Harold Arthur Watkinson, 1st Viscount Watkinson, (25 January 1910 – 19 December 1995, was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician. He was Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation between 1955 and 1959 and a cabinet member as

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 ...

between 1959 and 1962, when he was sacked in the

Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (, ), also called the Röhm purge or Operation Hummingbird (), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, ord ...

. In 1964 he was ennobled as Viscount Watkinson.

Education and early life

Educated at

Queen's College, Taunton Queen's College is a co-educational private school located in Taunton, the county town of Somerset, England. It is a day/boarding school for pupils aged 0–18. The school incorporates nursery, pre-prep, prep, and senior schools. The current Hea ...

, and at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, Watkinson worked for the family engineering business between 1929 and 1935 and in technical and engineering journalism between 1935 and 1939. He saw active service as a Lieutenant-Commander in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

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 ...

Political career

Watkinson was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for the new constituency of

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

in 1950, holding the seat until 1964, and was initially Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, John Maclay, from 1951 to 1952. He became a government member under

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, ...

as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour and National Service in 1952, a post he held until December 1955, when he was made Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation by Sir Anthony Eden, entering the cabinet in January 1957, and remaining there when promoted to

under

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

in 1959. Watkinson was one of seven cabinet ministers sacked in July 1962 in Macmillan's

. He was appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in 1955, a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1962, and raised to the peerage as Viscount Watkinson, of Woking in the County of Surrey, in 1964.

Business career

Lord Watkinson held a number of public and business appointments, including senior positions in the British Institute of Management; President of the

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a British business interest group, which says it represents 190,000 businesses. The CBI has been described by the ''Financial Times'' as "Britain's biggest business lobby group". Incorporated by roy ...

between 1976 and 1977; and Chairman of

Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods, Inc., Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest c ...

Ltd between 1969 and 1974.

Personal life

Watkinson had been an active rock climber in his younger days. He married Vera (Peggy) Langmead in 1939 and they had two daughters. Lord Watkinson died in December 1995, aged 85, and the viscountcy became extinct.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkinson, Harold 1910 births 1995 deaths Alumni of King's College London Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 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 People educated at Queen's College, Taunton Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers Secretaries of State for Defence (UK) Secretaries of state for transport (UK) UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs who were granted peerages Viscounts created by Elizabeth II