John Rankin Rathbone (5 February 1910 – 10 December 1940) was a British Conservative Party politician.

Early life

He was born in 1910 to William Rathbone, a marine architect, and Agnes Dorothea Rankin.

Education

For his education, Rathbone attended West Downs and

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 ...

before attending

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. Whilst up at Oxford, he met an American student, Beatrice Frederika Clough, who had come to study at the university. The couple married in 1932 and had two children, a son, John Rankin Rathbone (known as Tim) and a daughter, Pauline Rathbone.

Political career

From the 1935 general election until his death, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for the Bodmin constituency in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. After his death, his American-born wife Beatrice was elected unopposed to succeed him as MP. The family lived in the constituency at Elmsleigh.

Foreign travel

United States

John and Beatrice travelled to the United States in the summer of 1934, sailing back to Britain aboard the in October. They returned to America in 1936, again sailing back to Britain in the October, this time aboard the .

Germany

Rathbone travelled as part of a parliamentary delegation, accompanied by Beatrice, to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. A fluent German speaker, he was appalled at what he saw in the country as he participated in the work of the delegation. He was a qualified pilot, learning to fly with the Old Etonian Flying Club and getting his Avro Club membership on 19 May 1938. Upon returning from Germany, Rathbone called a meeting in his constituency to announce that he was joining the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

Second World War

He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply from July to September 1939, when

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 ...

broke out. A flight lieutenant and fighter pilot with 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 ...

, he was killed shortly after the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

, on 10 September 1940. He was buried at Schoonselhof cemetery,

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, Belgium. In his obituary ''The Times'' observed:

Family members

Rathbone was the nephew of

Eleanor Rathbone Eleanor Florence Rathbone (12 May 1872 – 2 January 1946) was an independent British Member of Parliament (MP) and long-term campaigner for family allowance and for women's rights. She was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool. ...

, who had been an independent MP for the

Combined English Universities Combined English Universities was a university constituency represented in the United Kingdom Parliament (from 1918 until 1950). It was formed by enfranchising and combining all the English universities, except for Cambridge, Oxford and London ...

between 1929 and 1946, and a staunch women's rights campaigner. He was a grandson of William Rathbone, Liberal MP for Liverpool and later Carnarvonshire. His son, also called John Rankin Rathbone, but known as

Tim Rathbone John Rankin "Tim" Rathbone (17 March 1933 – 12 July 2002) was a British businessman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for the seat of Lewes (UK Pa ...

, was the Conservative MP for

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

from 1974 to 1997. His younger brother, Henry Stephen Nicholas Rathbone, served as a captain in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

and was killed at

Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...

on 9 November 1943.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathbone, John 1910 births 1940 deaths Royal Air Force officers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1935–1945 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bodmin Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Politicians from Cornwall

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II British World War II fighter pilots