John Hoyle Cockcroft (6 July 1934 – 25 April 2023) 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 and journalist.

Early life and education

Cockcroft was born on 6 July 1934 in

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hal ...

, Yorkshire, to Lionel Cockroft and Jenny Hoyle.John Cockcroft listing at Debrett's website
Accessed 1 February 2010. He was educated at

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...

, and attended

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, as a senior major scholar, graduating with a degree in History and Economics in 1958. That same year, he was elected president of the

Cambridge Union Society The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debatin ...

. He served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the Royal Army from 1953 to 1955.

Career

Cockcroft worked as a journalist from 1959 to 1974, and again from 1981 through to 1986, writing for the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', ''

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'', and ''

Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

''. He was

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 ...

for

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

from

February 1974 The following events occurred in February 1974: February 1, 1974 (Friday) *Joelma fire, A fire killed 177 people and injured 293 others in the 23-story Joelma Building at São Paulo in Brazil. Another 11 later died of their injuries. The bl ...

until his retirement in 1979.Millbank Systems website
Accessed 1 February 2010. He served on numerous boards and commissions.

Personal life and death

In 1971, Cockroft married Tessa Shepley. They had three daughters. In retirement, Cockcroft lived in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

. He continued to write and read, despite failing eyesight. Cockcroft died on 25 April 2023, at the age of 88. Cockcroft's uncle was the Nobel-prize winning physicist Sir John Cockcroft.

References

1934 births 2023 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Oundle School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Presidents of the Cambridge Union UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1930s-stub