Roland Robinson, 1st Baron Martonmere

John Roland Robinson, 1st Baron Martonmere, GBE, KCMG, PC (22 February 1907 – 3 May 1989[1]) was a British Conservative Party politician who later served as Governor of Bermuda from 1964 to 1972.

Life and career

The son of Roland Walkden Robinson of Blackpool, Robinson was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1929. He was elected at the 1931 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for Widnes, a seat he held until 1935,[2] when he was elected for Blackpool.[3] He held that seat until the constituency was divided at the 1945 election, when he was elected for Blackpool South,[4] holding that seat until he retired from the House of Commons at the 1964 general election.[5]

Robinson never held ministerial office but was Chairman of the Conservative Commonwealth Affairs Committee in the House of Commons from 1954 to 1964. He was knighted in 1954,[6] admitted in 1962 to the Privy Council, and in 1964 was raised to the peerage as Baron Martonmere, of Blackpool in the County Palatine of Lancaster.[7] During the latter year, he was also appointed Governor of Bermuda, a post he held until 1972. He was further honoured when he was made a KCMG in 1966 and a GBE in 1973.

Robinson married Maysie Gasque, daughter of Clarence Warren Gasque, in 1930. They had two children: one son, Richard Robinson (1935–1979), and one daughter, Loretta Robinson (b. 1939).[8] Robinson died in May 1989, at the age of 82.[8] He was succeeded in the Barony of Martonmere by his grandson, John Stephen Robinson (b. 1963).

References
  1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 3)
  2. Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 409. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  3. Craig, op. cit., page 93
  4. Craig, op. cit., page 95
  5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)
  6. "No. 40227". The London Gazette. 9 July 1954. p. 4026.
  7. "No. 43323". The London Gazette. 15 May 1964. p. 4191.
  8. "Lord Martonmere". The New York Times. 5 May 1989. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Alexander Gordon Cameron		 Member of Parliament for Widnes
1931–1935		 Succeeded by
Richard Pilkington
Preceded by
Clifford Erskine-Bolst		 Member of Parliament for Blackpool
1935–1945		 Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Blackpool South
1945–1964		 Succeeded by
Peter Blaker
Political offices
Preceded by
Sir Julian Gascoigne		 Governor of Bermuda
1964–1972		 Succeeded by
Sir Richard Sharples
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Martonmere
1964–1989		 Succeeded by
John Stephen Robinson
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