Hector Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm
Encyclopedia
Hector Seymour Peter Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm, AE
, PC
(4 October 1922 – 30 August 2006), was a Conservative
& Unionist Party
politician. He was Member of Parliament
for Dumfries
for 33 years, from 1964 to 1997, and then a life peer
in the House of Lords
.
After piloting flying boat
s in the Second World War, Monro became a farmer in his native Dumfriesshire
. He became active in local politics in the 1950s, and was elected as MP for Dumfries in 1964. He served as a Conservative whip
and held three junior ministerial positions, twice in the Scottish Office
and once as Minister for Sport in the Department for the Environment
. He became a member of the House of Lords
in 1997, after he stood down from the House of Commons
. He was particularly concerned with Scottish and rural issues, the RAF, and sport, and was noted for his strong links with his constituency. He was in office at the time of the Lockerbie Disaster in 1988, which occurred in his constituency.
and raised at Craigcleuch near Langholm
in Dumfriesshire
. His father, Alistair Monro, was a Captain in the Cameron Highlanders
; his maternal grandfather was Lieutenant General Sir Spencer Ewart
. Monro was educated at Upland House School in Sussex, Canford School
in Dorest, and King's College, Cambridge
.
He was a member of the Cambridge University Air Squadron
at Cambridge. After only one year at Cambridge, he joined the RAF in 1941, becoming a Flight Lieutenant
in Coastal Command, flying Atlantic patrols in Short Sunderland
flying boat
s and then in the Far East in Catalinas
.
After he was demobbed in 1946, he became a farmer at Kirtlebridge
near Lockerbie
, although he also had other business interests. He remained a member of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force
from 1947 to 1954. He was later an honorary Air Commodore
from 1982 to 2000, and its honorary Inspector General from 1990 to 2000.
Monro married twice. He married Anne Welch in 1949. Their two sons joined the British Army
. Seymour retired as a major-general; Hughie is a retired brigadier
. Monro's first wife died in 1994; later that year, he married a second time, to Doris Kaestner, a friend of his first wife.
County Council
lor from 1952, where he served until 1967. He was chairman and vice-president of the Dumfries Unionist Party and was elected MP for Dumfries
in the 1964 general election
, retaining his seat until he retired at the 1997 general election
.
He became a Conservative whip
in 1968, and was a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scottish Office
between July 28, 1971 and February 28, 1974. He voted against his party on Scottish devolution, announcing his support for a Scottish Assembly
in 1974.
After the Conservatives lost the February 1974 general election
, he was an opposition spokesman, initially on Scottish affairs and then on sport, until 1979. After the 1979 general election
, he was appointed as Margaret Thatcher
's first Minister for Sport, as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of the Environment
under Michael Heseltine
. He also had responsibility for some environmental issues, and was involved in strengthening the provisions of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
.
Monro came under some criticism for opposing the visit of a South African Barbarians rugby team to the UK and a return visit by the British Lions
rugby team the next year. He was dropped from the Government in 1981 in the wake of Mrs Thatcher's proposal that the British team pull out of the Moscow Olympics, receiving a consolatory knighthood that year. In 1986, he suggested that the government bill the Kremlin in the amount of £1 million and provide the amount to Scottish farmers in compensation for losses to sheep herds caused by the Chernobyl
nuclear disaster.
In 1988, a bomb exploded on Pan Am Flight 103
, which crashed at Lockerbie
, near his home. He was closely involved in the aftermath as the local constituency MP, and went out to Lockerbie with two other MP's. He was hailed by politicians of all political stripes for his compassion and caring; Scottish Labour MP Brian Wilson praised him as "a man who is truly a part of the community that he represents".
He returned to the Scottish Office
on April 9, 1992, but he was sacked from this position on July 5, 1995. He became a member of the Privy Council
in 1995, and was made a life peer
as Baron Monro of Langholm, of Westerkirk in Dumfries and Galloway
on his retirement as an MP in 1997.
The number of Conservative MPs from Scotland declined from 24 when he was first elected an MP in 1964 to nil after the 1997 general election. A One Nation Conservative
, he occasionally rebelled against the official party line, opposing the closing of British Steel
's Ravenscraig steelworks
, for example. One of his Labour Party opponents, Norman Hogg, dubbed him "the last of the decent Tories".
, and he was honorary president of Langholm RFC
for over 20 years. He managed the 1970 rugby union tour to Australia but had to return home to fight the 1970 General Election.
He was a long-serving member of the Nature Conservancy Council
, and active in the National Farmers Union of Scotland
. He was a member of the Royal Company of Archers
, a deputy lieutenant
of Dumfriesshire, and enjoyed vintage car
s and country sport
s.
