Harold Arthur Watkinson, 1st Viscount Watkinson, (25 January 1910, in
Walton on Thames
Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...
– 19 December 1995, in
Bosham) was a British businessman and
Conservative Party politician. He was
Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation
The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent is ...
between 1955 and 1959 and a cabinet member as
Minister of Defence
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
between 1959 and 1962, when he was sacked in the
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives (German: ), or the Röhm purge (German: ''Röhm-Putsch''), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: ''Unternehmen Kolibri''), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Ad ...
. In 1964 he was ennobled as Viscount Watkinson.
Education and early life
Educated at
Queen's College, Taunton
Queen's College is a co-educational independent school located in Taunton, the county town of Somerset, England. It is a day/boarding school for children aged 0–18. The school incorporates nursery, pre-prep, Prep, and senior schools. The curre ...
, and at
King's College London, Watkinson worked for the family engineering business between 1929 and 1935 and in technical and engineering journalism between 1935 and 1939. He saw active service as a
Lieutenant-Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
in the
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve 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 opposi ...
.
Political career
Watkinson was elected
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 o ...
(MP) for the new constituency of
Woking,
Surrey in 1950, holding the seat until 1964, and was initially
Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the
Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation
The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent is ...
,
John Maclay
John Scott Maclay, 1st Viscount Muirshiel, (26 October 1905 – 17 August 1992) was a British politician, sitting as a National Liberal and Conservative Member of Parliament before the party was fully assimilated into the Unionist Party in Sco ...
, from 1951 to 1952. He became a government member under
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
as
in 1952, a post he held until December 1955,
[ when he was made ]Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation
The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent is ...
by Sir Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957.
Achieving rapid promo ...
, entering the cabinet in January 1957,[ and remaining there when promoted to ]Minister of Defence
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
under Harold Macmillan in 1959. Watkinson was one of seven cabinet ministers sacked in July 1962 in Macmillan's Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives (German: ), or the Röhm purge (German: ''Röhm-Putsch''), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: ''Unternehmen Kolibri''), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Ad ...
. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor
The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...
in 1955, a Companion of Honour in 1962, and raised to the peerage as Viscount Watkinson, of Woking in the County of Surrey, in 1964.
Business career
Lord Watkinson held a number of public and business appointments, including senior positions in the British Institute of Management
The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom.
The major membership classes are ''Member'', ''Fellow'' - for those with significant expertise - and ''Companion'' - the most sen ...
; President of the Confederation of British Industry
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a UK business organisation, which in total claims to speak for 190,000 businesses, this is made up of around 1,500 direct members and 188,500 non-members. The non members are represented through the 1 ...
between 1976 and 1977; and Chairman of Cadbury Schweppes
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars ...
Ltd between 1969 and 1974.[
]
Personal life
Watkinson had been an active rock climber
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically an ...
in his younger days.[ He married Vera (Peggy) Langmead in 1939 and they had two daughters.][ Lord Watkinson died in December 1995, aged 85, and the viscountcy became extinct.
]
Arms
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkinson, Harold
1910 births
1995 deaths
Alumni of King's College London
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957
Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964
Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955
People educated at Queen's College, Taunton
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
Royal Navy officers
Secretaries of State for Defence (UK)
Secretaries of State for Transport (UK)
UK MPs 1950–1951
UK MPs 1951–1955
UK MPs 1955–1959
UK MPs 1959–1964
UK MPs who were granted peerages
Viscounts created by Elizabeth II