George Chetwynd
Encyclopedia
Sir George Roland Chetwynd, CBE
(14 May 1916 – 2 September 1982) was a British
lecturer, politician and public servant. He defeated Harold Macmillan
in order to get elected as a Member of Parliament
, but later left Parliament to become Director of the North East Development Council for five years in the 1960s.
, and was brought up in north Warwickshire
. An academically gifted child, he passed the Eleven plus and attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Atherstone
; he then won a place at King's College London
where he obtained a BA (Hons.)
in History and a postgraduate scholarship in the same subject. He joined the Labour Party
in 1936 and earned a living by being a lecturer for the Workers Educational Association.
, Chetwynd enlisted in the Royal Artillery
. Two years later he was commissioned into the Royal Army Educational Corps
where he trained troops; by the end of the war he held the rank of Captain. At the 1945 general election
, Chetwynd fought Stockton-on-Tees
as the Labour Party candidate against the rising Conservative minister Harold Macmillan
; in one of the first results to be declared, he won with a majority of 8,664.
while retaining strong armed forces for the United Kingdom. Although initially opposed to the continuation of national service
in peacetime, he later came round to support it. He also spoke in favour of the Town and Country Planning Bill
in 1947. In March of that year he appealed for greater efforts to build new factories on Tees-side. In March 1948 he signed an all party motion calling for a 'Council of Western Europe' to prepare the way for an organic federation of European states. Chetwynd was approached to sign a telegram to Pietro Nenni
, a Communist-allied Italian
socialist, but refused to have anything to do with it.
, when Dalton returned to government in May 1948 he chose Chetwynd as his Parliamentary Private Secretary
. He was a strong supporter of nationalisation of the steel industry, which was a major employer in his constituency. He retained his seat through the 1950
and 1951
general elections, and made an easy transition into opposition after 1951.
from 1952 to 1954. He was also a Governor of Queen Mary's Hospital
, Roehampton
and was Chair of the Governors in 1952. He was also a supporter of walking in the countryside (and went rambling with Hugh Dalton); he was a member of Nature Conservancy
. In 1953, Chetwynd seconded a Private member's bill
brought in by Samuel Viant
which banned the sale of toy weapon
s; he argued that possession of these weapons "was a real incentive to development of the gangster mentality".
In the late 1950s Chetwynd became more concerned with economic development in his constituency. He sponsored a private member's bill in 1957 to make Stockton-on-Tees
into a County borough
, but was defeated by 201 to 95. He was also concerned over problems with nuclear power stations, although supportive of nuclear power
and nuclear weapons
generally. He opposed government spending on space research, regarding it as "an attempt to keep up with the Joneses".
, Chetwynd was made an opposition spokesman on Aviation. He pressed for investment in the aviation industry
, including the construction of a supersonic airliner. However, in late 1961 he was applied for and was offered the job of Director of the North East Development Council, giving him responsibility for selling the region to overseas investors. Chetwynd resigned his seat and took up the appointment in January 1962.
Shortly after his appointment Chetwynd began to 'sell' the North East region by giving a press conference for American
firms where he argued that France
was too politically unstable and West Germany
had a labour shortage. Later that year, his annual report complained that the north east had received fewer government grants for industrial development than other regions. He objected to the London
-centric economy of the United Kingdom and called for better transport infrastructure
to redress it. The North East Development Council made several attempts to get a personal meeting with Harold Macmillan, then Prime Minister, in 1963. He often complained about the poor public image of the north-east.
and of the North-East Advisory Committee for Civil Aviation. He was put on the Northern Economic Planning Council in the same year. Chetwynd's interest in aviation was also used on the board of the British Overseas Airways Corporation
from 1966 to 1974. In 1968 he was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees.
from 1968 and a board member of the whole British Steel Corporation group from 1970. He was Chairman of the Land Commission from 1970, an appointment intended to be for three years but actually lasted only one.
A Director of the Northern Industrial Development Board from 1972, Chetwynd decreased his involvement as the 1970s went on. He moved onto the Northern Regional Health Authority as Vice-Chairman from 1973 to 1976, and as Chairman from 1978. He was also Chairman of the Council of BBC Radio Cleveland
from 1976 to 1978. He was given a Knighthood
in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. He was replaced as Chairman of the Northern Regional Health Authority in June 1982 by Norman Fowler
shortly after criticising the Conservative government's conduct of a pay dispute, although this was said to have been a coincidence.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(14 May 1916 – 2 September 1982) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
lecturer, politician and public servant. He defeated Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
in order to get elected as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, but later left Parliament to become Director of the North East Development Council for five years in the 1960s.
