Peter Vanneck

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Sir Peter Vanneck
Air Commodore[1]
Service number205378 (RAuxAF)
Battles/warsSecond World War
  • Last battle of the battleship Bismarck
Awards
Knight of Justice of the Order of St John (1959)
Commander, Legion of Honour (France) (1981)
Grand Officer, Order of the Crown (Belgium) (1983)
RelationsLord Huntingfield (father)
Lord Stevenson of Coddenham (son-in-law)

Anglo-French relations as Lord Mayor of London and as a Member of the European Parliament
.

Early life

Vanneck was born on 7 January 1922 in London,[2] the youngest son of Lord Huntingfield and American-born Margaret Eleanor Crosby.[2]

He spent his early years in Australia during his father's tenure as Governor of Victoria in the 1930s. He attended Geelong Grammar School and was sent back to Britain to study at Stowe School, having won a scholarship.[2]

War service and Royal Navy career

Vanneck joined the

officer cadet from 1 January 1940 to 1 September 1940, when he passed out as a midshipman. He served on HMS King George V during the operation to sink the Bismarck, and on HMS Eskimo. He commanded a LCA during service off North African coast.[2]

Having attended a promotion course in

Motor Torpedo Boat from August 1944 to the end of the war.[2]

After the war, he trained as a pilot. On 30 September 1945, he transferred to 771 Naval Air Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm. The squadron was based at RNAS Yeovilton. He transferred to 807 Naval Air Squadron on 18 August 1947. He retired from the Royal Navy on 24 May 1949, when he resigned his commission.[2]

University and Air Force service

After leaving the Royal Navy in 1949, Vanneck matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge.[2] He joined the Cambridge University Air Squadron to further pursue his interest in flying, and was commissioned into the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a flying officer on 17 November 1949.[5]

He transferred to

P-51 Mustang.[2]

In 1958, he transferred to No. 3619 (County of Suffolk) Fighter Control Unit[2] based at RAF Nacton[8] He was promoted to squadron leader on 1 July 1958.[9] He commanded the unit from 28 June 1959[10] to 1 February 1961.[2][11] He then moved No 1 (County of Hertford) Maritime Headquarters Unit based at RAF Northwood.[2] On 1 July 1962, he was promoted to group captain and appointed Inspector of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force.[12] He resigned that appointment and retired from the Royal Auxiliary Air Force on 1 September 1973.[13]

Business career

Vanneck then went into business with the engineering company

stockbrokers) in the City of London. He was appointed to the Council of the London Stock Exchange in 1968. He was Deputy Chairman from 1973 to 1975. He retired from the Council in 1979.[2]

Political career

Vanneck became involved in Municipal affairs through the

Livery Companies
).

After a year serving as a

The Queen
, who accompanied her father during a visit to the Royal Naval College when Vanneck was a young cadet there.

A popular Lord Mayor, Vanneck declared that despite his interesting careers, he had missed out on the one he would most like, which was to be a tug-boat skipper on the Thames. He made excellent contacts with his Paris counterpart Jacques Chirac and arranged an official visit to visit (one of only two that had taken place since the French revolution). Vanneck was a Francophile who was fluent in French.

At the end of his Lord Mayoral term, Vanneck was adopted as Conservative candidate for the European Parliament for Cleveland. He won the seat at the 1979 election, enjoying his time in the European institutions. He was vice-chairman of the Political Affairs committee and served on Energy Resources and Technology. After keeping his seat by only 2,625 votes in 1984, he lost in the 1989 election, and then retired from public life.

Later life

freemason.[14]

He died on 2 August 1999 in London.[2]

Honours and decorations

As part of the

elect.[19]

He was appointed

Inspector-General of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force on 16 September 1974,[1] and held it until 1 January 1984.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b "No. 46427". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 December 1974. p. 12555.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945". UnitHistories.com. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  3. ^ "No. 35748". The London Gazette. 16 October 1942. p. 4499.
  4. ^ "No. 36032". The London Gazette. 28 May 1943. p. 2386.
  5. ^ "No. 38892". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 April 1950. p. 2027.
  6. ^ "No. 39209". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 April 1951. p. 2314.
  7. ^ "No. 39325". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 August 1951. p. 4668.
  8. ^ Geoff Foster. "RAF Ipswich aerodrome". Control Towers.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  9. ^ "No. 42010". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 April 1960. p. 2786.
  10. ^ "No. 41758". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 July 1959. p. 4351.
  11. ^ "No. 42383". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 1961. p. 4374.
  12. ^ "No. 42721". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 June 1962. p. 5303.
  13. ^ "No. 46085". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 September 1973. p. 11405.
  14. ^ "Conservatives at the heart of Freemasonry". The Independent. London. 31 October 1995. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
  15. ^ "No. 40497". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1955. p. 3292.
  16. ^ "No. 42870". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1962. pp. 8–9.
  17. ^ "No. 43871". The London Gazette. 11 January 1965. p. 331.
  18. ^ "No. 45984". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 May 1973. pp. 6474–6475.
  19. ^ "No. 47360". The London Gazette. 25 October 1977. p. 13431.
  20. ^ "No. 42929". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 February 1963. p. 1811.
  21. ^ "No. 46115". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 October 1973. p. 12875.
  22. ^ "No. 49625". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 January 1984. p. 1052.
  • Obituary, The Times, 26 August 1999
  • "Who Was Who", A&C Black

External links

European Parliament
Preceded by
Direct elections started
 Member of the European Parliament for Cleveland
1979–1984 		Succeeded by
Constituency altered
Preceded by
Constituency created
 Member of the European Parliament for Cleveland and Yorkshire North
1984–1989 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Mayor of London
1977–1978 		Succeeded by
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