Godfrey Nicholson
British politician (1901–1991)
title: "Godfrey Nicholson" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1901-births", "1991-deaths", "people-educated-at-winchester-college", "alumni-of-christ-church,-oxford", "baronets-in-the-baronetage-of-the-united-kingdom", "british-army-personnel-of-world-war-ii", "conservative-party-(uk)-mps-for-english-constituencies", "royal-fusiliers-officers", "uk-mps-1931–1935", "uk-mps-1935–1945", "uk-mps-1945–1950", "uk-mps-1950–1951", "uk-mps-1951–1955", "uk-mps-1955–1959", "uk-mps-1959–1964", "uk-mps-1964–1966", "british-home-guard-officers", "members-of-the-parliament-of-the-united-kingdom-for-morpeth"] description: "British politician (1901–1991)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfrey_Nicholson" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary British politician (1901–1991) ::
::data[format=table title="infobox officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| honorific_prefix | The Right Honourable |
| name | Sir Godfrey Nicholson, Bt |
| office | Member of Parliament for Farnham |
| term_start | 1937 |
| term_end | 1966 |
| predecessor | Sir Arthur Samuel |
| successor | Maurice Macmillan |
| office1 | Member of Parliament for Morpeth |
| term_start1 | 1931 |
| term_end1 | 1935 |
| predecessor1 | Ebby Edwards |
| successor1 | Robert Taylor |
| birth_date | |
| death_date | |
| education | Winchester College |
| alma_mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
| party | Conservative |
| parents | Richard Francis Harrison |
| Helen Violet Portal | |
| spouse | |
| children | 4 |
| relations | William Nicholson (grandfather) |
| William Graham Nicholson (uncle) | |
| John Sanctuary Nicholson (uncle) | |
| :: |
| honorific_prefix = The Right Honourable | name = Sir Godfrey Nicholson, Bt | honorific_suffix = | office = Member of Parliament for Farnham | term_start = 1937 | term_end = 1966 | predecessor = Sir Arthur Samuel | successor = Maurice Macmillan | office1 = Member of Parliament for Morpeth | term_start1 = 1931 | term_end1 = 1935 | predecessor1 = Ebby Edwards | successor1 = Robert Taylor | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | education = Winchester College | alma_mater = Christ Church, Oxford | party = Conservative | parents = Richard Francis Harrison Helen Violet Portal | spouse = | children = 4 | relations = William Nicholson (grandfather) William Graham Nicholson (uncle) John Sanctuary Nicholson (uncle) Sir Godfrey Nicholson, 1st Baronet (9 December 1901 – 14 July 1991) was a British Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP).
Early life
Nicholson was born on 9 December 1901. he was a younger son of Richard Francis Harrison (1865–1940) and Helen Violet ( Portal) Nicholson (1867–1927). Through his father, he was a member of the family which founded London-based gin distillers J&W Nicholson & Co.
His paternal grandparents were William Nicholson and the former Isabella Sarah Meek. Among his paternal family were uncles, William Graham Nicholson and John Sanctuary Nicholson. His maternal grandparents were Helen Mary Charlotte ( Soulsby) Portal and Rev. George Raymond Portal (a brother of Sir Wyndham Portal, 1st Baronet), the President of the Oxford Union who served as rector of Albury, Surrey and of Burghclere.
He was educated at Winchester College and graduated from Christ Church, Oxford in 1925.
Career
In 1931, he contested and won Morpeth and held the seat until 1935. Two years later, he contested and won Farnham in a by-election and on the outbreak of World War II in 1939, he served with The Royal Fusiliers until 1942. He was subsequently a captain in the Home Guard and as MP criticized that an issue of pikes to the Home Guard made during a shortage of rifles "if not meant as a joke, was an insult".
On 20 March 1958, Nicholson was made a baronet and retired from politics in 1966.
Personal life
On 30 June 1936, he had married Lady Katharine Lindsay (1912–1972), a younger daughter of David Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford, and the former Constance Lilian Pelly (a daughter of Sir Henry Pelly, 3rd Baronet). Together, they had four daughters:
- Rose Helen Nicholson (b. 1937), who married Richard Luce, Baron Luce, a son of Margaret (née Napier) and Sir William Luce.
- Laura Violet Nicholson (1939–2021), who married Sir John Montgomery-Cuninghame, 12th Baronet, the youngest son of Sir Thomas Montgomery-Cuninghame, 10th Baronet and, his second wife, Nancy Macaulay Foggo, in 1964.
- Emma Harriet Nicholson (b. 1941), who married Sir Michael Harris Caine, in 1987.
- Harriet Mary Nicholson (b. 1946), who married Charles Hugh Flower (a maternal great-great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Abercorn).
Sir Godfrey was a favourite at the London Gliding Club where they appreciated his passing of favourable laws regarding gliding.
As Nicholson had no sons from his marriage, his title became extinct upon his death in 1991.
Arms
|image = Nicholson (of Winterbourne) Achievement.png |escutcheon = Per pale Azure and Gules two bars gemel Ermine in chief three suns in splendour Or. |crest = Out of an antique crown Gules a lion's head Ermine gorged with a collar gemel Azure. |motto = Sol Et Scutum Deus}}
References
References
- {{Rayment-hc. m. 2. (March 2012)
- ''Burke's Peerage 2003'', p. 3177
- "[[:s:Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886/Portal, George Raymond. Portal, George Raymond]]", ''Alumni Oxonienses'', p. 1132
- [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1942/mar/11/army-supplementary-estimate-1941 Hansard: Army Supplementary Estimate, 1941, House of Commons Debate, 11 March 1942]
- These weapons became known as "Croft's pikes" after the Under Secretary of War (Lord Croft) who defended their issue.
- {{London Gazette. (21 March 1958)
- Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.'' [[Wilmington, Delaware]]: [[Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd]], 2003, vol. 1, p. 995.
- (1985). "Debrett's Peerage".
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