Education
Chetwynd was the son of a minerMining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, and was brought up in north Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. An academically gifted child, he passed the Eleven plus and attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Atherstone
Atherstone
Atherstone is a town in Warwickshire, England. The town is located near the northernmost tip of Warwickshire, close to the border with Staffordshire and Leicestershire and is the administrative headquarters of the borough of North Warwickshire.-History:...
; he then won a place at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
where he obtained a BA (Hons.)
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in History and a postgraduate scholarship in the same subject. He joined the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in 1936 and earned a living by being a lecturer for the Workers Educational Association.
Wartime service
In 1940, during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Chetwynd enlisted in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
. Two years later he was commissioned into the Royal Army Educational Corps
Royal Army Educational Corps
The Royal Army Educational Corps was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills...
where he trained troops; by the end of the war he held the rank of Captain. At the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, Chetwynd fought Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees (UK Parliament constituency)
Stockton-on-Tees is a former borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
as the Labour Party candidate against the rising Conservative minister Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
; in one of the first results to be declared, he won with a majority of 8,664.
Parliament
He made his mark in Parliament as a generally loyal supporter of the government, which was put under pressure from the left. He saw nothing inconsistent in membership of the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
while retaining strong armed forces for the United Kingdom. Although initially opposed to the continuation of national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in peacetime, he later came round to support it. He also spoke in favour of the Town and Country Planning Bill
Town and Country Planning Act 1947
The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom passed by the post-war Labour government...
in 1947. In March of that year he appealed for greater efforts to build new factories on Tees-side. In March 1948 he signed an all party motion calling for a 'Council of Western Europe' to prepare the way for an organic federation of European states. Chetwynd was approached to sign a telegram to Pietro Nenni
Pietro Nenni
Pietro Sandro Nenni was an Italian socialist politician, the national secretary of the Italian Socialist Party and lifetime Senator since 1970. He was a recipient of the Stalin Peace Prize in 1951...
, a Communist-allied Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
socialist, but refused to have anything to do with it.
Alliance with Hugh Dalton
With Chetwynd being particularly close to Hugh DaltonHugh Dalton
Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton PC was a British Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947, when he was implicated in a political scandal involving budget leaks....
, when Dalton returned to government in May 1948 he chose Chetwynd as his Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
. He was a strong supporter of nationalisation of the steel industry, which was a major employer in his constituency. He retained his seat through the 1950
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
and 1951
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
general elections, and made an easy transition into opposition after 1951.
Opposition politics
His interest in European cooperation was marked by appointment as a delegate to the consultative assembly of the Council of EuropeCouncil of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
from 1952 to 1954. He was also a Governor of Queen Mary's Hospital
Queen Mary's Hospital
Queen Mary's Hospital Roehampton is a hospital in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1915 to provide care for wounded soldiers, it became a world renowned limb fitting and amputee rehabilitation centre. Recently rebuilt and modernized it has become a unit of the Wandsworth Primary Care Trust...
, Roehampton
Roehampton
Roehampton is a district in south-west London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies between the town of Barnes to the north, Putney to the east and Wimbledon Common to the south. The Richmond Park golf courses are west of the neighbourhood, and just south of these is...
and was Chair of the Governors in 1952. He was also a supporter of walking in the countryside (and went rambling with Hugh Dalton); he was a member of Nature Conservancy
Nature Conservancy (UK)
The Nature Conservancy was a British government agency established by Royal Charter in 1949.The Nature Conservancy was superseded by the Nature Conservancy Council in 1973....
. In 1953, Chetwynd seconded a Private member's bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
brought in by Samuel Viant
Samuel Viant
Samuel Phillip Viant was a British Labour Party politician.Born in Plymouth, Viant worked as a carpenter and moved to London. There, he became active in the abstinence movement and also in the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners and the Independent Labour Party. He studied at...
which banned the sale of toy weapon
Toy weapon
Toy weapons are toys that mimic real weapons, but are designed to be fun for children to play with and not dangerous.-Types of toy weapons:Some are essentially similar to the real thing, but less powerful. Weapons for cutting and stabbing have dull blades usually in plastic. Weapons formerly made...
s; he argued that possession of these weapons "was a real incentive to development of the gangster mentality".