Air Efficiency Award
The Air Efficiency award, abbreviated to AE when placed after a holder's name, was a United Kingdom honour given for ten years' efficient service in the Reserve Air Forces of the United Kingdom, Commonwealth and Empire. Unlike other long service and meritorious conduct awards, both officers and...
, PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(4 October 1922 – 30 August 2006), was a Conservative
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...
& Unionist Party
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party is the part of the British Conservative Party that operates in Scotland. Like the UK party, it has a centre-right political philosophy which promotes conservatism and strong British Unionism...
politician. He was 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,...
for Dumfries
Dumfriesshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Dumfriesshire was a county constituency represented in the of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 2005. It was known as Dumfries from 1950...
for 33 years, from 1964 to 1997, and then a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
After piloting flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
s in the Second World War, Monro became a farmer in his native Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
. He became active in local politics in the 1950s, and was elected as MP for Dumfries in 1964. He served as a Conservative whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
and held three junior ministerial positions, twice in the Scottish Office
Scottish Office
The Scottish Office was a department of the United Kingdom Government from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland...
and once as Minister for Sport in the Department for the Environment
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
. He became a member of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
in 1997, after he stood down from the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. He was particularly concerned with Scottish and rural issues, the RAF, and sport, and was noted for his strong links with his constituency. He was in office at the time of the Lockerbie Disaster in 1988, which occurred in his constituency.
Early and private life
Monro was born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and raised at Craigcleuch near Langholm
Langholm
Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on the River Esk and the A7 road.- History:...
in Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
. His father, Alistair Monro, was a Captain in the Cameron Highlanders
Cameron Highlanders
Cameron Highlanders may mean:* The Highlanders , infantry regiment in the Scottish Division of the British Army* The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa, Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces...
; his maternal grandfather was Lieutenant General Sir Spencer Ewart
Spencer Ewart
Lieutenant General Sir John Spencer Ewart KCB was Adjutant-General to the Forces in the British Army.-Military career:Educated at Marlborough College and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Spencer Ewart was commissioned into the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in 1881.He served with his...
. Monro was educated at Upland House School in Sussex, Canford School
Canford School
Canford School is a coeducational independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the village of Canford Magna, near to the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset, in South West England. The school was founded in 1923. There are approximately 600 pupils at Canford, organised into houses...
in Dorest, and King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
.
He was a member of the Cambridge University Air Squadron
Cambridge University Air Squadron
Cambridge University Air Squadron, abbreviated CUAS, formed in 1925, is the training unit of the Royal Air Force at the University of Cambridge and forms part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. It is the oldest of 14 University Air Squadrons in the UK...
at Cambridge. After only one year at Cambridge, he joined the RAF in 1941, becoming a Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
in Coastal Command, flying Atlantic patrols in Short Sunderland
Short Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. It took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in northeast England....
flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
s and then in the Far East in Catalinas
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
.
After he was demobbed in 1946, he became a farmer at Kirtlebridge
Kirtlebridge
Kirtlebridge is a village in Dumfries and Galloway, southern Scotland. It is located north-east of Annan, north-west of Kirkpatrick-Fleming, and south of Eaglesfield...
near Lockerbie
Lockerbie
Lockerbie is a town in the Dumfries and Galloway region of south-western Scotland. It lies approximately from Glasgow, and from the English border. It had a population of 4,009 at the 2001 census...
, although he also had other business interests. He remained a member of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force
Royal Auxiliary Air Force
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force , originally the Auxiliary Air Force , is the voluntary active duty reserve element of the Royal Air Force, providing a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service...
from 1947 to 1954. He was later an honorary Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
from 1982 to 2000, and its honorary Inspector General from 1990 to 2000.
Monro married twice. He married Anne Welch in 1949. Their two sons joined the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. Seymour retired as a major-general; Hughie is a retired brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
. Monro's first wife died in 1994; later that year, he married a second time, to Doris Kaestner, a friend of his first wife.
Political career
Monro was elected as a DumfriesDumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
County Council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
lor from 1952, where he served until 1967. He was chairman and vice-president of the Dumfries Unionist Party and was elected MP for Dumfries
Dumfriesshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Dumfriesshire was a county constituency represented in the of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 2005. It was known as Dumfries from 1950...
in the 1964 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
, retaining his seat until he retired at the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
.
