Geoffrey Clegg Hutchinson, Baron Ilford QC, MC, TD (14 October 1893 – 21 August 1974) was a British soldier, a barrister and

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 military career

Born in

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury. Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient parish o ...

, he was the youngest son of the cotton manufacturer Henry Omerod Hutchinson and his wife Elizabeth Clegg.Fox-Davies (1929), p. 1013 He was educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

and went then to

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

, graduating with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1919. In 1920 Hutchinson was called to the bar by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

and went to the Northern Circuit. He was nominated a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1939 and was selected a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

in 1946. With the outbreak of the

First World War 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 ...

in 1914, Hutchinson joined the

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

. He was attached to the British Expeditionary Force until the end of the war and during this time was wounded. In 1916 he was decorated with 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 ...

and in 1933 obtained a captaincy. He was promoted to major in 1937 and was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

in the next year. After the begin of 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 ...

he was reactivated in 1940 and sent with the then Expeditionary Force to the Franco-Belgian border. Hutchinson was allocated to the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

in the following year, where he served as deputy assistant to the Military Secretary. He retired in 1945 having reached the age limit and was appointed honorary colonel of the 5th battalion of his former regiment in 1948.

Political career

In 1931 Hutchinson joined

Hampstead Borough Council Hampstead was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Boa ...

, on which he sat for six years. Subsequently, he served as president of the Non-County Boroughs Association until 1944 and chaired then the finance committee of the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

until 1949. Hutchinson continued to represent

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

in the County Council until 1952. He was chosen vice-president of the Association of Municipal Corporations in 1944.Young (1975), p. 19 After unsuccessfully running for

Gower Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...

in 1935, Hutchinson entered 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. ...

in 1937, retaining Ilford for the Conservatives at a by-election.Stenton and Lees (1981), p. 183Dod (1966), p. 144 He represented that constituency until it was abolished in 1945, That year he ran for the new seat of Ilford North and lost, but won it in 1950 and 1951. In Parliament, Hutchinson became a member of the Select Committee on National Expenditure in 1942 and of the Speaker's Committee in 1944. He sat in the Joint Committee on Consolidation, &c., Bills in 1951 and again two years later. Hutchinson was almoner and governor of

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553 ...

. In 1947 he became director of the Colne Valley Water and three years later was president of the British Waterworks Association. He worked in the same function for the Water Companies Association from 1951 and chaired the

East Surrey Water Company SES Water is the United Kingdom, UK water industry, water supply company to its designated area of east Surrey, West Sussex, west Kent and south London serving in excess of 282,000 homes and businesses and a population of approximately 675,000 peo ...

from the subsequent year.Who's Who (1963), p. 1552 He resigned from Parliament in 1954, when he became chairman of the

National Assistance Board The National Assistance Board was established by the National Assistance Act 1948 and abolished in by the Ministry of Social Security Act 1966. It was preceded by the Unemployment Assistance Board (known from 1941 as the Assistance Board) and suc ...

, a position he held until 1964. He received a knighthood in 1952 and he became a

life peer 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 ...

with the title Baron Ilford, of Bury, in the County Palatine of Lancaster on 14 May 1962.

Family

Hutchinson married Janet Bidlake, youngest daughter of Henry Frederick Keep in 1919. He died in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1974.

Arms

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, Geoffrey 1893 births 1974 deaths Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War I Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Ilford Knights Bachelor Lancashire Fusiliers officers Members of the Inner Temple People educated at Cheltenham College Recipients of the Military Cross UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs who were granted peerages Members of Hampstead Metropolitan Borough Council Members of London County Council Life peers created by Elizabeth II