George Richard Hodges Nugent, Baron Nugent of Guildford, (6 June 1907 – 16 March 1994),NUGENT OF GUILDFORD
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2016 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014) known as Sir Richard Nugent, 1st Baronet between 1960 and 1966, 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.

Background

Nugent was the son of

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 ...

George Roubiliac Hodges Nugent and his wife Violet Stella, daughter of Henry Theopphilus Sheppard. He was educated at the

Imperial Service College The Imperial Service College (ISC) was an English independent school based in Windsor, originally known as St. Mark's School when it was founded in 1845. In 1906, St Mark’s School absorbed boys from the former United Services College, which had ...

and went then to the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

Career

In 1926, Nugent was commissioned into the

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 ...

, leaving it after three years. He joined the County Council for

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

in 1944 and became an alderman in 1951, representing the county later as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. Nugent entered the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

in 1950, sitting as a

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 ...

(MP) for

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

until 1966. He became

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries was a junior ministerial office in the British government, serving under the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. The title changed to Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of ...

in 1951, an office he held until 1957. Subsequently, he served as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport was a junior position at the British Ministry of Transport. The office was renamed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport in 1941, but resumed its former name at the end of the S ...

until October 1959. Nugent was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of

Dunsfold Dunsfold is a village in the borough of Waverley, Surrey, England, 8.7 miles (14 kilometres) south of Guildford. It lies in the Weald and reaches in the north the southern escarpment of the Greensand Ridge. It includes the Wey and Arun Canal ...

in the

County of Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, on 27 January 1960 and was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1962. He received a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

age with the title Baron Nugent of Guildford, of Dunsfold in the County of Surrey on 31 May 1966. In 1944, Nugent became a member of the National Farmers Union's executive council and in 1948 a vice-chairman of the

National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs The National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs (NFYFC) is a rural youth organisation in the United Kingdom. The Federation covers various Young Farmers' Clubs (YFCs) throughout England and Wales, helping support young people in agriculture and th ...

, occupying both posts until 1951. He chaired the

Thames Conservancy Board The Thames Conservancy (formally the Conservators of the River Thames) was a body responsible for the management of the that river in England. It was founded in 1857 to replace the jurisdiction of the City of London up to Staines. Nine years la ...

for fourteen years from 1960 and was nominated a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

in 1962. Two years later, he became chairman of the

Animal Virus Research Institute Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

until 1977. Nugent became the first chairman of the

National Water Council The National Water Council (NWC) was a UK Government statutory body which managed issues of common interest across the water industry and acted as a link between Government and the Water Authorities. It was established in 1973 and was abolished in ...

in 1973, resigning after five years. He was president of the

Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is a British charity that aims to save lives and prevent life-changing injuries which occur as a result of accidents. In the past, it has successfully campaigned on issues of road safet ...

(RoSPA) and in 1981 he succeeded in introducing

seat belt legislation Seat belt legislation requires the fitting of seat belts to motor vehicles and the wearing of seat belts by motor vehicle occupants to be mandatory. Laws requiring the fitting of seat belts to cars have in some cases been followed by laws mandatin ...

through an amendment to the Transport Bill.

Family

Grave of Richard Nugent, Baron Nugent of Guildford

On 29 July 1937, Nugent married Ruth Stafford, daughter of Hugh Granville Stafford. He and his wife were both awarded honorary doctorates by the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...

in December 1968. Nugent died at

in 1994.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nugent, Richard 1907 births 1994 deaths People educated at the Imperial Services College Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Nugent of Guildford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Presidents of Surrey County Cricket Club Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs who were granted peerages Politics of Guildford Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom English justices of the peace Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Guildford Royal Artillery officers 20th-century British Army personnel Life peers created by Elizabeth II