Humphrey Edward Gregory Atkins, Baron Colnbrook, (12 August 1922 – 4 October 1996) was a British politician and a member of the Conservative Party. He served for 32 years as a Member of Parliament (MP), and served in the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

from 1979 to 1982.

Early life

Atkins was born on 12 August 1922, in

Chalfont St Peter Chalfont St Peter is a large village and civil parish in southeastern Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts which also includes Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont. The villages lie between High Wycombe a ...

, Buckinghamshire, son of Captain Edward Davis Atkins and Violet Mary (). His family spent his first few years in Kenya, returning to England after his father died from being attacked by a rhinoceros. Atkins was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: New Zealand * Wellington College, Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington College of Education, now the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Girls' College, Wellington, N ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, and served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

from 1940 to 1948. In 1944, Atkins married Margaret Spencer-Nairn. They had four children, three daughters and one son. He worked for Nairn's, his wife's family's

linoleum Linoleum is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a Hessian fabric, hes ...

business in

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

, Scotland, then became a director of a financial advertising agency.

Political career

Atkins contested the constituency of

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

in 1951, and was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Merton and Morden in 1955. He became MP for Spelthorne in 1970. Atkins was the

Conservative Chief Whip The Chief Whip of the Conservative Party oversees the whipping system in the party, which is responsible for ensuring that Conservative MPs or members of the House of Lords attend and vote in parliament in the desired way of the party leadership ...

from 1973 to 1979, and served as a

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (; ), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The offi ...

from 1979 to 1981. In September 1981, he was appointed as

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...

, which was a role as the chief government spokesman in the House of Commons for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. This role was necessary because the Foreign Secretary,

Lord Carrington Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton (6 June 1919 – 9July 2018), was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secreta ...

, sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He resigned in April 1982, along with Lord Carrington, over the Falklands invasion. Atkins was appointed to the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

as a Knight Commander (KCMG) in the 1983 Dissolution Honours. He left the House of Commons in 1987 and 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 ...

on 16 October as Baron Colnbrook, ''of

Waltham St Lawrence Waltham St Lawrence is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. Toponymy The name 'Waltham' is believed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon words ''Wealt'' and ''Ham'', meaning 'homestead or vill ...

in the

Royal County of Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

Death

Atkins died from cancer on 4 October 1996, aged 74, at home in

, Berkshire.

References

External links

* * , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Humphrey 1922 births 1996 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) life peers Royal Navy personnel of World War II Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland Lords Privy Seal People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Borough of Spelthorne Treasurers of the Household UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 Military personnel from Buckinghamshire Deaths from cancer in England People from Waltham St Lawrence Life peers created by Elizabeth II People from Chalfont St Peter Politicians from Buckinghamshire