Wikispooks wikispooks https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Main_Page MediaWiki 1.33.2 first-letter Media Special Talk User User talk Wikispooks Wikispooks talk File File talk MediaWiki MediaWiki talk Template Template talk Help Help talk Category Category talk Property Property talk Form Form talk Concept Concept talk Document Document talk Wikipedia Wikipedia talk Test Test talk Widget Widget talk Campaign Campaign talk Module Module talk Gadget Gadget talk Gadget definition Gadget definition talk John Rankin Rathbone 0 30129 273049 243497 2023-12-08T23:48:43Z Robin 120 Text replacement - " served as " to " was " wikitext text/x-wiki {{person |wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rathbone |spartacus= |description=British establishment politician who died young, early in [[WW2]] |image=John rathbone.jpg |alma_mater=Eton,Oxford/Christ Church |birth_date=5 February 1910 |death_date=10 December 1940 |constitutes=politician, pilot }} '''John Rankin Rathbone''' was a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] politician.<ref>https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/fallen-alumni/flight-lieutenant-john-rankin-rathbone</ref> == Early life == He was born in 1910 to William Rathbone, a [[Marine architecture|marine architect]], and Agnes Dorothea Rankin. John Rathbone came from a long line of Liverpool merchants. His grandfather [[William Rathbone VI|William Rathbone]] was a philanthropist and Liberal Member of the House of Commons. His aunt [[Eleanor Rathbone]] was a feminist essayist and activist, and an independent MP.<ref>https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/fallen-alumni/flight-lieutenant-john-rankin-rathbone</ref><ref>https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/fallen-alumni/flight-lieutenant-john-rankin-rathbone</ref> For his education John attended West Downs and [[Eton College]] before attending [[Christ Church, Oxford]]. John Rankin Rathbone was a member of the [[Bullingdon Club]]. Whilst up at Oxford he met an American student, [[Beatrice Wright|Beatrice Frederika Clough]], who had come to study at the university. The pair married in 1932 and had two children, a son, [[Tim Rathbone|John Rankin Rathbone]] (known as Tim) and a daughter, Pauline Rathbone. == Political career == From the [[1935 United Kingdom general election|1935 general election]] until his death, he was [[Member of Parliament]] (MP) for the [[Bodmin (UK Parliament constituency)|Bodmin constituency]] in [[Cornwall]]. After his death, his American-born wife Beatrice was elected unopposed to succeed him as MP.<ref>http://www.kingsmeadschool.co.uk/rathboneobituary.htm Obituary of Tim Rathbone</ref> == Foreign travel == John and Beatrice travelled to the [[United States|United States of America]] in the summer of 1934, sailing back to Britain aboard the [[RMS Aquitania]] in October. They returned to America in 1936, again sailing back to Britain in the October, this time aboard the [[RMS Queen Mary]]. John travelled as part of a parliamentary delegation, accompanied by Beatrice, to [[Nazi Germany]]. A fluent German speaker, John was appalled at what he saw in the country as he participated in the work of the delegation. He was a qualified pilot, learning to fly with the Old Etonian Flying Club and getting his [[Royal Aero Club|Avro Club]] membership on 19 May 1938. Upon returning from Germany, John called a meeting in his constituency to announce that he was joining the [[Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve]]. == Second World War == He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply from July to September 1939, when [[World War II]] broke out. A flight lieutenant and fighter pilot with the [[Royal Air Force]], he was killed shortly after the [[Battle of Britain]], on 10 September 1940. He was buried at [[Schoonselhof cemetery]], [[Antwerp]], Belgium.<ref>https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2255859/rathbone,-john-rankin/</ref> In his obituary in The Times noted -<ref>Obituaries". The Times. 4 January 1941.</ref> {{QB|No one could possibly suggest that John Rathbone was a man of war. He hated it. His readiness to serve his country and before war came to prepare himself is typical of his high sense of duty; and the example he set among those with whom he came in contact remains a truly noble inspiration.}} ==Other family members== His son, also called John Rankin Rathbone, but known as [[Tim Rathbone]], was the Conservative MP for [[Lewes (UK Parliament constituency)|Lewes]] from 1974 to 1997. John's younger brother, Henry Stephen Nicholas Rathbone, was a Captain in the [[Scots Guards]] and fell at [[Monte Cassino]] on 9 November 1943.<ref>https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2609959/rathbone,-henry-stephen-nicholas/</ref> {{SMWDocs}} ==References== {{reflist}} l21gpz24kph0tigmscdqbie0etpjkcn