Before, during and after the First World War, the 17th Earl (1865-1948) was heavily involved in the political and military affairs of the North West of England and of the country as a whole. Among his most significant public roles, he was Lord Mayor of Liverpool (1911-12), Director General of Recruiting (1914-15), Secretary of State for War (1916-18 and 1920-22), and British Ambassador to France (1918-20), during which time he was closely involved with the negotiations towards the Treaty of Versailles.

Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby (c.1433-1504), was one of the most influential figures in England during the second half of the fifteenth century, a period marred by the long-running dynastic struggle, known as the Wars of the Roses. This conflict culminated in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth with the decisive defeat of the last of the Yorkist kings, Richard III, by the ultimate surviving male Lancastrian challenger, Henry Tudor. As a result, the victorious Henry became Henry VII and founded the Tudor dynasty.