Robert Hugh Turton, Baron Tranmire, (8 August 1903 – 17 January 1994) was a British Conservative Party politician.

Biography

The son of Major R B Turton of Kildale Hall,

Kildale Kildale is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately south-east from Great Ayton, within the North York Moors National Park and on the Cleveland Way National Trail. The parish occupies , with b ...

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

, Turton was 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 at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. He was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1926. Turton joined the 4th Battalion of the

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under variou ...

at the outbreak of

World War II 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 ...

and served as Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General of the

50th (Northumbrian) Division The Northumbrian Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army, formed in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force with units drawn from the north-east of England, notably Northumberland, County Durham, Durham and the ...

. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in 1942.

Parliamentary career

At the 1929 general election, Turton was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for

Thirsk and Malton Thirsk and Malton is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in North Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 United Kingdom general el ...

, a seat which he held continuously until his retirement from 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 February 1974 general election. Turton was

Father of the House Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously ...

from 1965 to 1974. He attributed his election as an MP at the unusually young age of 25 to the death of his predecessor and kinsman Sir Edmund Turton, 1st Baronet three weeks before polling day and the local Conservative association not wanting to waste its "Vote For Turton" posters. Turton held ministerial office as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Insurance from 1951 to 1953, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance from 1953 to 1954, and as Joint

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was a junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. T ...

from October 1954 to December 1955. From December 1955 to January 1957 Turton served in Sir Anthony Eden's Ministry as

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

, a post then outside of the Cabinet but of Cabinet rank, and 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. In Parliament, Turton was Chairman of the Select Committee on Procedure from 1970 to 1974. He was opposed to British membership of the

EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

Honours

Turton was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE) in the

1971 Birthday Honours The 1971 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in suppleme ...

and on 9 May 1974, he 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Tranmire, of

Upsall Upsall is a Hamlet (place), hamlet in and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately four miles north-east of Thirsk. Upsall is part of the Upsall and Roxby estates owned by the Turton family. The popu ...

in the

. He was appointed as Justice of the Peace in 1936 and a Deputy Lieutenant for the North Riding of Yorkshire in 1962.

Family

Turton was cousin twice removed of

Peter Bottomley Sir Peter James Bottomley (born 30 July 1944) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1975 until 2024, last representing Worthing West. First elected at a by-election for the former consti ...

, who became

after the 2019 general election.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turton, Robin 1903 births 1994 deaths Military personnel from North Yorkshire People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Tranmire, Robin Turton, Baron Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Green Howards officers Recipients of the Military Cross Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 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 People from Hambleton District Deputy lieutenants of the North Riding of Yorkshire British Army personnel of World War II Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Life peers created by Elizabeth II