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British soldier and Conservative politician (1908–1976) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir Richard Antony Pilkington, , KBE, MC (10 May 1908 – 9 December 1976) was a British Conservative Party politician and a soldier in the British Army.[1]
Sir Richard Pilkington | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member of Parliament for Widnes | |
| In office 14 November 1935 – 15 June 1945 | |
| Preceded by | Roland Robinson |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Nyholm Shawcross |
| Member of Parliament for Poole | |
| In office 25 October 1951 – 25 September 1964 | |
| Preceded by | Mervyn Wheatley |
| Succeeded by | Oscar Murton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 May 1908 St Helens, Lancashire, UK |
| Died | 9 December 1976 (aged 68) |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Rosemary Kidwell, née Russell-Roberts |
| Children | Three daughters |
| Parent(s) | Arthur Richard Pilkington and Marjorie Cope |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Richard Pilkington was born in St Helens to the Chairman of the Pilkington glass works, Arthur Pilkington, and Marjorie Cope, daughter of the painter Arthur Stockdale Cope.[2] He was educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford. He worked and travelled in North America from 1928 until 1930 when he joined the Coldstream Guards as an officer,[3] serving in Sudan and Egypt.[4]
In 1935 he resigned his commission to enter politics and was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Widnes in Lancashire.[5] He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Oliver Stanley.[6] On the outbreak of the Second World War he rejoined the Army and travelled to France with the British Expeditionary Force.[7] He was awarded the Military Cross after returning with one of the last groups from Dunkirk in 1940.[8]
He left the Army again in 1942 and became a Civil Lord of the Admiralty, leading naval missions to India, Ceylon and Burma.[9] He lost his seat to Christopher Shawcross in 1945 and lost again in 1950. In 1951 he won election as Member of Parliament for Poole in Dorset,[10] a seat he held until his retirement from politics in 1964 after a car accident and the onset of Parkinson's disease. He died from the disease in 1976 at the age of 68.[11]
Richard Pilkington was also known for his collection of cars, all red, a passion shared by his nephew Sir Antony Pilkington.[12]
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