Lawrence Wilton Skey (October 29, 1911 – May 8, 1977) was a Canadian businessman and politician. Skey was born in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

and educated at

Ridley College Ridley College may refer to * Ridley College (Melbourne), Victoria, Australia * Ridley College (Ontario), Canada See also * Ridley Hall, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK * * Ridley (disambiguation) {{schooldis ...

and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

where he earned a commerce degree. He became a chartered accountant before joining the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in 1936 and went on to serve during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

on two occasions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was active in the Norwegian Campaign making reconnaissance flights over Norway's coast looking for German battleships. He also served in Singapore, India, Suez, Gibraltar, Malta and Malaya. Skey was transferred to the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

in 1944 and served as a wing commander. He retired from the air force in 1946 after being elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

as the Progressive Conservative MP for

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

in the 1945 federal election. He served for four years until he was defeated in the 1949 federal election by Liberal

Lionel Conacher Lionel Pretoria Conacher ( ; May 24, 1900 – May 26, 1954), nicknamed "the Big Train", was a Canadian athlete and politician. Voted the country's top athlete of the first half of the 20th century, he won championships in numerous sports. ...

. He returned to private life and entered the investment business ultimately becoming president and director of York Associates in Toronto and also vice-president of Canadian Scudder Investment Fund.

External links

*
Canada Veterans' Hall of Valour biography
1911 births 1977 deaths Businesspeople from London, Ontario Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian military personnel of World War II Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Military personnel from Toronto Politicians from London, Ontario Politicians from Toronto Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada {{ProgressiveConservative-Ontario-MP-stub