John Roland Robinson, 1st Baron Martonmere, (22 February 1907 – 3 May 1989) was a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician who later served as

Governor of Bermuda The Governor of Bermuda (fully the ''Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Somers Isles (alias the Islands of Bermuda)'') is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. For the purposes of this ar ...

from 1964 to 1972.

Early life

Robinson was born on 22 February 1907. He was the son of solicitor Roland Walkden Robinson of

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

and the former Mary Collier Pritchard, a daughter of Joseph Pritchard, also of Blackpool. He was educated at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

, and was called to the Bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincol ...

in 1929.

Career

He was elected at the

1931 general election Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – ...

as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...

, a seat he held until

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

, when he was elected for

. He held that seat until the constituency was divided at the 1945 election, when he was elected for Blackpool South, holding that seat until he retired from the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

at the 1964 general election. Robinson never held ministerial office but was Chairman of the

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

Commonwealth Affairs Committee in the House of Commons from 1954 to 1964. He was knighted in 1954, admitted in 1962 to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

, and in 1964 was raised to the peerage as Baron Martonmere, of Blackpool in the County Palatine of Lancaster. During the latter year, he was also appointed

, a post he held until 1972. He was further honoured when he was made a in 1966 and a GBE in 1973.

Personal life

In 1930 Robinson was married to Maysie Gasque, daughter of Clarence Warren Gasque. After moving to Bermuda, they spent summers at Romay House, Tucker's Town and winters at Lyford Cay. They had one son and one daughter: * Richard Robinson (1935–1979), who married Wendy Patricia Blagden, a daughter of James Cecil Blagden, of Bapchild Court, in 1959. * Loretta Robinson (1939–2022), who married Edward S. Rogers Jr., a Canadian businessman who founded

Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet, with significant additional telecommunications and mass media ass ...

, in 1963. Robinson died at his home in Lyford Cay,

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

, in May 1989, at the age of 82. He was succeeded in the Barony of Martonmere by his grandson, John Stephen Robinson (b. 1963).

Descendants

Through his daughter Loretta, he was a grandfather of Lisa Anne Rogers,

Edward S. Rogers III Edward Samuel Rogers III (born June 22, 1969) is a Canadian businessman who serves as the chairman of Rogers Communications. He is also the chairman of the Rogers Control Trust, which controls the majority of the voting shares of Rogers Commun ...

, Melinda Mary Rogers, and Martha Loretta Rogers.

Arms

References

External links

Cracroft's Peerage page
*
John Roland Robinson, 1st Baron Martonmere
at

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martonmere, Roland Robinson, 1st Baron 1907 births 1989 deaths Robinson, Roland Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Robinson, Roland Robinson, Roland Robinson, Roland Robinson, Roland Robinson, Roland Robinson, Roland Robinson, Roland UK MPs who were granted peerages Governors of Bermuda Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II Members of Lincoln's Inn