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Denis Thatcher

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Sir
Denis Thatcher
BtMBETDCStJ
Thatcher, 73, in a photograph
Thatcher in 1988
Born(1915-05-10)10 May 1915
London, England
Died26 June 2003(2003-06-26)(aged 88)
London, England
Resting placeRoyal Hospital Chelsea
EducationMill Hill School
OccupationBusinessman
Known forSpouse of the prime minister of the United Kingdom(1979‍–‍1990)
Political partyConservative
Spouses
​
​
(m.1942;div.1948)​
​
(m.1951)​
Children
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1938–1965
RankMajor
Service number77306
Unit
Battles/wars
Awards(see§ Medals and honours)

Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet,MBE,TD,CStJ(10 May 1915 – 26 June 2003) was an English businessman and the husband ofMargaret Thatcher,who served as the first femaleBritish prime ministerfrom 1979 to 1990; thus he became the first maleprime ministerial spouse.

Thatcher was granted theThatcher baronetcyin 1990, the onlybaronetcycreated since 1964, and remains the most recentcommonerto have been awarded ahereditary title.

Early life

[edit]

Denis Thatcher was born on 10 May 1915 at 26 Southbrook Road, Lee,Lewisham,London, as the first child of New Zealand-born British businessman Thomas Herbert "Jack" Thatcher[1](15 October 1885[2]– 24 June 1943[3]) and Lilian Kathleen Bird(7 July 1889 – 25 October 1976).[citation needed][1]At age eight, Denis entered apreparatory schoolinBognor Regisas aboarder,following which he attended thenonconformistpublic schoolMill Hill Schoolinnorth London.[1]At school he excelled atcricket,being a left-handedbatsman.[4]

Thatcher left Mill Hill School in 1933 and joined the family paint andpreservativesbusiness,[1]Atlas Preservatives.[5]He also studiedaccountancyto improve his grasp of business,[6]and in 1935 he was appointed works manager.[7]He joined theTerritorial Armyshortly after theMunich crisis,as he was convinced war was imminent[1]– a view reinforced by a visit he made toNazi Germanywith his father's business in 1937.[5]

War record

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During the Second World War, Thatcher was commissioned as asecond lieutenantinto the 34th Searchlight (Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment) of theRoyal Engineers.He transferred to theRoyal Artilleryon 1 August 1940.[8]During the war he was promoted to war substantivecaptainand temporarymajor.He served throughout theAllied invasion of Sicilyand theItalian campaignand was twicementioned in dispatches,and in 1945 was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire(MBE). The first mention in dispatches came on 11 January 1945, for service in Italy,[9]and the second on 29 November 1945, again for Italian service.[10]

His MBE wasgazettedon 20 September 1945,[11]and was awarded for his efforts in initiating and supportingOperation Goldflake,the transfer ofI Canadian Corpsfrom Italy to the north-westEuropean theatreof operations. Thatcher was based inMarseille,attached to HQ 203 sub-area. In the recommendation for the MBE (dated 28 March 1945), his commanding officer wrote: "Maj. Thatcher set an outstanding example of energy, initiative and drive. He deserves most of the credit for [...] the excellence of the work done."[12]

Thatcher also received the approximate French equivalent of a mention when he was cited in orders atCorps d'Arméelevel for his efforts in promoting smooth relations between theCommonwealth military forcesand the French civil and military authorities.[13]He was promoted to substantivelieutenanton 11 April 1945.[14]Demobilised in 1946, he returned to run the family business – his father having died (aged 57) on 24 June 1943, when Thatcher was in Sicily. Because of army commitments, Thatcher was unable to attend the funeral.[3]

He remained in the Territorial Army reserve of officers until reaching the age limit for service on 10 May 1965, when he retired, retaining the honorary rank of major.[15]

On 21 September 1982 he was awarded theTerritorial Decoration(TD) for his service.[16]

Marriages

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Thatcher married twice, during wartime to Margot Kempson in 1942 (divorced in 1948),[5]and in 1951 to Margaret Roberts.[17]

