Walter Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley
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Walter Turner Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, GCVO, KCMG, MC, PC (January 17, 1891 – January 9, 1965) was a British politician.
Born in Plaxtol, Kent, Monckton was educated at Harrow School and Balliol College, Oxford.
A lawyer, Monckton served as advisor to Edward VIII during the abdication crisis, having been his Attorney-General since 1932. He was Recorder of Hythe from 1930 to 1937.
He worked in propaganda and information during World War II and became Solicitor General in Winston Churchill's 1945 caretaker government, although he refused to join the Conservative Party. He finally joined after the war and became a Member of Parliament for Bristol West at a 1951 by-election. Churchill soon appointed him to the cabinet as Minister of Labour and National Service, in which post he served from 1951 to 1955. He was Anthony Eden's Minister of Defence 1955–1956, but was the only cabinet minister to oppose his Suez policy, and was moved to Paymaster-General 1956–1957.
Monckton was made Viscount Monckton of Brenchley in 1957. He was chairman of Midland Bank (1957–1964), President of the Marylebone Cricket Club (1956–1957), Chairman of the Iraq Petroleum Company (1958), Chairman of the Advisory Commission on Central Africa (1960), and Chancellor of the University of Sussex (1961–1965).
He was succeeded by his son Gilbert on his death in 1965 at the age of 74.
[edit] Biography
The life of Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, Frederick Winston Furneaux-Smith, (1969)
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Oliver Stanley |
Member of Parliament for Bristol West 1951–1957 |
Succeeded by Robert Cooke |
| Legal Offices | ||
| Preceded by David Maxwell Fyfe |
Solicitor General for England and Wales May 1945–July 1945 |
Succeeded by Frank Soskice |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Selwyn Lloyd |
Minister of Defence 1955–1956 |
Succeeded by Anthony Head |
| Vacant Title last held by The Earl of Selkirk |
Paymaster-General 1956–1957 |
Succeeded by Reginald Maudling |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Viscount Monckton of Brenchley 1957–1965 |
Succeeded by Gilbert Monckton |
Categories: 1891 births | 1965 deaths | Members of the United Kingdom Parliament from English constituencies | Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom | Conservative MPs (UK) | Presidents of the Oxford Union | British Secretaries of State | Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom | Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order | Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George | Old Harrovians | Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford | Presidents of Surrey CCC | UK MPs 1951-1955 | UK MPs 1955-1959 | Solicitors General for England and Wales
