Air Commodore John Allan Cecil Cecil-Wright AFC (28 August 1886 – 14 July 1982), born John Allan Cecil Wright, was a British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

officer 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.

Early life and military service

Born in Knowle,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, he was educated at

Winchester School Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of t ...

. In 1905 he was granted a commission in the 1st Volunteer Battalion,

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

. Three years later, when the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

was created, he helped form a company of the Army Service Corps. Following the outbreak of war, he accompanied his unit to France in 1915. In 1916 he transferred to the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in 1916. He rose to become

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

of 605 (County of Warwick) Bomber Squadron,

Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

, from 1926 to 1936. He was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC) in the

1931 New Year Honours The 1931 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 30 December 1930. The recipients of honour ...

Industry and local government in Birmingham

Cecil Wright was an industrialist, and became chairman of Warne, Wright & Rowlands Limited, screw, nut and bolt manufacturers. In 1934, he was elected to Birmingham City Council, where he was an advocate for the establishment of a municipal airport.

Member of Parliament

In August 1936,

John Frederick Eales John Frederick Eales (19 January 1881 – 6 August 1936) was a British lawyer and Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1931 to 1936. Early life and legal career He was born in Manchester, and was the son ...

, the 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 of ...

(MP) for the Birmingham constituency of

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...

died. On 18 August, the executive committee of Erdington Division Unionist Association unanimously chose Cecil Wright as their candidate to contest the resulting by-election. The other main candidate was C J Simmons of the Labour Party, who had held the seat from 1929 – 1931. The election was held on 20 October, and Cecil Wright was elected with a majority of 6,234 votes over Simmons. With the outbreak 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 ...

in 1939, elections were postponed, and Wright held the seat until the general election in 1945, when he was defeated by his Labour opponent,

Julius Silverman Julius Silverman (8 December 1905 – 21 September 1996) was a British Labour Party politician. Silverman, whose father escaped anti-Jewish pogroms in Minsk, Russian Empire, was born in Leeds. He attended Leeds Central High School and first wor ...

. From 1941 to 1945, he was Commandant of Midland Command Air Training Corps.

Later life

Cecil Wright and his second wife, Lilian, had an interest in the breeding and showing of dogs. He was an early enthusiast of the German Shepherd, and was one of the founding members of the Alsatian League and Club of Great Britain in 1924. After leaving parliament, he became

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Kennel Club of Great Britain from 1948 to 1973, and its president from 1976 until his death. He was president of

Crufts Crufts is an international dog show held annually in the United Kingdom, first held in 1891. Organised and hosted by The Kennel Club, it is the largest show of its kind in the world. Crufts is centred on a championship conformation show for do ...

Dog Show from 1962 to 1976. He was also served as president of the Welsh Kennel Club and the Scottish Kennel Club. He was a supporter of the Birmingham Dog Show Society, and was instrumental in having it raised to championship status. In 1957, Cecil Wright altered his surname to Cecil-Wright by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party. Et ...

, He returned to local politics as a member of Warwickshire County Council from 1958 to 1961. although he had always used the unhyphenated version as a surname. Cecil-Wright died in Milford-on-Sea in 1982 aged 95.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cecil-Wright, John Allan Cecil 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel 1886 births 1982 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1935–1945 People educated at Winchester College Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers Royal Army Service Corps officers Royal Flying Corps officers Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force squadron leaders