Margot Kempson

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On 28 March 1942, Thatcher married Margaret Doris[17]"Margot" Kempson, the daughter of a businessman,[1]at St Mary's Church inMonken Hadley.They met at an officers' dance atGrosvenor Housethe year before.[18]

Thatcher and his first wife never lived together.[5]Their married life became confined to snatched weekends and irregular leaves as Thatcher was often abroad during the war. When Thatcher returned to England after being demobilised in 1946, his wife told him she had met someone else and wanted a divorce.[19]

Thatcher was so traumatised by the event that he completely refused to talk about his first marriage or the separation, even to his daughter, as she states in her 1996 biography of him.[20][page needed]Thatcher's two children found out about his first marriage only in 1976 (by which time, their mother had becomeLeader of the Opposition) and then only when the media revealed it.[21]

Margaret Thatcher

[edit]
See also:Margaret Thatcher § Post-Oxford career: 1947–1951
Denis and Margaret Thatcher with US vice presidentGeorge Bushand second ladyBarbara BushatChequersin 1984

In February 1949, at a Paint Trades Federation function inDartford,he met Margaret Hilda Roberts, achemistand newly selectedparliamentary candidate.When she met Denis for the first time, she described him as "not a very attractive creature" and "very reserved but quite nice".[22]They married on 13 December 1951, atWesley's ChapelinCity Road,London; the Robertses wereMethodists.Margaret Thatcher waselected Leader of the Conservative Partyin 1975. She went on to win the1979 general electionto become the first female prime minister in British history. Denis became the firsthusband of a British prime minister.[23]

In 1953, they had twin children (CarolandMark), who were born on 15 August atQueen Charlotte's and Chelsea HospitalinHammersmith,seven weeks premature.[24]Thatcher was watching the deciding Test of the1953 Ashes seriesat the time of the twins' birth.[25]They had watched theCoronationearlier in the year fromParliament Square.[26]

Not long after the1964 general election,Thatcher suffered anervous breakdownwhich put a severe strain on his marriage.[27][28]The breakdown was probably caused by the increasing pressure of running the family business, caring for his relatives, and his wife's preoccupation with her political career, which left him lonely and exhausted.[27]Thatcher sailed to South Africa and stayed there for two months to recuperate.[27]His wife's biographerDavid Cannadinedescribed it as "the greatest crisis of their marriage", but immediately after, he recovered and returned home, he maintained a happy marriage for the rest of his life.[27]

This second marriage for Thatcher led to the future prime minister being sometimes referred to as "Mrs Denis Thatcher" in such sources asselectionminutes,[29]travel itineraries,[30]and society publications such asQueen,even after she was elected aMember of Parliament.[30][31]As Margaret's political career progressed, she preferred to be known only as "Mrs Thatcher".

According toJohn Campbell,a biographer of his wife, "their marriage was more a partnership of mutual convenience than a romance",[32]quoting their daughter Carol in her biography of Denis:

If marriage is either a takeover or a merger, then my parents enjoyed the latter. There was a great deal of common ground and a tacitlaissez faireagreement that they would get on with their own interests and activities. There was no possessiveness, nor any expectation that one partner's career should take precedence.[33]

Business career

[edit]
Thatcher in 1982

Thatcher was already a wealthy man when he met Margaret, and he financed her training as abarrister,and a home in Chelsea, London.[1]He also bought a large house inLamberhurst, Kent,in 1965.[1]His firm employed 200 people by 1957.[1]

Thatcher became managing director of his family's firm Atlas Preservatives in 1947 and chairman in 1951, leading its overseas expansion.[citation needed]By the early 1960s, he found being in sole control of the family company difficult.[citation needed]This, his wife's political career, and their desire for financial security caused Thatcher to sell Atlas toCastrolin 1965 for £530,000 (£13,000,000 today). He continued to run Atlas and received a seat on Castrol's board; afterBurmah Oiltook over Castrol in 1966, Thatcher became a senior divisional director, managing the planning and control department.[34][need quotation to verify]He retired from Burmah in June 1975,[citation needed]four months after his wife won the Conservative Party leadership election.

