Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Sir Neil Gordon Thorne, (born 8 August 1932) is 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. He contested the constituency of Ilford South six times from October 1974 to 1997, and was the

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 the seat from 1979 to 1992, when he lost by 402 votes to

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Mike Gapes Michael John Gapes (born 4 September 1952) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford South from 1992 to 2019. Born in Wanstead Hospital, Gapes attended Buckhurst Hill County High School. He studied ec ...

Biography

Thorne served in the Territorial Army

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, reaching the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. In 1989, he founded the

Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme The Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme (AFPS) offers Members of Parliament and Peers experience of the United Kingdom's armed forces. The Scheme runs annually and gives an insight into military life for all three Armed Services, Royal Navy, Army ...

, which aims to improve the quality of debate on military issues, and does this by exposing Members of Parliament to first-hand experience of the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. Thorne is a member of the Steering Group Committee for the British Chinese Armed Forces Heritage project which started in 2015. This is a joint project in collaboration between the

Ming-Ai (London) Institute The Ming-Ai (London) Institute ( simplified: 明爱(伦敦)学院; traditional: 明愛(倫敦)學院; pinyin: Míng'ài (Lúndūn) Xuéyuàn) is the executive arm of the Ming-Ai Association, established in 1993 to promote Chinese culture locally an ...

and

Regent's University London Regent's University London (formerly Regent's College) is a private university located in London, England. It is part of Galileo Global Education, Europe’s largest higher education provider. Regent's University London was established in 1984 ...

. Thorne is a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and was

Provincial Grand Master Provincial Grand Master (abbreviated PGM or PrGM), sometimes called District Grand Master or Metropolitan Grand Master, is a fraternal office held by the head of a Provincial Grand Lodge, who is directly appointed by the organisation's Grand Master ...

of Essex Freemasons for ten years from 1995 to 2005. In 2018, Thorne attracted media criticism for his application for planning permission to relocate a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...

. Suffragettes raised funds and twice negotiated the site of the statue in 1930 and 1956, when the government also attempted to remove the statue. The proposed site in

has no link to Pankhurst or suffragette history.

Honours

Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon

UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

Service Medal of the Order of St John Ribbon

* Sir Neil Thorne also serves as a deputy lieutenant for the

London Borough of Brent The London Borough of Brent () is a London boroughs, London borough in north-west London. It borders the boroughs of London Borough of Harrow, Harrow to the north-west, London Borough of Barnet, Barnet to the north-east, London Borough of Camden ...

, allowing him the

Post Nominal Letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

"DL" for Life. * He was appointed as the Honorary Colonel of the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

Officers' Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...

on 8 August 1999.

Footnotes

References

Times Guide to the House of Commons ''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'' is a political reference guide book published by Times Newspapers giving coverage of general elections in the United Kingdom. Following most general elections since 1880, the book has been published. The ...

, 1992 and 1997 editions * 1932 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 Knights Bachelor Royal Artillery officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England British special constables Deputy Lieutenants Knights of Justice of the Order of St John {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1930s-stub