Claude Granville Lancaster (30 August 1899 – 25 July 1977) 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...

 army officer, company director and Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 politician.

Lancaster was educated at Eton College

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 and the Royal Military College

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...

 at Sandhurst. He served in the First World War as a Captain in the Royal Horse Guards

Royal Horse Guards

The Royal Horse Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry.Founded August 1650 in Newcastle Upon Tyne by Sir Arthur Haselrig on the orders of Oliver Cromwell as the Regiment of Cuirassiers, the regiment became the Earl of Oxford's Regiment during the reign of...

 and was Colonel of the Sherwood Foresters from 1939 to 1943. He was also a Chairman of B.A. Collieries Ltd until 1946, and Chairman and Managing Director of the Bestwood Company Ltd.

In November 1938, Lancaster was elected as the 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,...

 (MP) for Fylde

Fylde (UK Parliament constituency)

Fylde is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...

 in Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. He remained in Parliament until he retired in 1970

United Kingdom general election, 1970

The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...

, always sitting on the backbenches.

In 1948 he married Nancy

Nancy Lancaster

Nancy Lancaster was a 20th-century tastemaker and the owner of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, an influential British decorating firm that codified what is known as the English country-house look.-Biography:...

, a notable interior decorator and gardener. She was born Nancy Keene Perkins and had previously married to Henry Field (she was widowed) and Ronald Tree

Ronald Tree

Arthur Ronald Lambert Field Tree , was an American-born British journalist, investor and Conservative Member of Parliament for the Harborough constituency in Leicestershire.-Biography:...

(they divorced in 1947). Nancy and Claude divorced in 1953.

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