Sir William Richard Benyon ( Shelley; 17 January 1930 – 2 May 2014), usually known as Bill Benyon, was a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

landowner and High Sheriff.

Life and career

Benyon was the eldest of four sons of Vice-Admiral Richard Shelley (1892–1968) and his wife, Eve Alice Gascoyne-Cecil, the daughter of the Right Reverend Lord (Rupert Ernest) William Gascoyne-Cecil,

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

. William's father, Richard (son of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Shelley, 9th Bt., by Marion Emma Benyon, daughter of Richard Fellowes Benyon), changed his (and thus his son's) name from Shelley to Benyon in 1964 (deed poll) and 1967 (Royal Licence) after inheriting the Englefield estate from his second cousin, Sir Henry Benyon, 1st Bt., in 1959. Benyon joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in 1943 (aged 13) and attended Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. He retired from the Navy as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1956 and became a member of The Castaways' Club soon thereafter. He was with

Courtaulds Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals. It was established in 1794 and became the world's leading man-made fibre production company before being broken up in 1990 into Courtaulds ...

Ltd until 1967. Benyon joined the

Conservative Monday Club The Conservative Monday Club (usually known as the Monday Club) is a British political pressure group, aligned with the Conservative Party, though no longer endorsed by it. It also has links to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unioni ...

prior to 1970, when he was elected as Member of Parliament for

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

at the 1970 general election, defeating the incumbent

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from N ...

, and retained his seat at the next three elections. At the 1983 general election he stood instead in the new Milton Keynes constituency, where he was re-elected until he retired at the 1992 general election. Due to its increased population, the Milton Keynes seat was then divided into two new constituencies: Milton Keynes North East and Milton Keynes South West. This was the only division of a constituency at the 1992 general election. Benyon never held government office, but was PPS to

Paul Channon Henry Paul Guinness Channon, Baron Kelvedon, (9 October 1935 – 27 January 2007) was Conservative MP for Southend West for 38 years, from 1959 until 1997. He served in various ministerial offices, and was a Cabinet minister for 3½ years, as ...

1972–74 when he was Minister for Housing, then was an Opposition whip from 1974 to 1976. He served as a member of the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

Council from 1967 to 2002, was a member of Berkshire County Council from 1964 to 1974, a Deputy Lieutenant from 1970, a Berkshire JP 1962–77, Vice Lord Lieutenant for Berkshire from 1994 (the year he was knighted), and

High Sheriff of Berkshire The High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much older ...

in 1995. He was chairman of the

Peabody Trust The Peabody Trust was founded in 1862 as the Peabody Donation Fund and now brands itself simply as Peabody.

, 1992–1998, and of the

Ernest Cook Trust The Ernest Cook Trust is a large educational charity in England. It was founded in 1952 by the philanthropist Ernest Cook, the grandson of Thomas Cook. Each year the Trustees distribute more than £1.25m in educational grants to benefit children a ...

from 1992. He was a member of

Boodle's Boodle's is a London gentlemen's club, founded in January 1762, at No. 50 Pall Mall, London, by Lord Shelburne, the future Marquess of Lansdowne and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. History The club was originally based next door to Wi ...

Pratt's Pratt's is a gentlemen's club in London. It was established in 1857, with premises in a house in Park Place, off St James's Street, and close to the Ritz London. History The club takes its name from William Nathaniel Pratt, who lived ther ...

and

Beefsteak A beefsteak, often called just steak, is a flat cut of beef with parallel faces, usually cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers. In common restaurant service a single serving has a raw mass ranging from . Beef steaks are usually grilling, gr ...

London clubs. He lived at Englefield House until the last few years of his life and was a director of the Englefield Charitable Trust. He died on 2 May 2014, at age 84. In May 1993, Benyon was awarded an honorary degree by the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

as Doctor of the University.

Family

Benyon married Elizabeth Hallifax in 1957. They had two sons, three daughters and 18 grandchildren, who all survived him. His elder son,

Richard Benyon Richard Henry Ronald Benyon, Baron Benyon (born 21 October 1960) is a British politician who has served as Minister of State for Biosecurity, Marine and Rural Affairs since 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament ...

, was the

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 ...

MP for Newbury from 2005 to 2019. His daughter, Mary, wife of

Tom Riall Thomas Richard Phineas Riall (born 1960) is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Priory Group since April 2013. Biography Riall took over as the CEO of Priory Group in April 2013. Prior to that appointment, he had served as chief executive of Ser ...

, was appointed High Sheriff of Berkshire in April 2020.

Ancestors

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', 1987 and 1992 editions *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benyon, Bill 1930 births 2014 deaths Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of World War II Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies High Sheriffs of Berkshire Benton, William Members of Berkshire County Council UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 Politics of Milton Keynes Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College People from Islington (district) People from Hackney Central People from De Beauvoir Town English landowners Benyon family Knights Bachelor Politicians awarded knighthoods 20th-century English landowners 20th-century British businesspeople