In the late 1950s Chetwynd became more concerned with economic development in his constituency. He sponsored a private member's bill in 1957 to make Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
into a County borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
, but was defeated by 201 to 95. He was also concerned over problems with nuclear power stations, although supportive of nuclear power
Nuclear power in the United Kingdom
Nuclear power currently generates around a sixth of the United Kingdom's electricity. As of 2011, the United Kingdom operates 19 nuclear reactors at nine locations...
and nuclear weapons
Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom was the third country to test an independently developed nuclear weapon, in October 1952. It is one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the UK ratified in 1968...
generally. He opposed government spending on space research, regarding it as "an attempt to keep up with the Joneses".
North East development
After the 1959 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1959
This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
, Chetwynd was made an opposition spokesman on Aviation. He pressed for investment in the aviation industry
Aircraft industry
The aircraft industry is the industry supporting aviation by building aircraft and manufacturing aircraft parts for their maintenance. This includes aircraft and parts used for civil aviation and military aviation. Most production is done pursuant to type certificates and Defense Standards issued...
, including the construction of a supersonic airliner. However, in late 1961 he was applied for and was offered the job of Director of the North East Development Council, giving him responsibility for selling the region to overseas investors. Chetwynd resigned his seat and took up the appointment in January 1962.
Shortly after his appointment Chetwynd began to 'sell' the North East region by giving a press conference for American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
firms where he argued that France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
was too politically unstable and West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
had a labour shortage. Later that year, his annual report complained that the north east had received fewer government grants for industrial development than other regions. He objected to the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-centric economy of the United Kingdom and called for better transport infrastructure
Transport in the United Kingdom
Transport in the United Kingdom is facilitated with road, air, rail, and water networks. A radial road network totals of main roads, of motorways and of paved roads. The National Rail network of 10,072 route miles in Great Britain and 189 route miles in Northern Ireland carries over 18,000...
to redress it. The North East Development Council made several attempts to get a personal meeting with Harold Macmillan, then Prime Minister, in 1963. He often complained about the poor public image of the north-east.
Other public roles
From 1964, Chetwynd began to receive other public appointments, first as a member of the General Advisory Council of the Independent Television AuthorityIndependent Television Authority
The Independent Television Authority was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" , the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom...
and of the North-East Advisory Committee for Civil Aviation. He was put on the Northern Economic Planning Council in the same year. Chetwynd's interest in aviation was also used on the board of the British Overseas Airways Corporation
British Overseas Airways Corporation
The British Overseas Airways Corporation was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways Ltd...
from 1966 to 1974. In 1968 he was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees.
Business appointments
Chetwynd left the North East Development Council in February 1967 to become Deputy Chairman of the Land Commission. This appointment was part-time and allowed him to increase his business involvement: he was a Director of the Northern and Tubes Group of British Steel CorporationBritish Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
from 1968 and a board member of the whole British Steel Corporation group from 1970. He was Chairman of the Land Commission from 1970, an appointment intended to be for three years but actually lasted only one.
A Director of the Northern Industrial Development Board from 1972, Chetwynd decreased his involvement as the 1970s went on. He moved onto the Northern Regional Health Authority as Vice-Chairman from 1973 to 1976, and as Chairman from 1978. He was also Chairman of the Council of BBC Radio Cleveland
BBC Radio Cleveland
BBC Tees is the BBC Local Radio service for the English areas of Teesside, County Durham and some of North Yorkshire. It broadcasts from its studios in Middlesbrough on 95.0 and 95.8 FM.-BBC Radio Teeside :...
from 1976 to 1978. He was given a Knighthood
British honours system
The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories...
in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. He was replaced as Chairman of the Northern Regional Health Authority in June 1982 by Norman Fowler
Norman Fowler
Norman Fowler, Baron Fowler, PC is a British Conservative politician who was from 1981 to 1990 a member of Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet.-Early life:...
shortly after criticising the Conservative government's conduct of a pay dispute, although this was said to have been a coincidence.