Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Sir Peter Garnett Agnew, 1st Baronet (9 July 1900 – 26 August 1990) was an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and a Conservative Party politician.

Biography

Education and naval career

Agnew was born in Bucklow,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, a son of C.L. Agnew of Knutsford.Stenton and Lees ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament'' vol. iv p. 2 Educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school which was th ...

, he entered the Royal Navy on 25 October 1918, trained at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, and was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant on 15 May 1921. Receiving promotion to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 15 April 1923, he served on the sloop on the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China, was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 1 ...

from August 1923 until January 1925, before serving on the battlecruiser from March 1926 until July 1927. After a term as Aide-de-camp to the

Governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Jamaica. For context, see History of Jama ...

, he was assigned to the battleship in August 1928, transferring to the

Royal Yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...

in May 1930. On 15 April 1931 he was promoted to lieutenant-commander, but retired from the Navy on 29 May at his own request.

Election to Parliament

Agnew was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the

Camborne Camborne (from Cornish language, Cornish ''Cambron'', "crooked hill") is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth, C ...

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, ...

, at the 1931 general election. He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Walter Runciman, the

President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. A committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, it was first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centur ...

, in 1935–37, and to Sir Philip Sassoon,

First Commissioner of Works The First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings was a position within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and subsequent to 1922, within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irel ...

, in 1937–39. He was an Assistant Government

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

in May–July 1945, and held the Conservative Whip from August 1945 until February 1950. Agnew held the seat until the constituency's abolition at the 1950 general election. He contested the constituency of

Falmouth and Camborne Falmouth and Camborne was, from 1950 until 2010, a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Histo ...

, but lost to

Harold Hayman Frank Harold Hayman (12 December 1894 – 4 February 1966) was a British Labour Party politician born in Redruth, Cornwall. He joined the staff of Cornwall County Council in 1913, working as a clerk, and became a District Education Officer fo ...

World War II

Agnew returned to naval service in August 1939. He was

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of the destroyer in March–October 1940, and was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on 9 July 1940. He was in command of the destroyer from November 1940 to March 1941, receiving a

Mention in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

on 1 January 1941. He then served aboard the

heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...

from May 1941 until August 1942. From January 1943 until June 1944 he was on the staff of the

Royal Naval College 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 * Royal, ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

Return to Parliament

He re-entered the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

at the 1955 general election as MP for

South Worcestershire South Worcestershire was a parliamentary constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. The constituency was created ...

, and was re-elected there until his retirement at the 1966 general election.

Other activities

Agnew was a Member of the House of Laity in the Church of England Assembly, 1935–65, a

Church Commissioner The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccl ...

for England, 1948–68, and a trustee of the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, 1968-. He served as chairman of the Iran Society, 1966–73, and received the Order of Homayoun from Iran in 1973. From 1974 to 1976, Agnew was President of the European Documentation and Information Centre (CEDI), and was awarded the

Order of Civil Merit The Royal Order of Civil Merit (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OMC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and the Order ...

(''Orden del Mérito Civil'') from Spain in 1977.

Baronetage

He was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Clendry, in the County of Wigtown, in the

Baronetage of the United Kingdom Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

on 31 January 1957. After his death in 1990 at the age of 90, he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, Sir Quentin Agnew-Somerville, 2nd Baronet, father of the actress

Geraldine Somerville Geraldine Margaret Agnew-Somerville (born 19 May 1967) is an Irish-British actress. She is known for her roles in the film ''Gosford Park'' (2001) and the ''Harry Potter'' film series as an adult Lily Potter (2001–2011). Her other roles ha ...

Personal life

Agnew was married twice; firstly to Enid Frances Boan, daughter of Henry Boan of Perth, Western Australia, in 1928. They had one son. Enid died in 1982, and in 1984 he married Julie Marie Watson. They were divorced in 1987.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Agnew, Peter 1900 births 1990 deaths British anti-communists Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Royal Navy officers Royal Navy officers of World War II UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Camborne People educated at Repton School