Sir George Beresford Craddock (7 October 1898 – 22 September 1976) was a British

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. He was elected as

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 of ...

(MP) for

Spelthorne Spelthorne may refer to: * Borough of Spelthorne, a local government district in the county of Surrey, England * Spelthorne (UK Parliament constituency), Surrey constituency in the British House of Commons * Spelthorne College, was a single-cam ...

at the 1950 general election, and held the seat until his retirement at the 1970 general election. He should not be confused with George Craddock, the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician who served as an MP at the same time.

Early life and career

Craddock was educated at

Harris Academy Harris Academy is a co-educational comprehensive school in the West End of Dundee, Scotland. Harris Academy was founded in 1885 and is the oldest state school in Dundee. Harris Academy is also one of the largest state run schools in Dundee in ...

, Dundee and

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, where he gained a First in Physics and Chemistry (

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

), with special distinction in Chemistry, and an MA in Economics and Philosophy. In 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 ...

he first served in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

, then as a Staff Lieutenant,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

Chemical Warfare Staff. He held major business executive posts in India and Africa, 1921–39. During 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 Assistant Director at the Ministry of Supply. He became Barrister at Law,

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, from 1947 with chambers in the

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Political career

His political ambitions had surfaced in the 1930s when he contested

Lichfield, Staffordshire Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north- ...

, for the

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in a by-election (as National Labour) in 1938 and contested the same seat in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

as a

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candidate. He was elected to Parliament as Conservative member for the Spelthorne Division of Middlesex in 1950 and held the seat until his retirement in 1970. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to

Harold Watkinson Harold Arthur Watkinson, 1st Viscount Watkinson, (25 January 1910, in Walton on Thames – 19 December 1995, in Bosham) was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician. He was Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation between 1 ...

, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, 1956–9, and to Watkinson as Minister of Defence, 1959–62. He was a member of the Speaker's Panel of Chairmen, 1966–70. He is often remembered for his controversial speech: “Let us remember that 95% of them are primitive people. One of the reasons why they are not generally accepted into hotels is because their sanitary habits are not all that could be desired… It is well known that a large number of Africans in East and Central Africa are riddled with a disease of a very unfortunate kind… I will not dwell on that very delicate subject but I think that Honorable Members who have experience will agree that the attitude of the African towards women and sexual matters is entirely different from the attitude of the general run of Europeans… it is a common practice among Africans to put children to sleep by excitation of their urogenital organs… The effect of alcohol upon an African is remarkable. I admit that sometimes alcohol has a remarkable effect on Europeans. But speaking generally, alcohol seems to bring out all the evil instincts in the African in the most astonishing way… these views and practices are due to the psychological makeup of those primitive people from time immemorial.” B. Craddock, House of Commons, May 1953.

Personal life

Craddock married Ethel Martin Bradford in 1936. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

on 8 July 1960.https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/42087/page/4729/data.pdf His home in later life was Henley Down House,

Battle, Sussex Battle is a small town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the local government district of Rother District, Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south-east of London, east of Brighton and east of Lewes. Hastings is to the sout ...

. Like many Conservative MPs he was a member of the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History The ...

References

* *''Who's Who'', London : A. & C. Black, 1974;

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craddock, Beresford 1898 births 1976 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies National Labour (UK) politicians Borough of Spelthorne UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 People educated at Harris Academy Alumni of the University of St Andrews Politicians from Dundee Knights Bachelor