Godfrey Lagden (politician)

For the British colonial administrator, see Godfrey Yeatman Lagden.

Godfrey William Lagden (12 April 1906 – 31 August 1989) was a British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hornchurch from 1955 to 1966.

Background

Lagden was born in Richmond, Surrey, where he was educated at Richmond Hill School. He worked for Sun Insurance from 1931 to 1934 and then for IBM. He was a special constable with the Essex County Constabulary during World War II.

Politics

Lagden entered politics after the war; he was elected to the Hornchurch Urban District in 1948 and to the Essex County Council in 1949. He was the unsuccessful Conservative candidate for Thurrock at the 1951 election. In 1955, he was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for the marginal constituency of Hornchurch, winning the seat from Labour. The Daily Telegraph described him as a member of the party's right who "oppos[ed] Rhodesian sanctions and the abolition of capital punishment". Lagden held Hornchurch until his defeat at the 1966 general election by the Labour candidate Alan Lee Williams.

Personal life and death

Lagden was married to the former Dorothy Blanche Wheeler from 1932 until her death in 1987. He died in the London Borough of Havering on 31 August 1989, at the age of 83.

References

• LAGDEN, Godfrey William, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2016 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Godfrey Lagden
• Portraits of Godfrey William Lagden at the National Portrait Gallery, London