Commander Redvers Michael Prior, DSO, DSC, (29 September 1893 - 4 November 1964) was a Conservative

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 ...

, representing Birmingham Aston from 1943 to 1945, and an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

Military career

Prior joined the Navy as a midshipman in January 1912, and was promoted to acting sub-lieutenant in May 1914, substantive sub-lieutenant in January 1915, and full lieutenant in July 1916, in which rank he was serving at the end of the war. He was promoted to lieutenant-commander in 1924, and later retired from the Navy.Allied Warship Commanders - Redvers Michael Prior DSO, DSC, RN
uboat.net In February 1940 he returned to active service in command of the anti-submarine trawler ''Angle'' (FY 201), and then the trawler ''Ruby'' (T 24) from March to May. He then saw service at the Dunkirk evacuation, for which he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

in June 1940. In August 1942 he participated in the Dieppe Raid, as the senior naval beachmaster on one of the five landing beaches. He was severely wounded during the fighting, and taken prisoner. Near the Belgian-German border he escaped from a hospital train, making his way to the coast and observing the construction of the Atlantic Wall. He made contact with the maquis on his arrival in Paris, and attempted to head south and leave France through Marseilles, in the Vichy zone. He was, however, recaptured, and imprisoned in

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in the winter of 1942/43. Here, he met

Donald Caskie Donald Currie Caskie DD OBE OCF (22 May 190227 December 1983) was a minister in the Church of Scotland, best known for his work in France during World War II. He was a member of the Pat O'Leary escape line which helped up to 500 Allied sai ...

, who helped him escape to the United Kingdom. On his return to England, in March 1943, he was made a Companion of 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, ty ...

. He returned to active service after his recuperation, and during the

North West Europe Campaign The North West Europe campaign was a campaign by the Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth armed forces in North West Europe, including its skies and adjoining waters during World War II. The term Western Front (WWII), Western Front has als ...

he was mentioned in despatches for service in the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

, and was awarded a bar to the Distinguished Service Cross for his part in

Operation Infatuate Operation Infatuate was the code name given to an Anglo-Canadian operation in November 1944 during the Second World War to open the port of Antwerp to shipping and relieve logistical constraints. The operation was part of the wider Battle of the ...

, the capture of

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Parliament

Prior was elected to Parliament at the Birmingham Aston by-election in June 1943, shortly after his return to the UK. He succeeded Edward Kellett, who had been killed in action in North Africa that March; as a result of the

war-time electoral pact The war-time electoral pact was an electoral pact established by the member parties of the UK coalition governments in the First World War, and re-established in the Second World War. Under the pact, in the event of a by-election only the party whi ...

, Labour and the Liberals did not stand candidates, and Prior was only opposed by a candidate of the

Common Wealth Party The Common Wealth Party (CW) was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom with parliamentary representation from the middle of the Second World War until the year after its end. Thereafter it continued in being, essentially as a pre ...

as well as a local independent. His

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

, in which he described his experiences in France and called for continuing raids on the continent, was well received and widely reported. Due to his military service he only spoke twice more in 1943 and 1944, but became a more active member in 1945, particularly on military matters. He held the seat for the

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 ...

until the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgarian ...

, when he contested Stratford West Ham, a safe Labour seat, and lost. After service in Parliament, he was a member of Kent County Council in 1949, and later retired to

Saint Lawrence, Jersey St Lawrence (; Jèrriais: ) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is located west of St Helier. The parish covers 5,258 vergées (9.5 km2) and occupies the centre of the Island. St Lawrence Village is also the na ...

, where he died in 1964.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prior, Redvers 1893 births 1964 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany UK MPs 1935–1945 Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies