Oliver Poole, 1st Baron Poole

Oliver Brian Sanderson Poole, 1st Baron Poole CBE, TD, PC (11 August 1911-28 January 1993), was a British Conservative politician, soldier and businessman.

Biography

Poole was the eldest son of Donald Louis Poole, and was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He fought in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Libya, North Africa, Sicily and North-West Europe during the Second World War as a Colonel in the Army, was thrice mentioned in despatches, awarded MBE (military) and OBE (military) in 1943 and the CBE (military) in 1945 as well as the American Legion of Merit.

In 1945, Poole was elected Member of Parliament for Oswestry, but lost his seat in the 1950 general election. He was later Joint Honorary Treasurer of the Conservative Party from 1952 to 1955, its Chairman from 1955 to 1957, its Deputy Chairman from 1957 to 1959, its joint Chairman with Iain Macleod in 1963 and its Vice-Chairman from 1963 to 1964. In 1958 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Poole, of Aldgate in the City of London, and in 1963 he was admitted to the Privy Council. Lord Poole was also an Underwriting Member of Lloyd's, Chairman of Lazard Brothers & Co from 1965 to 1973 and a Director of S Pearson & Sons Ltd.

Family

Lord Poole married, firstly, Betty Margaret, daughter of Captain Dugald Stewart Gilkison, in 1933. They had one son and three daughters but were divorced in 1951. He married, secondly, Daphne Wilma, daughter of Eustace Bowles, in 1952. They had no children and were divorced in 1965. He married, thirdly, Barbara Ann, only daughter of E. A. Taylor. They had no children. Lord Poole died in January 1993, aged 81, and was succeeded in the barony by his only son David.

References

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

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Oliver Poole

See also

• Chairman of the Conservative Party