Patrick Buchan-Hepburn, 1st Baron Hailes
Patrick George Thomas Buchan-Hepburn, 1st Baron Hailes, GBE, CH (2 April 1901 – 5 November 1974),[1] was a British Conservative politician and the only Governor-General of the short-lived West Indies Federation, from 3 January 1958, to 31 May 1962, when the country was disbanded.
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[edit] Background and education
Buchan-Hepburn was the youngest son of Sir Archibald Buchan-Hepburn, 4th Baronet (see Buchan-Hepburn Baronets), and his wife Edith Agnes (née Karslake), and was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge.[2]
[edit] Career
Buchan-Hepburn was a personal secretary to Winston Churchill and a London County Councillor before being elected at a by-election in February 1931 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the East Toxteth division of Liverpool.[1][3] (He had stood unsuccessfully in Wolverhampton East at the 1929 general election.[4]) In 1939 he was appointed a Parliamentary Whip for the Conservative Party and a Lord of the Treasury. During World War II he served in the military, but returned to politics in 1945, serving as Deputy Whip to 1948 and then as Chief Whip. His East Toxteth constituency was abolished in boundary changes for the 1950 general election, when he was elected for the newly-created Beckenham constituency in Kent.[5] He was Government Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury from 1951 to 1955. In 1957 he raised to the peerage as Baron Hailes, of Prestonkirk in the County of East Lothian.[6]
With the formation of the West Indies Federation in response to complaints against British colonialism in the Caribbean, Lord Hailes was appointed the country's first Governor-General and relocated to Port of Spain on the island of Trinidad. Four years later, the new state was dissolved and he returned to England, where he served as Chairman of the Historic Buildings Council (a predecessor body of English Heritage, formally known as the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England).
[edit] Personal life
Buchan-Hepburn married Diana Mary, daughter of Brigadier-General the Hon. Charles Lambton, in 1945. They had no children. He died in November 1974, aged 73, when the barony became extinct.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "E" (part 1)
- ^ a b thepeerage.com Patrick George Thomas Buchan-Hepburn, 1st and last Baron Hailes
- ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 173. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- ^ Craig, op. cit. page, page 281
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)
- ^ London Gazette: no. 41003. p. 1044. 15 February 1957.
[edit] External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Patrick Buchan-Hepburn
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Mond |
Member of Parliament for East Toxteth 1931–1950 |
Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Beckenham 1950–1957 |
Succeeded by Philip Goodhart |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by William Whiteley |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1951–1955 |
Succeeded by Edward Heath |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Hailes 1957–1974 |
Extinct |
- 1901 births
- 1974 deaths
- Old Harrovians
- Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
- British Army personnel of World War II
- Royal Artillery officers
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
- Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- Members of the London County Council
- UK MPs 1931–1935
- UK MPs 1935–1945
- UK MPs 1945–1950
- UK MPs 1950–1951
- UK MPs 1951–1955
- UK MPs 1955–1959
- Colonial government in the West Indies
- Colonial governors of the West Indies
- Governors-General
- Younger sons of baronets
