Duncan Edwin Duncan-Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys (; 24 January 1908 – 26 November 1987), was a British politician and minister in successive

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

governments in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a son-in-law of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

and played a key role in promoting European unity after

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 ...

Early life

Sandys, born on 24 January 1908 at the Manor House, Sandford Orcas, Dorset, was the son of

George John Sandys Captain George John Sandys (; 23 September 1875 – 3 September 1937) was a British diplomat and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. Early life Sandys was the son of James Sandys, of Slade House, Stroud, Gloucestershire, and was ...

, a

Member of Parliament (1910–1918), and Mildred Helen Cameron. Sandys's parents divorced in January 1921 when he was 12 years old. His mother married Frederick Hamilton Lister in October that year, becoming Mildred Helen Lister. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

Early career

Sandys entered the

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

in 1930, serving at the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

in London as well as at the embassy in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He became Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Norwood in

south London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

in a by-election in March 1935, at which he was opposed by an Independent Conservative candidate sponsored by

Randolph Churchill Major (rank), Major Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer Churchill (28 May 1911 – 6 June 1968) was an English journalist, writer and politician. The only son of future List of British Prime Ministers, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill a ...

. In May 1935, he was in effect saying that Germany should have a predominant place in central Europe, so that Britain could be free to pursue her colonial interests without rival. He was a prewar member of the

Anglo-German Fellowship The Anglo-German Fellowship was a membership organisation that existed from 1935 to 1939, and aimed to encourage friendly relations between the United Kingdom and Germany. Previous groups in Britain with the same aims had been wound up when Ado ...

. In November 1936 Sandys put forward to the "1912 Club" a "fanciful vision" of England in 1950 (including ''peace in Europe'') .

The Duncan Sandys case

In 1937, Sandys was commissioned into the 51st (London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade, Royal Artillery, of the Territorial Army (TA). In 1938, he asked questions in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

on matters of

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

that reflected his TA experience. He was subsequently approached by two unidentified men, presumably representing the

secret service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

s, and threatened with

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

under section 6 of the

Official Secrets Act 1920 The Official Secrets Act 1920 ( 10 & 11 Geo. 5. c. 75) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act was repealed by and replaced with the National Security Act 2023 (c. 32). In the Republic of Ireland, the act was repealed by ...

. Sandys reported the matter to the

Committee of Privileges A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

which held that the disclosures of Parliament were not subject to the legislation, though an MP could be disciplined by the House.Richard Holmes, ''Soldiers: Army Lives and Loyalties from Redcoats to Dusty Warriors'', London: Harper Press, 2011, . The Official Secrets Act 1939 was enacted in reaction to this incident.

Wartime career

During the

Second World War 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 ...

Sandys fought with 51st (London) HAA Regiment in the Norwegian campaign. In April 1941 he suffered injuries to his feet in a motoring accident; this left him with a permanent limp. His father-in-law gave him his first ministerial post as

Financial Secretary to the War Office The Financial Secretary to the War Office and for certain periods known as the Finance Member of the Army Council, was a junior ministerial office of the British government established in 1870. In May 1947 the office was unified with that of the ...

from 1941 to 1944 during the wartime coalition government. Sandys had been wartime Parliamentary Secretary to the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed on 1 August 1939 by the Ministry of Supply Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 38) to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Ministe ...

W. A. Robotham William Arthur Robotham (26November 18991980) was a Rolls-Royce executive involved in the development of Rolls-Royce cars, during World War II of tanks and tank engines, and post-war of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars complete with bodies and then o ...

who had been in the Ministry as "Chief Engineer of Tank Design" wrote that he was knowledgeable on army matters. Robotham of

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

who had headed development of the

Meteor A meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star, is a glowing streak of a small body (usually meteoroid) going through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a ...

tank engine in WWII was surprised and pleased when in 1963 Sandys said "I regard the adoption of the Meteor tank engine as the absolute turning-point in the history of British tank development", at the opening of a Rolls-Royce aero engine factory at

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...

(aero engines being Rolls-Royce's main business). From 1944 to 1945 he served as Minister of Works for the remainder of the coalition and in the

Churchill Caretaker Ministry The Churchill caretaker ministry was a short-term British government in the latter stages of the Second World War, from 23 May to 26 July 1945. The prime minister was Winston Churchill, leader of the Conservative Party. This government succeed ...

. While a minister he was chairman of a War Cabinet Committee for defence against German flying bombs and rockets, on which he frequently clashed with the scientist and intelligence expert R. V. Jones. However, he lost his seat in the 1945 general election. He resigned his TA commission as a lieutenant-colonel the following year.

