Frances Joan Davidson, Viscountess Davidson, Baroness Northchurch, (née Dickinson; 29 May 1894 – 25 November 1985), styled Lady Davidson between 1935 and 1937 and as Viscountess Davidson between 1937 and 1985, 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.

Background and education

She was the daughter of

Sir Willoughby Dickinson ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, later Baron Dickinson. Her father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all Members of Parliament. She was educated at Kensington High School and Northfields, Englefield Green.

Career

During

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 ...

, she served in the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

POW Department and was appointed OBE in 1919. When her husband, Sir J. C. C. Davidson, was created

Viscount Davidson Viscount Davidson, of Little Gaddesden in the County of Hertford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 June 1937 for the Conservative politician and former Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead, Sir J. C. C. ...

in 1937, she was elected at a by-election to succeed him as Conservative

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

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a new ...

. She held the seat until she retired from the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

at the 1959 general election. For a short time after the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgarian ...

, she was the only female Conservative MP.

Honours and arms

She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the

1952 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1952 were appointments in 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. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

and created a life peer as Baroness Northchurch, of Chiswick in the

County of Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbouring ...

, on 13 January 1963. She and her husband were one of the few couples who both held titles in their own right.

Family

Davidson had two sons and two daughters (Margaret, Jean, Andrew and Malcolm). She died aged 91, from natural causes. Both sons inherited their father's title, as Andrew Davidson, 2nd Viscount Davidson and Malcolm Davidson, 3rd Viscount Davidson.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Frances Davidson, Viscountess 1894 births 1985 deaths Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies British viscountesses Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Daughters of barons Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II People from Kensington Conservative Party (UK) life peers UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs who were granted peerages Place of birth missing Place of death missing 20th-century British women politicians 20th-century English women 20th-century English people

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

Wives of knights