John Derek Page, Baron Whaddon (14 August 1927 – 16 August 2005), was a British politician and export agent/consultant.

Background

Derek Page, as he was usually known, was born the son of a lorry driver in Sale,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

. He was educated at St Bede's College, Manchester, and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

. Page was Director of the Cambridge Chemical Co. from 1962 and of Rindalbourne Ltd. from 1983 to 1990. He was also

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of Daltrade Ltd. from 1983, and of Skorimpex-Rind from 1986. In

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, he became Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for

Kings Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

, and held this seat until

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, when he lost to the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler (who would later join the SDP). He refought Brocklebank-Fowler for the changed seat of North West Norfolk in February 1974 but was again defeated. Later he left Labour and himself defected to the SDP, but rejoined in 1994.

Peerage

On 26 April 1978, Page was created 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

with the title Baron Whaddon, ''of Whaddon in the County of Cambridgeshire''. In 1989, he was awarded the Golden Insignia of the Order of Merit by Poland.

Family

He was married firstly to Catherine Audrey Halls from 1948 until her death in 1979; they had two children. He married, secondly, to Angela Rixson in 1981, and they were married until his death.

Death

Lord Whaddon died two days after his 78th birthday on 16 August 2005.

Arms

References

* *''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', February 1974 * *

External links

* 1927 births 2005 deaths 20th-century British businesspeople Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs who were granted peerages Alumni of the University of London People educated at St Bede's College, Manchester People from Sale, Greater Manchester Whaddon Social Democratic Party (UK) life peers People from South Cambridgeshire District Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{Life-peer-stub