Co-founder of the European Movement

Sandys played a key role in the creation of the

European Movement The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it. History Initially the Euro ...

. He established the United Europe Movement in Britain in 1947 following a speech of his father-in-law, Winston Churchill, in Zurich on 19 September 1946 when Churchill had called for the "European family" to be recreated and provided with "a structure under which it can dwell in peace, in safety and in freedom". In 1947, Joseph Retinger, who had been instrumental in setting up the

European League for Economic Cooperation The European League for Economic Cooperation or ELEC (, LECE) is an independent political advocacy group which advocates for closer European integration. Established in 1946, ELEC was one of the founding members of the European Movement in 1948. It ...

in 1946, approached Sandys, then Honorary Secretary of the UEM, to discuss ways the League and the United Europe Movement might cooperate on questions relating to European integration. They decided to call a small conference of existing organisations working for European unity – the European League for Economic Cooperation, the United Europe Movement, the Nouvelles Equipes Internationales, the European Parliamentary Union, and the European Union of Federalists. This took place in Paris on 20 July 1947 where ELEC, the UEM, the EPU and the EUF agreed to establish the Committee for the Co-ordination of the International Movements for European Unity. The EPU did not however subsequently ratify its participation in the committee but the Nouvelles Equipes Internationales agreed to join. In December 1947, the committee was renamed the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity and Sandys was elected its chairman and Retinger its Honorary Secretary. The Committee organised the

Congress of Europe The Hague Congress or the Congress of Europe was a conference that was held in The Hague from 7–11 May 1948 with 750 delegates participating from around Europe as well as observers from Canada and the United States of America. The Congress, or ...

, held in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

from 7–11 May 1948 with 750 delegates from across Europe. Following the Congress, the International Committee was transformed into the European Movement. Sandys served as a member of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe from 1950 until 1951.

Post-war parliamentary career

Sandys was elected to parliament once again at the 1950 general election for

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

and, when the Conservatives regained power in 1951, he was appointed

Minister of Supply Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

. For most of his time in that role, his private secretary was Jack Charles. As Minister of Housing from 1954, he introduced the Clean Air Act and in 1955 introduced the green belts. He was appointed

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

in 1957 and quickly produced the

1957 Defence White Paper The 1957 White Paper on Defence (Cmnd. 124) was a British white paper issued in March 1957 setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected wa ...

that proposed a radical shift in 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 ...

by ending the use of fighter aircraft in favour of

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

technology. Though later ministers reversed the policy, the lost orders and cuts in research were responsible for several British aircraft manufacturers going out of business. As Minister of Defence he saw the rationalisation (merger) of much of the British military aircraft and engine industry. Sandys continued as a minister at the

Commonwealth Relations Office The secretary of state for Commonwealth relations was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for dealing with the United Kingdom's relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The ...

, later combining it with the Colonies Office, until the Conservative government lost power in 1964. In this role he was responsible for granting several colonies their independence and was involved in managing the British response to several conflicts involving the armed forces of the newly independent countries of East Africa. He remained in the shadow cabinet until 1966 when he was sacked by

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

. He had strongly supported

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 191920 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. He w ...

in the dispute over

Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) was a statement adopted by the Cabinet of Rhodesia on 11 November 1965, announcing that Rhodesia (previously Southern Rhodesia), a British crown colony in southern Africa that had respon ...

. He was not offered a post when the Conservatives won the 1970 general election, but instead served as leader of the United Kingdom delegation to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

and

Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; , UEO; , WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (alliance) , Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 Treaty of Brussels. The WEU implement ...

until 1972 when he announced his retirement. The next year he was made a

member of the Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire. The orde ...

. In 1974 he retired from parliament and was awarded a

life peerage 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 2 May. As the title of

Baron Sandys Baron Sandys () is a title that has been created three times, once in the Peerage of England, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation, as Baron Sandys, ''of The Vyne'', in Hampsh ...

was already held by another family, he followed the example of

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * Ge ...

and incorporated his first name in his title, changing his surname to ''Duncan-Sandys''. He was created Baron Duncan-Sandys, ''of the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

'', on 2 May 1974. He was an active early member of the

Conservative Monday Club The Conservative Monday Club (usually known as the Monday Club) was a British political pressure group, aligned with the Conservative Party, though no longer endorsed by it. It also had links to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unio ...

Personal life

In 1935, Sandys married

Diana Churchill Diana Spencer Churchill (11 July 1909 – 20 October 1963) was the eldest daughter of British statesman Winston Churchill and Clementine Churchill. Personal life Diana Churchill was born at 33 Eccleston Square, London, on 11 July 190 ...

