Marcus Richard Kimball, Baron Kimball (18 October 1928 – 26 March 2014) was a British

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 ...

politician.

Early life

The son of Major Lawrence Kimball, he was born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, London, and 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

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He became a farmer and a Lloyd's underwriter. He was a councillor on

Rutland County Council Rutland County Council, officially called Rutland County Council District Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. Since 1997 the council has been a ...

and commanded a squadron of the

Leicestershire Yeomanry The Leicestershire Yeomanry (Prince Albert's Own) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794 and again in 1803, which provided cavalry and mounted infantry in the Second Boer War and the First World War and provided two fie ...

Political career

Kimball contested

Derby South Derby South () is a constituency formed of part of the city of Derby, most recently represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Baggy Shanker of the Labour and Co-op Party. Previous MP, Margaret Beckett, served the c ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Ca ...

from a 1956 by-election until

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

. While representing this constituency, he wrote to Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

, after Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands, that he felt the British government should "let the Argentinians have the Falklands with as little fuss as possible". This letter, apparently written without the knowledge of his constituency party, remained secret until revealed by the release of part of the Thatcher archive in 2013. According to his obituary he treated his constituents in much the same way as he treated the tenants of his

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the United Kingdom census, 2021, 2021 census. It is the ad ...

and

Altnaharra Altnaharra () is a small hamlet in Sutherland in the Highland region of northern Scotland. The hamlet is on the A836 road, close to its junction with the B873. The nearest villages are Lairg and Tongue. Lochs in the area include Loch Naver an ...

estates advising potential MPs not to promise to hold surgeries and not to live in the constituency unless sure there was a good local hunt. Kimball opposed separate taxation for women in 1978, saying women just gave the bill to their husbands.

Knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1981, Kimball was subsequently given a

life peer 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 ...

age as Baron Kimball, of Easton in the County of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

on 9 May 1985.

Hunting interests

A keen huntsman, Kimball was joint master of the Fitzwilliam Hunt 1952 and 1953, and the

Cottesmore Hunt The Cottesmore Hunt, which hunts mostly in Rutland, is one of the oldest foxhound packs in Britain, with origins dating back to 1666. Its name comes from the village of Cottesmore, Rutland, Cottesmore where the hounds were kennelled. History T ...

1953–58. He was chairman of the

British Field Sports Society The Countryside Alliance (CA) is a British organisation promoting issues relating to the countryside such as farming, rural services, small businesses and field sports, aiming to "Give Rural Britain a voice". History The Countryside Alliance ...

1966–82, and its President 1996–98. He was vice-president of its successor organisation, the

Countryside Alliance The Countryside Alliance (CA) is a British organisation promoting issues relating to the countryside such as farming, rural services, small businesses and field sports, aiming to "Give Rural Britain a voice". History The Countryside Allian ...

from 1998. He indirectly gave money to an anti-field sports organisation after an Industrial Tribunal ruled that he sacked his housekeeper unfairly and she donated part of her compensation.

Other interests

In March 1993, he was appointed Chairman of the British Greyhound Racing Trust, a position he held until 1996. He also held senior positions in

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...

, light horse breeding organisations and in the

Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom, established in 1844 by royal charter. It is responsible for monitoring the educational, ethical and clinical standards of the ...

. He died at the age of 85 on 26 March 2014.

Arms

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', 1966 & 1979 * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimball, Marcus 1928 births 2014 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Kimball, Marcus Kimball, Baron Knights Bachelor People educated at Eton College Councillors in Rutland British hunters Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People from Marylebone Politicians from the City of Westminster Leicestershire Yeomanry officers Masters of foxhounds in England People from Great Easton, Leicestershire People in greyhound racing UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 Life peers created by Elizabeth II