Roger Patrick Blundell Drayton (4 January 1925 – 21 June 1986) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Early life and career

Drayton was born in Templeton. He attended schools at Sockburn and Hornby before finishing his education at

Christchurch Boys' High School , motto_translation = I Seek Higher Things , type = State school, Day and Boarding school , gender = Boys , song = The School We Magnify , colours = Blue and Black , established = , address = 71 Straven R ...

. Drayton trained at Wigram after enlisting in the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

(RNZAF) in 1944, serving until 1969, by which time he had risen to the rank of

Squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

. He served in the administrative section of the RNZAF and served abroad in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. Following

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 was employed as a computer systems analyst for the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. He was a keen sportsman and represented the RNZAF services teams in both cricket and soccer. He was the secretary of the Combined Services Sports Council in 1959. In 1955, he became secretary of the Ellesmere Cricket Association.

Member of Parliament

He represented the

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

electorate from 1969 to

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, when he retired. Drayton had a well—earned reputation as one of the best campaigners in the Labour Party after winning a previously thought marginal seat by over 900 votes and increasing his majority after that. Consequently, he was often sought out for advice from candidates and

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

colleagues. Drayton, according to Auckland MP

Warren Freer Warren Wilfred Freer (27 December 1920 – 29 March 2013) was a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party. He represented the Mount Albert electorate from 1947 to . He is internationally known as the first Western politician ever ...

, would never let anyone forget that he was from and represented

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. After the formation of the Third Labour Government he stood for a seat in the cabinet. He was not elected, which Prime Minister

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at ...

regretted. He then put himself forward for the positions of Chairman of Committees and junior government whip, but was unsuccessful. In 1973, he stood unsuccessfully for the Labour Party vice-presidency, but was beaten by

Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of the ...

MP Eddie Isbey. When Labour was unexpectedly defeated, Drayton retained his seat and in January 1976, he was appointed by Labour leader

Bill Rowling Sir Wallace Edward Rowling (; 15 November 1927 – 31 October 1995), commonly known as Bill Rowling, was a New Zealand politician who was the 30th prime minister of New Zealand from 1974 to 1975. He held office as the parliamentary leader of t ...

as Shadow Minister of State Services. From 1977 to 1978 he was Shadow Minister of Defence. He became Labour's caucus secretary and later was Chief Opposition Whip between 1976 and 1978.

Later life and death

Drayton died at his home in

Paraparaumu Paraparaumu () is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kapiti Coast, north of the nation's capital city, Wellington. Like other towns in the area, it has a partner settlement at the coast called Paraparaumu Bea ...

after a long illness aged 61, survived by his wife, son and daughter.

Notes

References

* * * * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Drayton, Roger 1925 births 1986 deaths People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand military personnel of World War II Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates 20th-century New Zealand politicians Cricketers from Christchurch New Zealand justices of the peace