Irene Mervyn Parnicott Pike, Baroness Pike, (16 September 1918 – 11 January 2004) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician. The name by which she came to be known, Mervyn, had been the name of her father's best friend, who was to have been her godfather; when he was killed in action, a few days before she was born, her father decided that the baby would take his name.

Early life

Born in Castleford, Yorkshire, into a family of Castleford pottery manufacturers, Pike was educated at Hunmanby Hall (

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire t ...

) and at Reading University and served with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. She was managing director of a firm of pottery manufacturers.

Career

Pike contested Pontefract in 1951 and

Leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of '' Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''All ...

in 1955 without success. She was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) for Melton at a by-election in December 1956. She held several positions including Assistant Postmaster-General from 1959 to 1963, joint Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department from 1963 to 1964 and Chair of the WRVS from 1974 to 1981 and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission from 1981 to 1985.

Awards

Pike was created 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. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

on 15 May 1974 as Baroness Pike, of Melton in the County of Leicestershire, and was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the

1981 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1981 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate t ...

Death

She died in 2004, unmarried, at a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

Kelso, Scottish Borders Kelso ( sco, Kelsae gd, Cealsaidh) is a market town in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Roxburghshire, it lies where the rivers Tweed and Teviot have their confluence. The town has a po ...

, aged 85, from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

following a stroke.

References

External links

Announcement of Pike's death in the House of Lords
– minutes of proceedings, 13 January 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, Mervyn 1918 births 2004 deaths Alumni of the University of Reading British women in World War II Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) life peers Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Politicians from Castleford Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs who were granted peerages 20th-century British women politicians Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 20th-century English women 20th-century English people