James Ramsden (politician)

The Right Honourable
James Ramsden
Secretary of State for War
In office
21 October 1963  1 April 1964
Monarch Elizabeth II
Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Preceded by Joseph Godber
Succeeded by Office abolished
Member of Parliament
for Harrogate
In office
11 March 1954  28 February 1974
Preceded by Christopher York
Succeeded by Robert Banks
Personal details
Born (1923-11-01) 1 November 1923
Liverpool, England
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Juliet Ponsonby
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service 1942–51
Rank Lieutenant
Service number 256071
Unit King's Royal Rifle Corps
Battles/wars Second World War

James Edward Ramsden (born 1 November 1923) is a British Conservative politician. He was the last person to hold the office of Secretary of State for War.

Background

Ramsden born in Liverpool in 1923,[1] the son of Captain Edward Ramsden and his wife Geraldine. His father was a brother of George Taylor Ramsden, a Coalition Unionist MP for Elland, while his mother was a sister of brothers Sir Frank O'Brien Wilson (a Royal Navy officer and early settler of Kenya) and Sir Murrough John Wilson (a Conservative MP for Richmond, Yorkshire).[2] During the Second World War, he served as a lieutenant with the King's Royal Rifle Corps.[3]

Political career

Ramsden sat as Member of Parliament for Harrogate from 1954 to 1974. He served under Harold Macmillan as Under-Secretary of State and Financial Secretary for War from 1960 to 1963 and under Sir Alec Douglas-Home as Secretary of State for War from 1963 to 1964. At the April 1964 reshuffle, the former cabinet positions of First Lord of the Admiralty and Secretary of State for Air, along with Ramsden's post, were incorporated into an expanded Ministry of Defence, under the leadership of the new position of Secretary of State for Defence. Ramsden was appointed Minister of State for the Army at the Ministry of Defence, a post he held until the Home government fell in October 1964. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1963.

Ramsden was interviewed in 2012 as part of The History of Parliament's oral history project.[2][4]

Marriage

Ramsden married Juliet Ponsonby, daughter of Conservative politician Charles Ponsonby. Their youngest child was the artist Charlotte Cheverton.[5]

References

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Christopher York
Member of Parliament for Harrogate
1954February 1974
Succeeded by
Robert Banks
Political offices
Preceded by
Hon. Hugh Fraser
Under-Secretary of State and
Financial Secretary for War

1960–1963
Succeeded by
Peter Kirk
Preceded by
Joseph Godber
Secretary of State for War
1963–1964
Succeeded by
Office abolished
Preceded by
New office
Minister of State for the Army
1964
Succeeded by
Fred Mulley
Order of precedence in England and Wales
Preceded by
Sir Eric Anderson
as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Thistle
Gentlemen
as a Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
Succeeded by
Sir Edward du Cann
as a Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
Order of precedence in Scotland
Preceded by
Sir Eric Anderson
as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Thistle
Gentlemen
as a Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
Succeeded by
Sir Edward du Cann
as a Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
Order of precedence in Northern Ireland
Preceded by
Sir Eric Anderson
as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Thistle
Gentlemen
as a Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
Succeeded by
Sir Edward du Cann
as a Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council


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