Alan Cockeram, DSO (December 6, 1894 – September 11, 1957) was a mining executive, military officer and Canadian politician who sat in the House of Commons of Canada in the 1940s. He is best known for having given up his

York South York South was an electoral district (or "riding") in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1979. The riding is notable for the 1942 federal by-election in which newly elected Conservative leader Ar ...

seat in order to give

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

leader

Arthur Meighen Arthur Meighen (; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Canada from 1920 to 1921 and from June to September 1926. He led the Conservative Party from 1920 to 1926 and fro ...

an opportunity to enter parliament only to see the upstart Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) defeat Meighen in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

Biography

Cockeram was born in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, England and emigrated to Canada in 1913, where he found employment with the

Canadian Bank of Commerce The Canadian Bank of Commerce was a Canadian bank which was founded in 1867, and had hundreds of branches throughout Canada. It merged in 1961 with the Imperial Bank of Canada to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. History In 1866 a ...

in Montreal. He later transferred to a bank branch in Brockville, Ontario. When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out he enlisted as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the 21st Battalion of Kingston with which he saw service in France, earned three

field commission In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank ...

s, was wounded three times, and awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

after wiping out a German

machine-gun A machine gun is a automatic firearm, fully automatic, rifling, rifled action (firearms)#Autoloading operation, autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as Automatic shotgun, a ...

nest."Alan Cockeram, MP 3 times, Former Officer, Mining Executive", ''Globe and Mail'', September 12, 1957"Col. Alan Cockeram service Saturday", ''Toronto Star'', September 12, 1957 On his return to Canada he joined the F. M. Connell Mining, Exploration and Development Company. In 1929 he joined the

Irish Regiment of Canada , colors = , identification_symbol = Caubeen , identification_symbol_label = Headdress , identification_symbol_2 = O'Saffron , identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol_4 = , ...

, becoming lieutenant colonel and commanding officer of the reserve regiment in 1935. He helped organize the defences Halifax at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1940 federal election as a National Government candidate, which was the banner under which Conservatives were running in that election. He served as

parliamentary whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...

until he rejoined the Irish Regiment, first battalion for active service in

as second-in-command, with the rank of major. He resigned from parliament on November 27, 1941, in order to enable newly elected Conservative leader Arthur Meighen to contest York South in a by-election; however, Meighen was defeated in what had been a safe Tory seat by CCF candidate Joseph Noseworthy in an upset victory which gave the socialist party a major breakthrough in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. Cockeram defeated Noseworthy in the 1945 federal election and was defeated by Noseworthy four years later in the 1949 federal election. Returning to his career in mining, Cockeram served as president of Peruvian Mines and Minerals and of Merchant Mining Ltd. He died in New York in 1957 while en route to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

References

External links

* Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario 1894 births 1957 deaths Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian Militia officers Canadian Army officers Military personnel from Devon Irish Regiment of Canada British emigrants to Canada {{ProgressiveConservative-Ontario-MP-stub