Antony Henry Head, 1st Viscount Head, (19 December 1906 – 29 March 1983) was a British soldier,

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 i ...

politician and diplomat.

Background and education

Head was the son of Geoffrey Head and Ethel Daisy, daughter of Arthur Flower. He was educated at Ludgrove School,

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

Military career

A career soldier, Head was commissioned a second lieutenant in the

15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars The 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of the 15th The King's Hussars and the 19th Royal Hussars in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it was ama ...

on 30 August 1926. He later joined the Life Guards, serving through the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

and achieving the rank of

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

(MC) on 20 December 1940.

Political career

Head was elected

MP for Carshalton in 1945. He served as

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

from 1951 to 1956 and as Minister of Defence (with a seat in the cabinet) from 1956 to 1957, in the administrations of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

and

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achieving rapid promo ...

. He was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1951 and in 1960 he was raised to the peerage as Viscount Head, of Throope in the County of Wiltshire. He was later

High Commissioner to Nigeria Countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations typically exchange High Commissioner (Commonwealth), High Commissioners, rather than ambassadors. Though there are a few technical differences, they are in practice one and the same office. The ...

from 1960 to 1963 and High Commissioner to Malaysia from 1963 to 1966. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(KCMG) in the

1961 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1961 were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 31 December 1960 in the U ...

and promoted to be Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in 1963.

Family

Lord Head married Lady Dorothea Louise (29 April 1907 – 1987), daughter of

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury (31 August 1869 – 25 March 1961), was the son of the 8th Earl of Shaftesbury and Lady Harriet Augusta Anna Seymourina Chichester (1836 – 14 April 1898), the daughter of the 3rd M ...

, on 23 July 1935. They had four children: * Richard Antony Head, 2nd Viscount Head (b. 27 February 1937) *Teresa Mary Head (b. 20 June 1938) *Simon Andrew Head (b. 11 November 1944) *Josephine Head (24 May 1948 – 9 October 1949) Lord Head died in March 1983, aged 76, and was succeeded in the viscountcy by his eldest son, Richard.

Arms

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *

External links

Generals of World War II
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Head, Antony Head, 1st Viscount 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars officers 1906 births 1983 deaths British Army brigadiers of World War II British Life Guards officers Head, Anthony Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Malaysia High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Nigeria Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Officers of the Order of St John People educated at Eton College Recipients of the Military Cross UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs who were granted peerages Viscounts created by Elizabeth II People educated at Ludgrove School