Sir Paul Lancelot Hawkins (7 August 1912 – 29 December 2002) was a British
Conservative Party politician.
Hawkins was born at
Downham Market
Downham Market, sometimes simply referred to as Downham, is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, approximately 11 miles south of King's Lynn, 39 miles west of Norwich and 30 ...
and was educated at
Cheltenham College
("Work Conquers All")
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School
, religion = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Head
, head = Nicola Hugget ...
. He was a livestock auctioneer and chartered surveyor, and served as a councillor on
Norfolk County Council
Norfolk County Council is the top-tier local government authority for Norfolk, England. Its headquarters are based in the city of Norwich.
Below it there are 7 second-tier local government district councils: Breckland District, Broadland Distr ...
. He joined the
Territorial Army (TA) and served 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 opposing ...
with the 7th Battalion of the
Royal Norfolk Regiment
The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...
, a TA unit, although his active service was brief as he was captured at
Saint-Valery-en-Caux
Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Caux'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France.
The addition of an acute accent on the "e" (Valéry) is incorrect.
Geography
The town is locat ...
during the final stages of the
Battle of France in 1940 and spent the next five years as a
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
.
Hawkins 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 o ...
(MP) for
South West Norfolk
South West Norfolk is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Liz Truss, a Conservative, who was prime minister of the United Kingdom from September to October 2022.
Constituency profile
This is ...
from 1964 to 1987 when he retired. Future minister
Gillian Shephard
Gillian Patricia Shephard, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, (''née'' Watts; born 22 January 1940), is a British Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Norfolk from 1987 to 2005. Shephard served as a Cabin ...
was his successor. Sir Paul was a Government
Whip under
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 from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...
(1970–1974), serving as an assistant whip 1970–1971, a
Lord of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of th ...
1971–1973, and
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household 1973–1974. He was
knighted in 1982.
References
*''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 o ...
, 1966, 1983 &1987
*
1912 births
2002 deaths
Royal Norfolk Regiment officers
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
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
Knights Bachelor
Members of Norfolk County Council
Councillors in Norfolk
Politicians awarded knighthoods
British Army personnel of World War II
People from Downham Market
British World War II prisoners of war
World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
People educated at Cheltenham College
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