Frederick William Cundiff (17 November 1895 – 7 August 1982) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

soldier, politician and businessman. He was the son of Sir William Cundiff, a prominent businessman and politician in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

who held the office of

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

in 1922–23. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Cundiff served in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

(RFA), later transferring to the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

. Following the war, he joined the part-time reserve Territorial Army, returning to the RFA, which became part of the

Royal Regiment of Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(RA) in 1924. He was promoted to the rank of major later in 1924. He retired from the TA in 1930. With the outbreak of 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 ...

Cundiff received a commission as a lieutenant in the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

. In June 1944, Edmund Ashworth Radford, the member of parliament for

Manchester Rusholme Manchester Rusholme is a parliamentary constituency centred on the Rusholme district of Manchester. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post syst ...

, died. Cundiff was selected to contest the resulting byelection for the Conservative Party. Under a wartime political pact, the parties forming the

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

agreed not to contest vacancies, although he was opposed by a

Common Wealth Party The Common Wealth Party (CW) was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom with parliamentary representation in the House of Commons from 1942 (the middle of the Second World War) until 1946. Thereafter CW continued to function, e ...

and an independent candidate. The poll was held on 8 July, and Cundiff was elected with a majority of 1,760 votes over the Common Wealth candidate. He was to remain as Rusholme's member of parliament for less than a year, as he was defeated by Lester Hutchinson of the Labour Party when a general election was held in 1945 by a margin of 11 votes. The

Representation of the People Act 1948 The Representation of the People Act 1948 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 65) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the law relating to parliamentary and local elections. It is noteworthy for abolishing plural voting for parlia ...

reorganised constituencies throughout Great Britain, and Cundiff was chosen by the Conservatives to contest the Manchester Withington Borough Constituency which was formed from parts of the previous Rusholme and Withington seats. The new constituency was first contested at the 1950 general election, and he won the seat comfortably with a majority of over 8,500 votes over his Labour challenger. When a further

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

was called in the following year, Cundiff chose to retire from the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

. After parliament, Cundiff took up other directorships in companies, including serving as chairman of Threlfalls Brewery.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cundiff, Frederick 1895 births 1982 deaths UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1950–1951 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Royal Field Artillery officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II People from Prestbury, Cheshire Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester British Army personnel of World War I Royal Artillery officers