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The Lord Crathorne | |
|---|---|
 Dugdale in 1936 | |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | |
| In office 5 November 1951 – 28 July 1954 | |
| Prime Minister | Winston Churchill |
| Preceded by | Tom Williams |
| Succeeded by | Derick Heathcoat-Amory |
| Chairman of the Conservative Party | |
| In office 6 March 1942 – 29 October 1944 | |
| Leader | Winston Churchill |
| Preceded by | Douglas Hacking |
| Succeeded by | Ralph Assheton |
| Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Commons | |
| In office 8 February 1941 – 23 February 1942 Serving with William Whiteley | |
| Prime Minister | Winston Churchill |
| Preceded by | James Stuart William Whiteley |
| Succeeded by | John McEwen Leslie Pym |
| Lord Commissioner of the Treasury | |
| In office 8 February 1941 – 23 February 1942 | |
| Prime Minister | Winston Churchill |
| Preceded by | Wilfred Paling |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Young |
| In office 28 May 1937 – 12 February 1940 | |
| Prime Minister | Neville Chamberlain |
| Preceded by | Sir Archibald Southby |
| Succeeded by | William Boulton |
| Member of theHouse of Lords | |
Lord Temporal | |
| In office 9 October 1959 – 26 March 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Peerage created |
| Succeeded by | The 2nd Baron Crathorne |
| Member of Parliament for Richmond | |
| In office 30 May 1929 – 18 September 1959 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Murrough John Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Timothy Kitson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1897-07-20)20 July 1897 |
| Died | 26 March 1977(1977-03-26) (aged 79) |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Nancy Tennant |
| Children | James Dugdale |
| Parent | James Dugdale |
| Education | Eton College |
| Alma mater | Royal Military College, Sandhurst |
Thomas Lionel Dugdale, 1st Baron Crathorne,TD, PC (20 July 1897 – 26 March 1977), known asSir Thomas Dugdale, 1st Baronet, from 1945 to 1959, was a BritishConservative Party politician. He resigned as a government minister over theCrichel Down Affair, often quoted as a classic example of the convention of individualministerial responsibility.
Thomas Dugdale was the son of Captain James Lionel Dugdale, of Crathorne Hall near Yarm in Yorkshire. His grandfather John Dugdale (died 1881) was from a family of Lancashire cotton manufacturers, and had bought theCrathorne estate in 1844.[1]
Dugdale was educated atEton College and theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst. He joined the Army in 1916, serving with theScots Greys in theFirst World War and theYorkshire Hussars in theSecond World War.
In1929, Dugdale was elected asMember of Parliament (MP) forRichmond,North Yorkshire, where he remained until 1959. He served asParliamentary Private Secretary to several ministers, includingStanley Baldwin, and DeputyChief Whip. He was laterChairman of the Conservative Party and Chairman of the Party's Agricultural Committee. He was created abaronet in the1945 New Year Honours "for political and public services".[2]
When the Conservatives won the1951 election,Churchill made Dugdale hisMinister of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Crichel Down was a piece of farmland inDorset which had been bought compulsorily by the government for defence use. Commander George Marten, whose wife Mary was the only child and heiress of the original owner of the land,Lord Alington, wanted to buy the land back in the 1950s, because it was no longer used by theMinistry of Defence. However, the Ministry of Agriculture resisted, wanting to use the land for experimental farming in a time ofrationing and agricultural development. Marten, a formerequerry to the royal family, had very influential friends and stirred up considerable trouble in the local Conservative Party and on the government backbenches. There followed a public inquiry that criticised the department's decision and its civil servants, especially their methods, which were seen as an example of an over-powerful state.
In 1954, Dugdale announced that Marten could buy the land back, and told theHouse of Commons he was resigning, having been the responsible minister.
Dugdale's resignation went down in history as an honourable, even heroic, one: a minister taking responsibility forcivil servants' actions, which would lead to the perceived code ofindividual ministerial responsibility. However, in papers released thirty years after the affair it was found that Dugdale had known and approved of his civil servants' actions, and had to an extent passed the buck to them himself. It was also found that the inquiry was inaccurate and biased, having been led by a former Conservative candidate who was very opposed to civil servants and state interference.
Dugdale's junior minister,Lord Carrington, also tendered his resignation, but it was refused. He went on to beForeign Secretary, resigning the post in 1982 over theFalklands War. Commander Marten received his land, but not a Conservative parliamentary seat, for which he had hoped.
In 1959, Dugdale himself was raised to the peerage asBaron Crathorne, of Crathorne in the North Riding of the County of York.[3] Subsequently, he had a second political career in Europe, building links with parliamentarians inNATO and theCouncil of Europe.
Dugdale married Nancy Gates (née Tennant; 1904–1969), daughter ofSir Charles Tennant, 1st Baronet, and his wife Marguerite (née Miles), in 1936.[4] He died in March 1977, aged 79. His sonJames succeeded him in the barony.
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forRichmond 1929–1959 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Deputy Chief Whip of theHouse of Commons 1941–1942 With:William Whiteley | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries 1951–1954 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Conservative Deputy Chief Whip in theHouse of Commons 1941–1942 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Conservative Party 1942–1944 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Crathorne 1959–1977 Member of theHouse of Lords (1959–1977) | Succeeded by |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baronet of Crathorne 1945–1977 | Succeeded by |
