Captain John Shirley Sandys Litchfield, OBE (27 August 1903 – 31 May 1993) was a British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer and politician who became

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 ...

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

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. He was noted for his connections with the Royal family.

Education

Litchfield was the son of a rear admiral in the Royal Navy (F.S. Litchfield-Speer), and went to the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

, where Naval

officer cadet Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air ...

s received an education akin to a public school subsidised by the Navy. He went on from there to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, and later studied at the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

and on an exchange trip to the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Royal connections

At Dartmouth, Litchfield was asked to "keep a fraternal eye" on fellow cadet

Prince Charles of Belgium nl, Karel Theodoor Hendrik Anton Meinrad , image = Karel van België Charles de Belgique Karl von Belgien.jpg , image_size = 230px , spouse = Jacqueline Peyrebrune , issue = Isabelle , birth_date = , birth_place = Bruss ...

, and later served with him on when it visited the far east with the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

. In 1922, while at the wedding of

Lord Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of Germa ...

, Litchfield accidentally trod on the foot of former Prime Minister

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

, who uttered a response that was "unparliamentary and swift". That same year, it was Mountbatten who personally informed Litchfield of his father's death. Litchfield was appointed as "King's Midshipman" for

Cowes Week Cowes Week ( ) is one of the longest-running regular regattas in the world. With 40 daily sailing races, up to 1,000 boats, and 8,000 competitors ranging from Olympic and world-class professionals to weekend sailors, it is the largest sailin ...

of 1924, and nearly caused problems when his steamship came within inches of colliding with the

Royal Yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...

. He later recalled that he heard a loud cry of "Mind my paintwork, boy!" and looked round to see that

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

was glowering at him. Later in the 1920s, Litchfield was called upon to reply to the toast "Wives and sweethearts" while on board ''Renown'' carrying the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and

Duchess of York Duchess of York is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the duke of York. Three of the eleven dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of ...

to Australia. He decided to end with his own toast, to the Princess Elizabeth, and ever after claimed to have been the first person to toast the health of the Queen.

Naval advancement

In 1929, Litchfield was posted to the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

and obtained permission to travel via the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...

. He stopped off in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to see the sights and when he photographed the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

, was detained by the

OGPU The Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU; russian: Объединённое государственное политическое управление) was the intelligence and state security service and secret police of the Soviet Union f ...

as a suspected spy. Litchfield was an enthusiastic photographer, both still and cine, and his footage of naval operations is valued by historians. The 1930s saw him stationed in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

commanding armoured cars and trains on the land, and trying to stop Arab terrorists. He was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

for his work there.

Wartime service

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 ...

, Litchfield served on on the Russian Convoys and aided the Allied landings in North Africa. Later in the war he moved to headquarters, planning for

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

; he was awarded the OBE for his work. He became deputy director of Naval Intelligence from 1949 to 1950 and commanded HMS ''Vanguard'', the Navy's last battleship from 21 December 1951 until 18 January 1953. The ship was due to take the King and Queen to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1952 but the King's death forced the cancellation of the trip.

Leaving the Navy

Litchfield was struck down by

polyneuritis Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, is a general term describing disease affecting the peripheral nerves, meaning nerves beyond the brain and spinal cord. Damage to peripheral nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland, or or ...

that year and took six months' sick leave to recover. He ended his naval career as Director of Operations for the Admiralty in 1953–1954, and retired with the rank of captain in 1955. On leaving he had already decided to go into politics with the

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 ...

and was elected to

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...

in 1955, serving for a single three-year term.

Parliament

Having determined to try to enter Parliament, Litchfield was disappointed at

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

(

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

was a fellow candidate). However he was selected for

for the 1959 general election (where he followed another Navy man,

Allan Noble Sir Allan Herbert Percy Noble, DSO, DSC (1908 – 17 November 1982) was an English naval commander, politician, and diplomat. Career Noble was the elder son of Admiral Sir Percy Noble. He joined the Royal Navy in 1926 and was a destroyer command ...

). Chelsea was a very safe seat and his selection was controversial because Litchfield was in his fifties and not likely to become a long-standing member. Nicholas Ridley was the choice of the minority, but Litchfield won many around by his sincerity. He was comfortably elected. During the

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in twentieth-century Politics of the United Kingdom, British politics. John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative Party (UK), Conservative government, had an extramar ...

, Litchfield was among a small group of Conservative MPs who felt that

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...

had been mistaken in keeping Profumo in the government following his denial of any impropriety. However, Litchfield liked Profumo personally. During a Parliamentary trip to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

headquarters, Litchfield found that all the seats in the limousines were taken, and was forced to travel sitting on

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

's lap.

Retirement

As suspected by the Chelsea selectorate, Litchfield would not have a long Parliamentary career, retiring in 1966. He continued making films, and was pleased to loan one of his films on the Russian convoys to Captain

Jack Broome Captain John Egerton Broome DSC (23 February 1901 – 19 April 1985), also known as Jackie Broome, was a Royal Navy officer who served in both World Wars. He commanded the escort group of the ill-fated Arctic Convoy PQ 17 in 1942. After the Sec ...

who used it to win a libel action against author

David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include ''The Destruction of Dresden'' (19 ...

. He was also a raconteur who used his store of stories of his naval career to entertain audiences.

References

*Obituary, ''The Times'', 5 June 1993 *M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981)

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Litchfield, John Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 Members of Kent County Council Royal Navy officers Royal Navy officers of World War II Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1903 births 1993 deaths Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies