relationships, reputation, and personal style. Guy fitted naturally into this environment. He developed a professional persona marked by self-confidence and sartorial distinction that made him memorable to colleagues and clients alike. Nigel Farage later recalled his father inspiring an interest in collecting butterflies and moths, reflecting a personality with curiosity and aesthetic sensibility beyond the trading floor.
How Guy Farage Got Started
Guy Farage entered the stockbroking profession following his father’s footsteps and quickly distinguished himself through his polished presence and networking ability in the City.
By the early 1960s, Guy was an established figure on the London Stock Exchange. He married Barbara Stevens in 1963 and the couple settled in the Downe area of Kent, where Nigel Farage was born on 3 April 1964. A second son, Andrew, followed. The family lived a comfortable suburban life supported by Guy’s income as a broker. His reputation on the floor was that of a natural salesman: charming, articulate, and instinctively good at reading people, qualities that Nigel would later replicate to considerable effect in political life.
Breakthrough Moment
Guy Farage’s professional peak came during the 1960s, when he was regarded among colleagues as the best-dressed man on the Stock Exchange, a reputation that underpinned his social standing in City circles.
His Savile Row suits, handmade shoes, silk ties, bowler hat, and umbrella were not merely affectations: they signalled membership of a particular professional class and helped build the client trust on which successful brokerage depended. Guy was known for storytelling and social confidence, traits that made him as comfortable at a long City lunch as on the trading floor. His career during this period reflected the wider prosperity of the Square Mile during Britain’s post-war boom years.
Career Today
Guy Farage spent his later years in Kent, involved in modest business ventures including COEPTUS 2008 LLP, before his death in 2001.
After his return to the trading floor in 1972 at the new Stock Exchange Tower on Threadneedle Street, Guy continued in a reduced capacity compared to his earlier years. He eventually moved away from the City entirely and diversified into the antiques trade, a pursuit that blended his eye for quality with a more relaxed commercial environment. In his later life he co-founded a military museum for the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry, reflecting his Territorial Army background. Companies House records confirm his membership of COEPTUS 2008 LLP in Kent, appointed 15 April 2008, though this appears posthumously recorded or relates to a residual filing. Guy died in 2001.
Criminal Record and Legal History
No credible legal record exists against Guy Justus Oscar Farage; claims circulating online about tax evasion or imprisonment are unsubstantiated and contradicted by all verified biographical sources.
Speculation about legal troubles has surfaced periodically in online commentary, typically in the context of political criticism directed at his son Nigel. However, no court records, named news reports, or credible biographical sources document any criminal charge, conviction, or imprisonment involving Guy Farage. Michael Crick’s biography, the most thoroughly researched account of the Farage family, references no such matters. The verified record shows a man whose difficulties were personal rather than legal: alcoholism, family separation, and career disruption, followed by recovery and reinvention.
Net Worth and Income Streams
Guy Farage’s net worth was never publicly disclosed; his income derived from stockbroking, the antiques trade, and small business ventures in Kent.
| Income Stream | Estimated Contribution | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| City of London stockbroking | Primary (1950s to late 1960s) | Senior broker; London Stock Exchange; Savile Row lifestyle suggests comfortable earnings |
| Return to trading floor (1972) | Secondary | Re-entered at new Stock Exchange Tower, Threadneedle Street, in a reduced capacity |
| Antiques trade; COEPTUS 2008 LLP (Kent) | Later years | Modest business activity in Kent; LLP directorship recorded at Companies House |
Physical Appearance
Height and Body Stats
Guy Farage was described as shorter in stature than his son Nigel, but bearing a striking physical resemblance to him, and was always impeccably dressed.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Height | Not publicly disclosed (shorter than Nigel Farage) |
| Weight | Not publicly disclosed |
| Eye Colour | Not publicly disclosed |
| Hair Colour | Not publicly disclosed |
Personal Life
Relationships
Guy Farage married Barbara Stevens in 1963 and the couple divorced in 1969; he remarried Carol Hyatt in 1980.
Barbara Stevens was five years younger than Guy, a shorthand typist from a Kent family with a strong Metropolitan Police CID background: her father Robert was a detective superintendent at retirement, having specialised in murder and fraud cases. The marriage produced two sons, Nigel and Andrew. Guy left the family home around 1969, when Nigel was approximately five years old. Barbara later resumed her maiden name, Stevens, and remarried Richard Tubb around 1970. Guy, having quit drinking circa 1971, remarried in 1980 to Carol Hyatt. A 2012 BBC Radio 4 profile of the Farage family confirmed the broad outline of these events.
