John Rankin Rathbone (5 February 1910 – 10 December 1940) was a British

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

He was born in 1910 to William Rathbone, a marine architect, and Agnes Dorothea Rankin.

Education

For his education, Rathbone attended West Downs and

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

before attending

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. Whilst up at Oxford, he met an American student, Beatrice Frederika Clough, who had come to study at the university. The couple married in 1932 and had two children, a son, John Rankin Rathbone (known as Tim) and a daughter, Pauline Rathbone.

Political career

From the 1935 general election until his death, 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 ...

(MP) for the Bodmin constituency in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. After his death, his American-born wife Beatrice was elected unopposed to succeed him as MP. The family lived in the constituency at Elmsleigh.

Foreign travel

United States

John and Beatrice travelled to the United States in the summer of 1934, sailing back to Britain aboard the in October. They returned to America in 1936, again sailing back to Britain in the October, this time aboard the .

Germany

Rathbone travelled as part of a parliamentary delegation, accompanied by Beatrice, to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. A fluent German speaker, he was appalled at what he saw in the country as he participated in the work of the delegation. He was a qualified pilot, learning to fly with the Old Etonian Flying Club and getting his Avro Club membership on 19 May 1938. Upon returning from Germany, Rathbone called a meeting in his constituency to announce that he was joining the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

Second World War

He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply from July to September 1939, when

World War II 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 ...

broke out. A flight lieutenant and fighter pilot with 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 ...

, he was killed shortly after the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

, on 10 September 1940. He was buried at Schoonselhof cemetery,

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, Belgium. In his obituary in ''The Times'' observed

Family members

Rathbone was the nephew of

Eleanor Rathbone Eleanor Florence Rathbone (12 May 1872 – 2 January 1946) was an independent British Member of Parliament (MP) and long-term campaigner for family allowance and for women's rights. She was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool. E ...

, who had been an independent MP for the Combined English Universities between 1929 and 1946, and a staunch women's rights campaigner. He was a grandson of William Rathbone,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MP for Liverpool and later Carnarvonshire. His son, also called John Rankin Rathbone, but known as Tim Rathbone, was the Conservative MP for

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

from 1974 to 1997. His younger brother, Henry Stephen Nicholas Rathbone, served as a Captain in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

and was killed at

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

on 9 November 1943.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathbone, John 1910 births 1940 deaths Royal Air Force officers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1935–1945 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bodmin Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Politicians from Cornwall

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II British World War II fighter pilots