Frederic Bennett

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For other people named Frederick Bennett, see Frederick Bennett (disambiguation).

DL
Member of Parliament
for Torbay
(Torquay 1955–1974)
In office
16 December 1955 – 18 May 1987
Preceded byCharles Williams
Succeeded byRupert Allason
Member of Parliament
for Reading North
In office
25 October 1951 – 6 May 1955
Preceded byKim Mackay
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born
Frederic Mackarness Bennett

(1918-12-02)2 December 1918
Died14 September 2002(2002-09-14) (aged 83)
Aberangell, Wales
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Marion Patricia Burnham
​
​
(m. 1945)​
ParentErnest Bennett (father)
EducationWestminster School
Alma materLincoln's Inn
Occupation
AwardsKnight Bachelor (1964)
Military service
Branch/service British Army
Years of service1939–1946
RankMajor
Unit

Sir Frederic Mackarness Bennett

Deputy Lieutenant for Greater London in 1990. He was also Lord of the manor of Mawddwy in Wales.[citation needed
]

Early years

The second son of Sir

English Bar in November 1946.[1] He subsequently served as an Advocate in the High Court of Southern Rhodesia from March 1947, and in 1947 he made the first overland car journey from South Africa to England.[1]

From 1947 to 1949 he was an Official Observer in the

Lloyd's
.

Military

In 1939 Bennett enlisted in the Middlesex Yeomanry.[2] He was commissioned as an officer into the Royal Artillery in 1940;[2] commended for gallantry in 1941; was Military Experimental Officer in the Petroleum Warfare Department, 1943–1946, then released to reserve with the permanent rank of Major.[2]

Political career

At the 1945 general election, Bennett was an unsuccessful candidate in the Burslem constituency, in Staffordshire. At the 1950 general election, he stood in the Birmingham Ladywood constituency, again unsuccessfully.[1]

The following year, at the

House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for Reading North. When that constituency was abolished for the general election in May 1955, Bennett stood for in election in the new Reading seat, but lost by 238 votes to Labour's Ian Mikardo, the outgoing MP for the abolished Reading South constituency.[1]

In October 1955, the MP for Torquay, Charles Williams, died after more than thirty years as the town's MP. Bennett was selected as Conservative candidate for the resulting by-election, which he won with a majority of over 10,000 votes. He represented Torquay until the constituency was abolished for the February 1974 general election, when he was returned to Parliament for the new Torbay constituency. He held that seat until he retired from the Commons at the 1987 general election.[1]

The Independent described Bennett as an "unabashed, not to say pugnacious right-wing conservative".[3] He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Reginald Maudling from 1953 to 1955; to the Minister of Supply 1956–1957; the Paymaster General 1957–1959; to the President of the Board of Trade, 1959–1961. He was Leader of the UK Delegation, and Chairman of the Council of Europe and Western European Union Assemblies, 1979–1987. He was also sometime chairman of the European Democrats political group in the Council of Europe.[1]

Bennett headed the list of the Secretariat for the European Freedom Campaign, an anti-communist group established in London at an Inaugural Rally at

Westminster Central Hall on 10 December 1988. This group's co-ordinating committee consisted almost exclusively of representatives from countries behind the Iron Curtain
.

In 1997, Bennett announced he would vote for the Labour Party in that year's general election, saying that because of the reforms of New Labour, the party were "no longer Marxist socialists".[2][4]

Other interests

Bennett had wide-ranging interests: he was a member of

Bilderberg Group conferences. He was a member of the group's Steering Committee.[5]
He was the recipient of a small catalogue of foreign honours and awards of merit.

In 1976, Bennett assisted George Kennedy Young in creating the private army 'Unison'.[6]

Personal life and death

He married in 1945, Marion Patricia, daughter of Major Cecil Burnham, OBE, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh).

In 1997, Bennett listed his residence as Aberangell.[4] He died there on 14 September 2002, aged 83.[2][3]

Publications

  • Bennett, Frederic, Speaking Frankly, London, 1960.
  • Bennett, Sir Frederic, Détente and Security in Europe, London, 1976.
  • Bennett, Sir Frederic, Ulster - Fear is the Key, London, 1978.
  • Bennett, Sir Frederic, China and European Security, London, 1979, (2nd ed. 1980).
  • Bennett, Sir Frederic, Reds under the Bed, or the Enemy at the Gate - and Within, London, 1979, (3rd edition, 1982).
  • Bennett, Sir Frederic, Impact of Individual & Corporate Incentives on Productivity and Standard of Living, London, 1980.
  • Bennett, Sir Frederic, Electoral Reform, London, 1996.
  • Bennett, Sir Frederic, Kashmir - Still Speaking Frankly, London, 1997.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Sir Frederic Bennett". The Daily Telegraph. 18 September 2002. p. 29.
  2. ^ a b c d e Roth 2002.
  3. ^ a b Barnes, John (26 September 2002). "Sir Frederic Bennett". The Independent. p. 22.
  4. ^ a b Bennett, Frederic (7 April 1997). "Letter: Country needs change - and so do Tories". The Independent. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  5. Bilderberg Group. Archived from the original
    on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  6. ^ Vallely, Paul (22 February 2002). "The Airey Neave Files". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2009.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Reading North
1951–1955 		Constituency abolished
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Torquay
1955–Feb 1974 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Torbay
Feb 1974–1987 		Succeeded by
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