Sir Paul Elmore Oliver Bryan (3 August 1913 – 11 October 2004) was a British
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 ...
politician.
[ ]
Early life
Bryan was born in
Karuizawa, Japan, the seventh of nine children of The Rev Ingram Bryan.
He lived in Japan until he was eight and then returned to England and was educated at
St John's School, Leatherhead
Seek those things which are above
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public SchoolIndependent school Co-educational day, weekly and flexi boarding
, religious_affiliation = Church of England
, p ...
.
He studied Modern Languages at
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...
, where he took great interest in sport, playing cricket and rugby – he was scrum half in the college rugby team where he played alongside his friend
Iain Macleod
Iain Norman Macleod (11 November 1913 – 20 July 1970) was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister.
A playboy and professional bridge player in his twenties, after war service Macleod worked for the Conservative Researc ...
, the future Conservative Chancellor.
After graduating he worked in Halifax, Yorkshire, where he met his first wife Betty Hoyle.
They married in 1939.
Military career
Paul Bryan had a distinguished wartime career.
He served with the
Royal West Kent Regiment
The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Quee ...
during
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 ...
.
He entered as a private soldier and attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel gaining the
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
The MC i ...
and the
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...
(DSO).
In 1942 he fought first in North Africa as part of the
Torch Landings.
He was given command of 6th Battalion for the invasion of Sicily and then Italy in September 1943.
For his "outstanding" leadership shown in the capture of Centuripe, Bronte and Monte Rivoglia in Sicily, he was awarded a DSO.
After leading his battalion 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 ...
, he finished the war as commandant of a training unit established at Barmouth, Wales. Here he brought his wartime colleagues Denis Forman and Fred Majdelaney as instructors.
Political career
After the war he worked in Sowerby Bridge where he started to take an interest in politics.
He contested
Sowerby in 1949, 1950 and 1951.
In 1955 he became
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
Howden
Howden () is a market and minster town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of York to the north of the M62, on the A614 road about south-east of York and north of Goole, which lies across the Ri ...
in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and later for
Boothferry
Boothferry is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Ouse where the A614 road crosses the river. It is about north-west of Goole.
Boothferry is split between civil parishes; areas ...
from 1983 until he retired in 1987.
In 1956,
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...
, then Chief Whip, invited him to become a whip. He was vice-chairman of the Conservative Party 1961–65, a
whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
1956 and 1958–61, and Minister for Employment from 1970 to 1972.
Bryan was one of the first Tory MPs after the Labour victories of 1974 to suggest openly that it was time for Edward Heath to resign.
In the leadership contest of 1975, he served on
William Whitelaw
William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, (28 June 1918 – 1 July 1999) was a British Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary from 1979 to 1983 and as ''de fac ...
's campaign committee. He was captain of the Parliamentary Golf Society and vice-chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee from 1977 to 1987.
Through his wartime friend
Denis Forman
Sir John Denis Forman (13 October 1917 – 24 February 2013) was a Scottish executive in the British television industry long associated with the ITV contractor Granada, and with various charitable and governmental bodies in the arts.
Career
Fo ...
he became involved in
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
where
Sidney Bernstein invited him to join the board.
He assembled the consortium which gained the licence for
Piccadilly Radio
Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West Eng ...
in Manchester. He was chairman of
Croydon Cable Television from 1985.
Having been brought up in The Far East he took a great interest in Japan and China. He was chairman of the All-Party Hong Kong Parliamentary Group from 1974 to 1987.
He made many friends among political leaders and businessmen both in the colony and in mainland China.
He took
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, (; born 12 May 1944) is a British politician who was the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997 and Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992. He was made a life pe ...
on his first visit to Hong Kong and later took great interest in the negotiations for the transfer of the colony to China. He took a practical approach to the negotiations.
He had immense sympathy for the people of Hong Kong but believed that a handover to China was unavoidable; at the same time, he remained optimistic about the prospects for the colony under Chinese rule.
Personal life
He had three daughters: Dr
Elizabeth Bryan
Elizabeth Blomfield Bryan AM is an Australian executive director. She was the first woman to run a large financial institution in Australia.
Biography
Bryan grew up on her family's cattle and sheep properties near Coonabarabran in northern New ...
, a paediatrian;
Felicity Bryan
Felicity Anne Bryan (16 October 1945 – 21 June 2020) was a British literary agent, the founder of Felicity Bryan Associates based in Oxford. She co-founded ''The Washington Post''s Laurence Stern Fellowship. It was announced in June 2020 that ...
, a literary agent and writer; and
Bernadette Hingley
Bernadette is a French name, a female form of the name Bernard, which means "brave bear". Notable persons with the name include: People
* Bernadette (singer) (born 1959), Dutch singer
* Bernadette Allen (born 1956), American foreign service of ...
who was one of the first women priests in the Church of England.
In 1971 he married Cynthia Duncan, daughter of Sir
Patrick Ashley Cooper
Major Sir Patrick Ashley Cooper (18 November 1887 – 22 March 1961) was a British businessman who for more than two decades was governor of the Hudson's Bay Company and director of the Bank of England. He served as High Sheriff of the County o ...
and the widow of Patrick Duncan and gained four stepchildren: Patrick, Alex, Ann and Emma Duncan.
He had a passion for golf which he learned from his first father-in-law James Hoyle. He played regularly at Ganton Golf Course until his last years.
He was President of
Ganton Golf Club
Ganton Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course in Ganton, North Yorkshire, England.
Founded in 1891, the course was initially designed by Tom Chisholm and Robert Bird, but modifications to the course have been made since by a number of people inclu ...
.
While he never considered himself a good golfer, he gained fame in 1962 by hitting two holes-in-one in one round. After his death, members of the club placed a bench, inscribed with his name, on the course from which you can see both the holes.
He became a
Knight Bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
in 1972.
References
External links
*'The Times Obituary'.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article493482.ece
*'The Guardian Obituary
Obituary: Sir Paul Bryan*'The Independent Obituary
*''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'',
Times Newspapers Ltd
News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp. It is the current publisher of ...
, 1950, 1966, 1983 & 1987
*'The Telegraph Obituary'
Sir Paul Bryan*
*
*'Guardian Obituary of his daughter Dr Elizabeth Bryan
Obituary: Elizabeth Bryan*'Independent obituary of his daughter The Rev Bernadette Hingley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Paul
1913 births
2004 deaths
British Army personnel of World War II
Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers
Recipients of the Military Cross
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
People educated at St John's School, Leatherhead
UK MPs 1955–1959
UK MPs 1959–1964
UK MPs 1964–1966
UK MPs 1966–1970
UK MPs 1970–1974
UK MPs 1974
UK MPs 1974–1979
UK MPs 1979–1983
UK MPs 1983–1987
Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Knights Bachelor
Politicians awarded knighthoods
Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964