Derek Colclough Walker-Smith, Baron Broxbourne, (13 April 1910 – 22 January 1992), known as Sir Derek Walker-Smith, Bt, from 1960 to 1983, 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.
The son of
Sir Jonah Walker-Smith (1874–1964) and his wife Maud, daughter of Coulton Walker Hunter, Walker-Smith was educated at
Rossall School
Rossall School is a public school (English independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania ...
and
Christ Church, Oxford. He became a barrister, called to the bar by
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...
in 1934. He joined the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
and after the outbreak 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 attended the
Staff College, Camberley, where
Brian Horrocks
Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, (7 September 1895 – 4 January 1985) was a British Army officer, chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during the Second World W ...
was among his instructors. He was vice-chairman of the
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple.
All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...
Conservative and Unionist Society and was made
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...
in 1955.
Walker-Smith was the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for
Hertford from 1945 to 1955, and
East Hertfordshire
East Hertfordshire is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire. The largest town in the district is Bishop's Stortford, and the other main towns are Ware, Bunti ...
from 1955 to 1983. He was Chairman of the
1922 Committee
The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbench member ...
1951–55. He held ministerial positions, including
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is the sixth-most senior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, after the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster-General and the ...
(1956–57), at the
Board of Trade (1955–56 and 1957), and Health (1957–59).
Walker-Smith was created a
baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...
, of Broxbourne in the County of Hertford, in 1960. On 21 September 1983, he was elevated to a
life peerage
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...
as Baron Broxbourne, ''of
Broxbourne
Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 I ...
in the
County of Hertfordshire''.
The life barony became extinct on his death aged 81 in 1992 while he was succeeded in the hereditary baronetcy by his son Jonah.
Bibliography
*
References
Sources
*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', 1979
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broxbourne, Derek Walker-Smith, Baron
Broxbourne, Derek Walker-Smith, Baron
Broxbourne, Derek Walker-Smith, Baron
20th-century British lawyers
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
English King's Counsel
Chairmen of the 1922 Committee
Conservative Party (UK) MEPs
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Broxbourne, Derek Walker-Smith, Baron
MEPs for the United Kingdom 1973–1979
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957
Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964
Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955
Parliamentary Secretaries to the Board of Trade
People educated at Rossall School
UK MPs 1945–1950
UK MPs 1950–1951
UK MPs 1951–1955
UK MPs 1955–1959
UK MPs 1959–1964
UK MPs 1964–1966
UK MPs 1966–1970
UK MPs 1970–1974
UK MPs 1974
UK MPs 1974–1979
UK MPs 1979–1983
British Army personnel of World War II
Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley
British Army officers