John Collins Hanscomb

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(7 October 1924 – 14 February 2019) 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 from the

Metropolitan Borough of Bolton '')'' , image_skyline =Bolton Town Hall.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Bolton Town Hall, the seat of Bolton Council , image_blank_emblem = Coat of arms of Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council.png , blank_emblem_type = Coat of Arms of ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, England.John Collins Hanscomb
''Links in a chain''. Retrieved on 23 May 2011

Early life and family

Born in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

, he was educated at

Bolton School Bolton School is an independent day school in Bolton, Greater Manchester. It comprises a co-educational nursery, co-educational infant school (ages 3–7), single sex junior schools (ages 7–11) and single sex senior schools including sixth fo ...

, and

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 ...

near

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

. After leaving school he served as a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

in the

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 ...

until 1953. He graduated from

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

with an

M.A. 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 ...

degree in

modern languages A modern language is any human language that is currently in use. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead classical languages such a ...

. He married twice, firstly Joan Ryder at Christ Church, Heaton in 1950, and secondly Norma Gibbons at Bolton Register Office in 1976. His son, Dr Nicholas Hanscomb, a scientist who helped to develop DNA testing, was murdered after attending

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966

in 1991, aged 38.

Political career

Hanscomb was first elected as a Councillor for the Heaton Ward in the

County Borough of Bolton Bolton was, from 1838 to 1974, a local government district in the northwest of England conterminate with the town of Bolton. History Bolton was created a free Borough in 1253 when William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby, granted a charter. However, ...

in 1964. He became the Leader of the Conservative group and the Council Leader in 1972. Following the provisions of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, the County Borough was amalgamated with other local authorities to form the

and Hanscomb became a Councillor for the Deane-cum-Heaton Ward. At the same time, he became the chairman of the new local authority in 1973 and transitional Mayor of Bolton the following year. After the 1980 local elections, he resigned as the Leader of Bolton Council, but continued as the Leader of the

group. He was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (

C.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

) in December 1980. In 1982, he became the ceremonial

Mayor of Bolton This is a list of the Mayors in England, Mayors of Bolton in the north west of England. The office of Mayor is a ceremonial, non-political post. As the Borough's First Citizen, the Mayor serves as the civic representative at a wide range of functi ...

, with his wife, Norma, as Mayoress. He stood down as Leader of the Conservative group in 1994, and retired as Councillor for the Deane-cum-Heaton Ward when boundary changes took place in 2004. Hanscomb died in February 2019 at the age of 94.Death Announcement: John Collins Hanscomb Cbe.ma. Cantab
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanscomb, John Collins 1924 births 2019 deaths Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) councillors Conservative Party (UK) mayors Councillors in Bolton Mayors of Bolton People educated at Bolton School People educated at Oundle School People from Bolton Royal Air Force personnel Leaders of local authorities of England Military personnel from Lancashire