Alfred Ronald Dashwood Gilbey (20 February 1911 – 31 July 1977) was a British

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

, businessman and politician. The son of Colonel Alfred Gilbey and his wife Beatrice ''née'' Holland, he was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

. His father was a director of W & A Gilbey, wine and spirit merchants, co-founded by his grandfather and great uncle. Gilbey was a keen sportsman and figure skater, winning the Amateur Figure Skating Championship at

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

, London, in 1930 and 1931, and the International Ice Figure Skating Championship in St Moritz,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, in 1931. He continued his association with winter sports throughout his life as a member of the British Olympic Council and as chairman of the

National Ice Skating Association British Ice Skating (formerly the National Ice Skating Association) is the national governing body of ice skating within the United Kingdom. Formed in 1879, it is responsible for overseeing all disciplines of ice skating: figure skating (singles ...

from 1966 - 1976. During the

Second World War 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 served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. Following the war, he entered politics in London, as a member of 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 ...

. He was a member of

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

from 1945 to 1948. At the 1950 general election he stood unsuccessfully for election to parliament at Greenwich. From 1952 - 1958 he represented Holborn and St Pancras South on the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

. He resigned from the county council in 1958 to become chairman of W & A Gilbey, a post he held for eleven years. At the time Gilbey's was the largest wine and spirits company in the United Kingdom, and he oversaw its merger into International Distillers & Vintners. Gilbey soon returned to local politics: serving as a member of

St Pancras Borough Council St Pancras was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Boa ...

from 1959 to 1962. In 1962 he was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for political and public services in London. He returned to local government for a third time in 1967 as a member of the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

representing Haringey until 1973.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbey, Ronald 1911 births 1977 deaths Members of London County Council Members of the Greater London Council British male single skaters People educated at Westminster School, London Members of Westminster Metropolitan Borough Council Members of St Pancras Metropolitan Borough Council British sportsperson-politicians Conservative Party (UK) councillors