Sir John Moore Caldicott (12 February 1900 – 31 January 1986) was a Rhodesian government minister.

Early life

John Moore Caldicott was born in

Moreton in Marsh Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds district and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England. The town stands at the crossroads of the Fosse Way Roman road (now the A429) and t ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, on 12 February 1900 the son of solicitor John Croydon Moore Caldicott and Lilian Caldicott. His paternal grandfather was John William Caldicott, the Rector and Dean of Shipston-on-Stour and the headmaster of

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...

. Caldicott was education first at Malvern Preparatory School in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

and then at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

. After coming of age, Caldicott enlisted as a Private (Cadet) 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 ...

on 22 April 1918 and undertook his training during the final months of the war, before being placed on the reserve on 11 March 1919. He was granted an honorary commission as a 2nd Lieutenant on 4 February 1919.

Emigration to Africa

Following the end of his war service, on 4 March 1921 Caldicott, at the age of 21, sailed from London aboard the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

steamship SS ''

Nevasa Nevasa is a city in Nevasa tehsil of Ahmednagar district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Old name of this place are Nidhinivas, Nivas and Mahalaya Also town of lord Kuber. Sant Dnyaneshwar Temple is main temple. This place is near of P ...

'' for

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

Kenya Colony The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British Crown colony in ...

. However, by 1925 he had returned to England, and on 2 October 1925 departed Southampton aboard the Union-Castle steamship RMS ''Briton'' for

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, to settle as a tobacco farmer in the Umvukwes District of

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

. In 1943–1945 Caldicott served as the President of the Rhodesia Tobacco Association. In 1945 he married Evelyn Macarthur, who had two existing children, and they had a son together, Michael John Caldicott. In 1946 he was elected President of the Rhodesian National Farmers' Union until 1948, which gave him a prominent platform for elected office.

Southern Rhodesia Legislative Assembly

Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly, 1948

Caldicott stood as a candidate for Sir Godfrey Huggins' United Party at the general election of 1948 for the

Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia The Legislative Assembly of Rhodesia was the legislature of Southern Rhodesia and then Rhodesia from 1924 to 1970. Background In 1898, the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council, Southern Rhodesia's first elected representative body, was found ...

and was subsequently elected MP for Mazoe.

Federation Assembly and minister

In the first

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

of the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...

, Caldicott took 69% of the vote to win the seat of Darwin for the Federal Party. With the end of the Federation in 1963, Caldicott retired from politics and returned to farming until 1970 when he took up residence in the

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

suburb of Greendale. In 1980, upon independence he opted to remain in the country and took up Zimbabwean citizenship. On 31 January 1986 at the age of 86 he died at the

Parirenyatwa Hospital Parirenyatwa General Hospital a hospital in Harare and is the largest medical centre in Zimbabwe. The hospital was formerly known as the Andrew Fleming Hospital and was named after the principal medical officer to the British South Africa Compan ...

and was buried at Warren Hills Cemetery.

Honours

Caldicott was made Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the 1955 Birthday Honours and appointed Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(KBE) in the 1964 New Year Honours. In 1953, as a member of parliament he received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. He was also granted retention of the title "

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

" on 31 December 1963, for having served for more than three years as a Minister of the Federal Government of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldicott, John Moore 1900 births 1986 deaths People educated at Shrewsbury School Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force Air Cadets Finance ministers of Rhodesia Rhodesian politicians Rhodesian farmers White Rhodesian people People from Moreton-in-Marsh British emigrants to Rhodesia Zimbabwean people of English descent Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland people Members of the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia Members of the Rhodesia and Nyasaland Federal Assembly Defence Ministers of Zimbabwe