Antony Head, 1st Viscount Head

The Right Honourable
The Viscount Head
GCMG CBE MC PC
The Right Honourable The Viscount Head GCMG CBE MC PC
Secretary of State for War
	In office; 31 October 1951 – 18 October 1956
Monarchs	George VI ; Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill ; Anthony Eden
Preceded by	John Strachey
Succeeded by	John Hare
Minister of Defence
	In office; 18 October 1956 – 9 January 1957
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Sir Anthony Eden
Preceded by	Walter Monckton
Succeeded by	Duncan Sandys
Personal details
Born	Antony Henry Head; 19 December 1906; London, England
Died	29 March 1983 (aged 76); Bishopstone, Salisbury, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Lady Dorothea Ashley-Cooper
Alma mater	Royal Military College, Sandhurst

Antony Henry Head, 1st Viscount Head, GCMG, CBE, MC, PC (19 December 1906 – 29 March 1983) was a British soldier, Conservative politician and diplomat.

Background and education

Head was born in London on 19 December 1906, the son of Geoffrey Head and Ethel Daisy, daughter of Arthur Flower.^[1] He was educated at Ludgrove School,^[2] Eton and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.^[1]

Military career

A career soldier, Head was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars on 30 August 1926.^[3] He later joined the Life Guards, serving through the Second World War and achieving the rank of brigadier. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) on 20 December 1940.^[4] He was part of the British delegation to the Potsdam Conference.^[1]

Political career

Head was elected Conservative MP for Carshalton in 1945.^[1] He served as Secretary of State for War from 1951 to 1956 and as Minister of Defence (with a seat in the cabinet) from 1956 to 1957,^[5] in the administrations of Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1951 and in 1960 he was raised to the peerage as Viscount Head, of Throope in the County of Wiltshire.^[6] He was later High Commissioner to Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and High Commissioner to Malaysia from 1963 to 1966. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 1961 New Year Honours^[7] and promoted to be Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in 1963.^[8]

Family

Lord Head married Lady Dorothea Louise (1907–1987), daughter of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, on 23 July 1935.^[1] They had four children:

Richard Antony Head, 2nd Viscount Head (b. 27 February 1937)
Teresa Mary Head (b. 20 June 1938)
Simon Andrew Head (b. 11 November 1944)
Josephine Head (24 May 1948 – 9 October 1949)

Lord Head lived at Throope Manor in Bishopstone, Salisbury, and died there on 29 March 1983, aged 76.^[1] He was succeeded in the viscountcy by his eldest son, Richard.^[1]

Arms

Coat of arms of Antony Head, 1st Viscount Head
	Crest A unicorn's head couped Sable armed and crined Or between two arrows erect points downward of the last. Escutcheon Sable a chevron Argent between two unicorns' heads couped in chief and in base as many arrows in saltire and filed by a ducal crown Or. Supporters On either side a Staffordshire terrier Sable gorged with a dog collar Or. Motto Study Quiet ^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Colville, John (2004). "Head, Antony Henry, first Viscount Head (1906–1983), army officer and politician". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31214. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ Barber, Richard (2004). The Story of Ludgrove. Oxford: Guidon Publishing. p. 189. ISBN 0-9543617-2-5.
^ "No. 33198". The London Gazette. 3 September 1926. p. 5765.
^ "No. 35020". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 December 1940. p. 7197.
^ "Mr Anthony Head (Hansard)". Hansard. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
^ "No. 42108". The London Gazette. 2 August 1960. p. 5321.
^ "No. 42231". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 December 1960. p. 8892.
^ "No. 43052". The London Gazette. 12 July 1963. p. 5883.
^ Debrett's Peerage. 2000.

Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

Generals of World War II
Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Head

Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Carshalton 1945–1960	Succeeded by Walter Elliot
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by None	High Commissioner to Nigeria 1960–1963	Succeeded by Sir Francis Cumming-Bruce
Preceded by Sir Geofroy Tory	British High Commissioner to Malaysia 1963–1966	Succeeded by Sir Michael Walker
Political offices
Preceded by John Strachey	Secretary of State for War 1951–1956	Succeeded by John Hare
Preceded by Walter Monckton	Minister of Defence 1956–1957	Succeeded by Duncan Sandys
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Viscount Head 1960–1983	Succeeded by Richard Head

[ODNB-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Colville, John (2004). "Head, Antony Henry, first Viscount Head (1906–1983), army officer and politician". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31214. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[2] Barber, Richard (2004). The Story of Ludgrove. Oxford: Guidon Publishing. p. 189. ISBN 0-9543617-2-5.

[3] "No. 33198". The London Gazette. 3 September 1926. p. 5765.

[4] "No. 35020". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 December 1940. p. 7197.

[5] "Mr Anthony Head (Hansard)". Hansard. Retrieved 29 January 2021.

[6] "No. 42108". The London Gazette. 2 August 1960. p. 5321.

[7] "No. 42231". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 December 1960. p. 8892.

[8] "No. 43052". The London Gazette. 12 July 1963. p. 5883.

[9] Debrett's Peerage. 2000.

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v t e Defence Secretaries of the United Kingdom
Ministers for Co-ordination of Defence	Sir Thomas Inskip Lord Chatfield
Ministers for Defence	Winston Churchill Clement Attlee A. V. Alexander Manny Shinwell Winston Churchill Harold Alexander Harold Macmillan Selwyn Lloyd Sir Walter Monckton Anthony Head Duncan Sandys Harold Watkinson Peter Thorneycroft
Secretaries of State for Defence	Peter Thorneycroft Denis Healey Lord Carrington Ian Gilmour Roy Mason Fred Mulley Francis Pym John Nott Michael Heseltine George Younger Tom King Malcolm Rifkind Michael Portillo George Robertson Geoff Hoon John Reid Des Browne John Hutton Bob Ainsworth Liam Fox Philip Hammond Michael Fallon Gavin Williamson Penny Mordaunt Ben Wallace Grant Shapps John Healey