Family
Guy Farage’s two sons from his first marriage are Nigel Paul Farage, born 3 April 1964, and Andrew Farage.
Nigel Farage served as leader of UKIP twice, co-founded the Brexit Party in 2018 (later renamed Reform UK), and was the central public figure behind the 2016 Brexit referendum. He was elected to Parliament for Clacton at the 2024 general election. Guy’s family lineage on his maternal side traces back to the Schrod family of Frankfurt, Germany, who emigrated to London around 1861, while the Farage surname itself carries French Huguenot origins. Guy’s parents Harry Farage and Gladys Schrod married in Bromley in 1927. Guy also co-founded a military museum for the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry in his later years, a project reflecting his Territorial Army service and personal commitment to regimental heritage.
Achievements and Milestones
- Established himself as a well-regarded stockbroker on the London Stock Exchange during the 1950s and 1960s, with a reputation among peers as the best-dressed man on the floor.
- Completed National Service and served as a Territorial Army officer, later co-founding a military museum dedicated to the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry.
- Overcame alcoholism and returned to the trading floor at the new Stock Exchange Tower on Threadneedle Street in 1972, endorsed by colleagues.
- Transitioned into the antiques trade after leaving the City, demonstrating adaptability across professional fields.
- Father of Nigel Farage, one of the most influential British political figures of the 21st century and the central architect of Brexit.
- Recorded as a member of COEPTUS 2008 LLP in Kent, reflecting continued modest business involvement into his later years.
Interesting Facts About Guy Justus Oscar Farage
- Guy’s distinctive three-part name, Guy Justus Oscar, reflects the continental European heritage on his mother’s side: his maternal grandmother was Gladys Schrod, daughter of German immigrants from the Frankfurt area who arrived in London around 1861.
- The Farage surname is believed to derive from French Huguenot ancestry: Protestant families who fled religious persecution and settled in England, with the name passing through variants including Feridg and Ferridge before becoming Farage.
- Guy was described by biographer Michael Crick as “the best-dressed man on the Stock Exchange” during his City years, favouring Savile Row pin-stripe suits, handmade shoes, silk ties, a bowler hat, and umbrella.
- He inspired in young Nigel a love of collecting butterflies and moths, and the Farage family home in Downe, Kent, was near Darwin’s Down House, where Nigel spent time foraging for clay pipes, coloured glass, and pottery fragments.
- Three generations of the Farage family worked in or around the City of London stockbroking world: grandfather Harry (clerk), Guy (broker), and Nigel’s entry into the London Metal Exchange in 1982 made it four.
- Despite being the father of one of Britain’s most publicly prominent politicians, Guy left no public statement, interview, or memoir in the record; virtually everything known about his personality derives from accounts in Nigel’s biographical sources.
Read About
- Simon Anthony Blackburn biography
- Rachel Kinnock, daughter of Neil Kinnock
- Jon Aitchison, Charli XCX’s father
- Tim Aitchison, June Whitfield’s husband
- Hellen Chin Fo Sieeuw, Virgil van Dijk’s mother
- Maisie Adam, comedian and Taskmaster winner
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Guy Justus Oscar Farage?
Guy Justus Oscar Farage was a British stockbroker born in Bromley in November 1935. He worked on the London Stock Exchange and is best known as the father of politician Nigel Farage. He died in 2001.
When did Guy Justus Oscar Farage die?
Guy Justus Oscar Farage died in 2001. No specific date has been published in biographical sources or public records.
Why did Guy Farage leave his family?
Guy Farage left the family home around 1969, when Nigel was approximately five years old, due to his struggle with alcoholism. He reportedly quit drinking circa 1971 and later returned to the trading floor in 1972.
Did Guy Farage have any criminal record?
No. Claims about tax evasion or imprisonment are unsubstantiated. All credible biographical sources, including Michael Crick’s biography of Nigel Farage, record no criminal charges or convictions against Guy Farage.
What was Guy Justus Oscar Farage’s ancestry?
He had British, French Huguenot, and German ancestry. His mother Gladys Schrod descended from German immigrants from the Frankfurt area. The Farage surname is traced to French Huguenot Protestant refugees who settled in England.
