Sir Walter James Womersley, 1st Baronet (5 February 1878 – 15 March 1961) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Conservative Party politician who served as Minister of Pensions 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 ...

. He was born in Marley Street,

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, the son of a carter. His working life started in

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

as a 10-year-old, working half-time. He became a senior partner in a

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

firm of jewellers and merchants. He became Mayor of the town in 1922. At the 1924 general election Womersley was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Grimsby constituency. He served as a Junior

Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second L ...

and Parliamentary Private Secretary to Sir

Kingsley Wood Sir Howard Kingsley Wood (19 August 1881 – 21 September 1943) was a British Conservative politician. The son of a Wesleyan Methodist minister, he qualified as a solicitor, and successfully specialised in industrial insurance. He became a memb ...

. He was Assistant Postmaster General from 1935 until 1939. He was known as "Fish Womersley" for his championing of fishermen. As Minister of Pensions from 1939, he was the only government minister to hold the same office throughout World War II, but lost his seat in the 1945 general election and was the last Conservative MP for the constituency of Grimsby, until the General Election of 12 December 2019, when

Lia Nici Lia Nici-Townend (born 1 August 1969) is a British Conservative Party politician. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Great Grimsby since the 2019 general election before losing her seat in 2024. She served as an Assistant Government Whip ...

was elected as a Conservative. He was knighted in 1934 and received 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 ...

cy in the 1945 resignation honours. In 1946 he was awarded the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

for services to the Danish fishing industry and fishermen, especially during the War. His daughter, Dorothy Moseley (1911–2003), was also active in politics, at a local government level in

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 ...

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 ...

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* 1878 births 1961 deaths Womersley, Walter, 1st Baronet Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Mayors of Grimsby Knights Bachelor Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Great Grimsby Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 Politicians from Bradford UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940 Ministers in the Chamberlain peacetime government, 1937–1939 {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1870s-stub