Keith David Wickenden (22 November 1932 – 9 July 1983) was a Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament for

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England about south-west of London. It is in Mole Valley, Mole Valley District and the non-metropolitan district, council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs ro ...

from 1979 until 1983.

Early life

Keith Wickenden had an older brother named Roland, who served as chairman of European Ferries.

Business career

Wickenden worked as a partner at a firm of chartered accountants. When his brother Roland died in 1972, he became chairman of European Ferries. In 1973, he became a director of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. He also served as a director of Television South. During his time as chairman of European Ferries, the company made a counterbid against the UK government on the Port of Felixstowe. In 1980, Wickenden announced his intention to purchase Sealink, the major competitor of European Ferries, from British Rail. In the same year, he also took over the

merchant bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage, it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in comm ...

Singer and Friedlander.

Political career

In 1979, he became Member of Parliament for

as a member of the Conservative Party. He was elected with 61.4% of the vote, with a majority of 41.8% over the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. The seat was abolished in 1983, and he declined running for election in the Mole Valley seat which nearly replicated Dorking, due to a lung disorder.

Personal life

Wickenden was married and had four sons. He was an experienced pilot, and often flew his own

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

to engagements. On 9 July 1983, Wickenden died in a plane crash. Moments after taking off from

Shoreham Airport Brighton City Airport , also commonly known as Shoreham Airport, is located in Lancing, West Sussex, Lancing near Shoreham by Sea in West Sussex, England. It has a Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom), CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence tha ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, his twin engine de Havilland Dove plunged into a bank of the River Adur before catching on fire. An inquest into his death found the plane's engine to be at fault: instead of paying £10,000 for an engine replacement, Wickenden had paid £650 for a 1949-built engine which had been in storage for eight years before being fitted to the Dove.

References

External links

* 1932 births 1983 deaths Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in England Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1979–1983 Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. directors and chairmen {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1930s-stub Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1983