Brigadier John Percival Whiteley OBE

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...

(7 January 1898 – 4 July 1943) was a 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...

 officer and a 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.

Whiteley was commissioned into 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:...

 during the First World War, ending the war as a Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

. In 1926 he transferred to the Life Guards

Life Guards (British Army)

The Life Guards is the senior regiment of the British Army and with the Blues and Royals, they make up the Household Cavalry.They originated in the four troops of Horse Guards raised by Charles II around the time of his restoration, plus two troops of Horse Grenadier Guards which were raised some...

, retiring in 1928 and joining the 99th (Buckinghamshire and Berkshire Yeomanry) Field Brigade, Royal Artillery (Territorial Army) as a Captain

Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)

Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...

. He was promoted Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 in 1932.

He stood unsuccessfully at the 1929 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1929

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

 in Birmingham Aston

Birmingham Aston (UK Parliament constituency)

Birmingham Aston was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1885 until 1918 the constituency was known as Aston Manor, before becoming a Birmingham division from 1918 to 1974...

, and entered the House of Commons 8 years later when he was elected as 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 Buckingham

Buckingham (UK Parliament constituency)

Buckingham is a parliamentary 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.-Boundaries:...

 at a by-election in 1937

Buckingham by-election, 1937

The Buckingham by-election of 1937 was a by-election held on 11 June 1937 for the British House of Commons constituency of Buckingham in Buckinghamshire....

, after the sitting MP George Bowyer

George Bowyer, 1st Baron Denham

Captain George Edward Wentworth Bowyer, 1st Baron Denham, MC, DL was a British Conservative Party politician.Bowyer was educated at Eton and Oxford and was called to the Bar in 1910...

 was elevated to the peerage as Baron Denham

Baron Denham

Baron Denham, of Weston Underwood in the County of Buckingham, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1937 for Sir George Bowyer, 1st Baronet, a Conservative politician who had earlier represented Buckingham in the House of Commons. He had already been created a Baronet,...

.

When World War II

World 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...

 broke out, Whiteley resumed military service. He was active at Dunkirk

Battle of Dunkirk

The Battle of Dunkirk was a battle in the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. A part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and allied forces in Europe from 26 May–4 June 1940.After the Phoney War, the Battle of...

, and died in 1943, aged 45, when he was killed in a plane crash in Gibraltar, along with the Conservative MP Victor Cazalet

Victor Cazalet

Colonel Victor Alexander Cazalet MC was a British Conservative Party Member of Parliament .Cazalet was commissioned into the Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry in 1915 and reached the rank of Captain, winning the Military Cross in 1917...

 and General Sikorksi, the leader of the Polish government-in-exile.

External links