Joseph Godber

Joseph Bradshaw Godber, Baron Godber of Willington, PC (17 March 1914 – 25 August 1980) was a British Conservative Party politician and cabinet minister.


The Lord Godber of Willington

Godber in 1970
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
In office
5 November 1972  4 March 1974
Prime MinisterEdward Heath
Preceded byJames Prior
Succeeded byFred Peart
Minister of Labour
In office
21 October 1963  16 October 1964
Prime MinisterAlec Douglas-Home
Preceded byJohn Hare
Succeeded byRay Gunter
Secretary of State for War
In office
27 June 1963  21 October 1963
Prime MinisterHarold Macmillan
Preceded byJohn Profumo
Succeeded byJames Ramsden
Member of Parliament
for Grantham
In office
26 October 1951  4 May 1979
Preceded byEric Smith
Succeeded byDouglas Hogg
Personal details
Born(1914-03-17)17 March 1914
Died25 August 1980(1980-08-25) (aged 66)
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative

Background

Godber was educated at Bedford School, between 1922 and 1931, and became a nurseryman. He became chairman of the county glasshouse section of the National Farmers Union and of the publicity and parliamentary committee. He was a member of the Tomato and Cucumber Marketing Board.

Political career

Godber was a Bedfordshire County Councillor from 1946 until 1952.[1] He was elected Member of Parliament for Grantham in 1951, a seat he held until 1979. He served under Harold Macmillan as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1957 to 1960, as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1960 to 1961, as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 1961 to 1963 and as Secretary of State for War in 1963, under Sir Alec Douglas-Home as Minister of Labour from 1963 to 1964 and under Edward Heath as Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 1970 to 1972 and as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1972–1974. Godber was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1963 and in 1979 he was made a life peer as Baron Godber of Willington, of Willington in the County of Bedfordshire.[2]

Personal life

Lord Godber of Willington died in August 1980, aged 66. In 1936, he married Miriam Sanders in Bedford. They had two sons (including one born in 1938). He has 3 grandchildren (Amanda Varley, James R B Godber and Victoria Bell) and 5 great grandchildren (Lucy Varley, Emily Godber, Tom Godber, Edward Bell and Jack Bell)

References

  1. The Times Guide to the House of Commons February 1974. London: Times Newspapers Ltd. 1974. p. 132. ISBN 0 7230 0115 4.
  2. "No. 47907". The London Gazette. 17 July 1979. p. 9009.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Eric Smith
Member of Parliament for Grantham
19511979
Succeeded by
Hon. Douglas Hogg
Political offices
Preceded by
John Profumo
Secretary of State for War
1963
Succeeded by
James Ramsden
Preceded by
Hon. John Hare
Minister of Labour
1963-64
Succeeded by
Ray Gunter
Preceded by
Jim Prior
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
1972-74
Succeeded by
Fred Peart
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