He became a Conservative whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
in 1968, and was a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scottish Office
Scottish Office
The Scottish Office was a department of the United Kingdom Government from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland...
between July 28, 1971 and February 28, 1974. He voted against his party on Scottish devolution, announcing his support for a Scottish Assembly
Scottish Assembly
The Scottish Assembly was a proposed legislature for Scotland that would have devolved a set list of powers from the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
in 1974.
After the Conservatives lost the February 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
, he was an opposition spokesman, initially on Scottish affairs and then on sport, until 1979. After the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
, he was appointed as Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's first Minister for Sport, as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of the Environment
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
under Michael Heseltine
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
. He also had responsibility for some environmental issues, and was involved in strengthening the provisions of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom and was implemented to comply with the Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds...
.
Monro came under some criticism for opposing the visit of a South African Barbarians rugby team to the UK and a return visit by the British Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
rugby team the next year. He was dropped from the Government in 1981 in the wake of Mrs Thatcher's proposal that the British team pull out of the Moscow Olympics, receiving a consolatory knighthood that year. In 1986, he suggested that the government bill the Kremlin in the amount of £1 million and provide the amount to Scottish farmers in compensation for losses to sheep herds caused by the Chernobyl
Chernobyl
Chernobyl or Chornobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city had been the administrative centre of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932....
nuclear disaster.
In 1988, a bomb exploded on Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport...
, which crashed at Lockerbie
Lockerbie
Lockerbie is a town in the Dumfries and Galloway region of south-western Scotland. It lies approximately from Glasgow, and from the English border. It had a population of 4,009 at the 2001 census...
, near his home. He was closely involved in the aftermath as the local constituency MP, and went out to Lockerbie with two other MP's. He was hailed by politicians of all political stripes for his compassion and caring; Scottish Labour MP Brian Wilson praised him as "a man who is truly a part of the community that he represents".
He returned to the Scottish Office
Scottish Office
The Scottish Office was a department of the United Kingdom Government from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland...
on April 9, 1992, but he was sacked from this position on July 5, 1995. He became a member of the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
in 1995, and was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Monro of Langholm, of Westerkirk in Dumfries and Galloway
Galloway
Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...
on his retirement as an MP in 1997.
The number of Conservative MPs from Scotland declined from 24 when he was first elected an MP in 1964 to nil after the 1997 general election. A One Nation Conservative
One Nation Conservatism
One nation, one nation conservatism, and Tory democracy are terms used in political debate in the United Kingdom to refer to a certain wing of the Conservative Party...
, he occasionally rebelled against the official party line, opposing the closing of British Steel
British 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...
's Ravenscraig steelworks
Ravenscraig steelworks
The Ravenscraig steelworks, operated by Colvilles and latterly by British Steel, consisted of an integrated iron and steel works and a hot strip steel mill. They were located in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland....
, for example. One of his Labour Party opponents, Norman Hogg, dubbed him "the last of the decent Tories".
Outside politics
Monro was a president of the Scottish Rugby UnionScottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. It is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873, as the Scottish Football Union.-History:...
, and he was honorary president of Langholm RFC
Langholm RFC
Langholm Rugby Football Club are a rugby union team founded in 1871. They play their home games at Milntown, Langholm in Dumfries and Galloway....
for over 20 years. He managed the 1970 rugby union tour to Australia but had to return home to fight the 1970 General Election.
He was a long-serving member of the Nature Conservancy Council
Nature Conservancy Council
The Nature Conservancy Council was a United Kingdom government agency responsible for designating and managing National Nature Reserves and other nature conservation areas in Great Britain between 1973 and 1991 ....
, and active in the National Farmers Union of Scotland
National Farmers Union of Scotland
The National Farmers Union of Scotland is an organisation that promotes and protects the interests of the farming industry in Scotland. It was formed in 1913, and has approximately 10,000 members who are farmers, crofters, and others involved in Scottish agriculture.The current President is Jim...
. He was a member of the Royal Company of Archers
Royal Company of Archers
The Royal Company of Archers is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's Bodyguard in Scotland, a role it has performed since 1822 and the reign of King George IV, when the company provided a personal bodyguard to the King on his visit to Scotland. It is currently known as the Queen's...
, a deputy lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of Dumfriesshire, and enjoyed vintage car
Vintage car
A vintage car is commonly defined as a car built between the start of 1919 and the end of 1930 known as the "Vintage era". There is little debate about the start date of the vintage period—the end of World War I is a nicely defined marker there—but the end date is a matter of a little...
s and country sport
Country sport
A country sport or field sport is one of the traditional rural or blood sports of hunting with various types of hound , shooting , and fishing or angling...
s.
External links
- Announcement of his death at the House of Lords House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 9 October 2006