Richard Pilkington (politician, born 1908)
British soldier and Conservative politician (1908–1976)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir Richard Antony Pilkington, KBE, MC (10 May 1908 – 9 December 1976) was a British Conservative Party politician and an officer in the British Army.[1]
Sir Richard Pilkington | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member of Parliament for Widnes | |
| In office 14 November 1935 – 15 June 1945 | |
| Preceded by | Roland Robinson |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Nyholm Shawcross |
| Member of Parliament for Poole | |
| In office 25 October 1951 – 25 September 1964 | |
| Preceded by | Mervyn Wheatley |
| Succeeded by | Oscar Murton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard Antony Pilkington 10 May 1908 St Helens, Lancashire, UK |
| Died | 9 December 1976 (aged 68) |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Rosemary Kidwell (née Russell-Roberts) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Early life
He was born in St Helens to the Chairman of the Pilkington glass works, Arthur Pilkington, and Marjorie Cope, daughter of the painter Arthur Stockdale Cope.[2] He was educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford. He worked and travelled in North America from 1928 until 1930, when he joined the Coldstream Guards as an officer,[3] serving in Sudan and Egypt.[4]
Military and political career
In 1935 he resigned his commission to enter politics and was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Widnes in Lancashire.[1] He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Oliver Stanley.[5] On the outbreak of the Second World War he rejoined the Army and travelled to France with the British Expeditionary Force.[5] He was awarded the Military Cross after returning with one of the last groups from Dunkirk in 1940.[5]
He left the Army again in 1942 and became a Civil Lord of the Admiralty, leading naval missions to India, Ceylon and Burma.[5] He lost his seat to Christopher Shawcross in 1945 and lost again in 1950. In 1951 he won election as Member of Parliament for Poole in Dorset,[1] a seat he held until his retirement from politics in 1964 after a car accident and the onset of Parkinson's disease. He died from the disease in 1976 at the age of 68.[5]
Personal life
Richard Pilkington was also known for his collection of cars, all red, a passion shared by his nephew Sir Antony Pilkington.[6]