, daughter of the future prime minister

. They divorced in 1960. In 1962, he married Marie-Claire (''née'' Schmitt), who had been previously married to Robert Hudson, 2nd Viscount Hudson. The marriage lasted until Sandys's death. It has long been speculated that he may have been the 'headless man' whose identity was concealed during the scandalous divorce trial of Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, in 1963. Sandys died on 26 November 1987 at his home in London. He is buried in the churchyard of St Nicholas in Child Okeford, Dorset. His grave is marked by a horizontal white slab.

Children

From Sandys's first marriage, with Diana Churchill: *The Hon. Julian Sandys (19 September 1936 – 15 August 1997) *The Hon.

Edwina Sandys Edwina Sandys (born 22 December 1938) is an English artist and sculptor. Early life The daughter of Duncan Sandys, and a granddaughter of Winston Churchill, Sandys was a debutante and was presented to Queen Elizabeth II. After attending a gente ...

(born 22 December 1938) *The Hon. Celia Sandys (born 18 May 1943). She married firstly Michael Kennedy and secondly

Dennis Walters Sir Dennis Murray Walters (28 November 1928 – 1 October 2021) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Westbury from 1964 to 1992. Early life The son of Douglas L. Walters and Clara Walt ...

(divorced 1979). From his second marriage, with Marie-Claire Schmitt: * The Hon.

Laura Sandys Laura Jane Sandys (; born 5 June 1964) is a former chair of the European Movement UK, and a British Conservative Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Thanet between 2010 and 2015. Early life The daughter ...

(born 5 June 1964). She was a Conservative Member of Parliament for

South Thanet South Thanet was a constituency in Kent. The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies made moderate boundary changes to the constituency, which was renamed East Thanet, taking effect at the 2024 general election. Boundaries 1983–2010: The ...

Interests

Among Sandys's other interests was historic architecture. He formed the Civic Trust in 1957 and was its president; the Royal Institution of British Architects made him an honorary Fellow in 1968, and the

Royal Town Planning Institute The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was granted ...

made him an honorary member. He was also a trustee of the World Security Trust. Between 1969 and 1984 he was president of

Europa Nostra Europa Nostra (Latin for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for cultural heritage, Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement ...

and acted for the preservation of the European cultural and architectural heritage. His business activities included a directorship of the

Ashanti Goldfields Corporation The Ashanti Goldfields Corporation is a gold mining company based in Ghana that was founded by Joseph Ellis and Joseph Biney both from Cape Coast. The Ashanti Mine, located at Obuasi, 56 km south of Kumasi, has been producing since 1897. Du ...

, which was later part of

Lonrho Lonrho is a London-based conglomerate that was established in 1998 as Lonrho Africa plc. It is engaged in multiple business sectors in Africa, mainly agribusiness, infrastructure, transport, hospitality and support services. History Lonrho ...

of which he became chairman. He was therefore caught up in the scandal in which Lonrho was revealed to have bribed several African countries and broken international sanctions against

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

, as well as the "unpleasant and unacceptable face of capitalism" episode involving eight directors being sacked by

Tiny Rowland Roland Walter "Tiny" Rowland (; 27 November 1917 – 25 July 1998) was a British businessman, corporate raider and the chief executive of the Lonrho conglomerate from 1962 to 1993. He gained fame from a number of high-profile takeover bids, in p ...

Career summary

* Coalition Government ** 20 July 1941 – 7 February 1943, Financial Secretary to the War Office ** 7 February 1943 – 21 November 1944, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Supply ** 21 November 1944 – 25 May 1945, Minister of Works * Caretaker Government ** 25 May 1945 – 26 July 1945, Minister of Works * Conservative Government ** 31 October 1951 – 18 October 1954, Minister of Supply ** 18 October 1954 – 13 January 1957, Minister of Housing and Local Government ** 13 January 1957 – 14 October 1959, Minister of Defence ** 14 October 1959 – 27 July 1960, Minister of Aviation ** 27 July 1960 – 13 July 1962, Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations ** 13 July 1962 – 16 October 1964, Secretary of State for the Colonies and Commonwealth Relations

Notes

External links

*
men' in sex scandal finally named
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 10 August 2000.
Obituary
''New York Times'', 7 November 1987 *
The Papers of Lord Duncan-Sandys
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers ...

British Army Officers 1939–1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandys, Duncan 1908 births 1987 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II British Secretaries of State for Commonwealth Affairs Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Duncan-Sandys European integration pioneers Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 Ministers of supply People educated at Eton College People educated at West Downs School Royal Artillery officers Secretaries of State for the Colonies UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs who were granted peerages Life peers created by Elizabeth II Military personnel from Dorset War Office personnel in World War II

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (di ...

British anti-communists