Waldron Smithers
Encyclopedia
Sir Waldron Smithers was a Conservative Party
politician in the United Kingdom
.
Smithers was educated at Charterhouse
and in France and became a member of the London Stock Exchange
. He was the eldest son of Sir Alfred Waldron Smithers
, who had been Conservative Member of Parliament
(MP) for Chislehurst
until 1922.
At the 1924 general election
he stood for his father's constituency and won a three-cornered fight with a majority of more than 10,000. In his 30 years in the House of Commons
he was always a backbencher, described by The Times as a 'diehard Tory' although well-liked on both sides of the house. In his memoirs, Way of Life, his fellow Conservative John Boyd-Carpenter described Smithers as "an extreme Tory out of a vanished age" and both deeply religious and "not insensitive to the consoling effect of alcohol". Harold Macmillan
said he "fondly believed himself to be a good Tory".
Smithers remained as member for Chislehurst until the 1945 general election
, when he switched to the newly-created Orpington constituency
. Chislehurst fell to the Labour Party
, but Smithers was comfortably elected in Orpington, and held the seat until he died.
During the Cold War
, while MP for Orpington, Smithers regularly pressed for a House of Commons Select Committee on un-British Activities to be created to conduct anti-communist investigations, to mirror the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee
.
In 1904 he married Marjorie Page-Roberts, with whom he had one son and two daughters. He was knight
ed in 1934.
In the 2008 TV drama The Long Walk to Finchley
, about the early career of Margaret Thatcher
, Smithers was played by Michael Cochrane
.
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 in the United Kingdom
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...
.
Smithers was educated at Charterhouse
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
and in France and became a member of the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
. He was the eldest son of Sir Alfred Waldron Smithers
Alfred Waldron Smithers
Sir Alfred Waldron Smithers was a British financier and parliamentarian. Smithers father William Henry Smithers was a prominent employee of the Bank of England. Alfred entered the world of finance early when he joined the London Stock Exchange at the age of 23...
, who had been Conservative 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 Chislehurst
Chislehurst (UK Parliament constituency)
Chislehurst was a parliamentary constituency in what is now the London Borough of Bromley. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
until 1922.
At the 1924 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
he stood for his father's constituency and won a three-cornered fight with a majority of more than 10,000. In his 30 years in 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 always a backbencher, described by The Times as a 'diehard Tory' although well-liked on both sides of the house. In his memoirs, Way of Life, his fellow Conservative John Boyd-Carpenter described Smithers as "an extreme Tory out of a vanished age" and both deeply religious and "not insensitive to the consoling effect of alcohol". 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....
said he "fondly believed himself to be a good Tory".
Smithers remained as member for Chislehurst until 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...
, when he switched to the newly-created Orpington constituency
Orpington (UK Parliament constituency)
Orpington 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.-History:...
. Chislehurst fell to 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...
, but Smithers was comfortably elected in Orpington, and held the seat until he died.
During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, while MP for Orpington, Smithers regularly pressed for a House of Commons Select Committee on un-British Activities to be created to conduct anti-communist investigations, to mirror the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
.
In 1904 he married Marjorie Page-Roberts, with whom he had one son and two daughters. He was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1934.
In the 2008 TV drama The Long Walk to Finchley
The Long Walk to Finchley
Margaret Thatcher - The Long Walk to Finchley, subtitled in the initial credits How Maggie Might Have Done It, is a 2008 BBC Four television drama based on the early political career of the young Margaret Thatcher , from her attempts to gain a seat in Dartford in 1949 via invasion to her first...
, about the early career of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, Smithers was played by Michael Cochrane
Michael Cochrane
Michael Cochrane is an English actor who specialises in playing upper class characters, sometimes with a suaveness that hides their villainy....
.