In addition to being a director of Burmah Oil, Thatcher was a director and deputy chairman of Attwoods from July 1983 until January 1994.[35][36]He was also a director of Quinton Hazell and a consultant toAmecandCSX.[37]

His wife's biographerRobin Harrisconcludes:

He was not, in fact, a particularly good businessman: he had inherited shares in a family firm which he managed, and he was lucky enough to sell his interest on terms that gave him a large pay-off and a good salary to boot. But it is significant that he left a very modest legacy at his death. This was because, throughout his life, and despite his training as an accountant and his eagle-eyed scrutiny of theStock Exchange,he was a poor investor. Once his wife had become Prime Minister, and even after her retirement, it was Denis who lived off her and not vice versa. He matchedAlf Robertsin his dislike of spending his own money. More generally, while (in contrast to certain of his successors) he did not raise eyebrows about exploiting his position, he certainly made the most of it. He was a celebrity exclusively because of whom he had married.[38]

Public life and perceptions

[edit]
Thatcher and US first ladyNancy Reaganat Downing Street in 1988

Thatcher refused press interviews and made only brief speeches. When he did speak to the press, he called his wife "The Boss". Margaret Thatcher often acknowledged her husband's support. In her autobiography, she wrote: "I could never have been Prime Minister for more than 11 years without Denis by my side." Thatcher saw his role as helping her survive the stress of the job, which he urged her to resign on the tenth anniversary of her becoming prime minister in 1989,[citation needed]sensing that otherwise she would be forced out.

In an interview withThe Timesin October 1970, Thatcher said: "I don't pretend that I'm anything but an honest-to-God right-winger – those are my views and I don't care who knows 'em."[39]His public image was shaped by the satirical "Dear Bill"columns appearing since 1979 inPrivate Eye,which portrayed him as a "juniper-sozzled, rightwing, golf-obsessed halfwit ", and Thatcher found it useful to play along with this image to avoid allegations of unduly influencing his wife in political matters.[40]

Given his professional background, Thatcher served as an advisor on financial matters, warning Margaret about the poor condition ofBritish Leylandafter reviewing its books. He often insisted that she avoid overwork, to little avail, sometimes pleading, "Bed, woman!"[41]They otherwise usually kept their careers separate; an exception was when Thatcher accompanied his wife on a 1967 visit to the United States sponsored by theInternational Visitor Leadership Program.[34]

Thatcher was consistent in his strong opposition to thedeath penalty,calling it "absolutely awful" and "barbaric". He said that he was against it because of innocent people being wrongly hanged and because juries could also be afraid to convict for fear of making a mistake.[citation needed]Like his wife, Thatcher was consistentlyanti-socialist.He told his daughter in 1995 that he would have banned trade unions altogether in Britain.[citation needed]He had low regard for theBBC,thinking it was biased against his wife and her government, as well as unpatriotic. In his most famous outburst about the corporation, he claimed his wife had been "stitched up by bloody BBCpoofsandTrots"whenshe was questioned by a member of the publicabout the sinking of theARAGeneral BelgranoonNationwidein 1983.[42]

Thatcher was reported by New Zealand (NZ) broadcaster and former diplomatChris Laidlaw—at the time NZ High Commissioner to Zimbabwe—as leaning towards him during aCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting,asking "So, what do you think thefuzzy wuzziesare up to? "[43]

In December 1990, following the resignation of his wife as prime minister, it was announced that Thatcher would be created abaronet,(the first and only baronetcy created since 1964).[44]The award was gazetted in February 1991, giving his title asSir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet,ofScotneyin theCounty of Kent.[45]Thus, his wife was entitled to style herselfLady Thatcherwhile retaining her seat in theHouse of Commons;however, she made it known that she preferred to remain addressed as "Mrs Thatcher",[46]and would not use the style. She was created alife peeressas Baroness Thatcher (Lady Thatcher in her own right) shortly after she retired from the Commons in1992.

In July 1991, Thatcher was created aCommander of the Order of St John;his wife was also made a Dame of the order.[47]

Illness and death

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Plaques on the graves of Denis and Margaret Thatcher at theRoyal Hospital Chelsea(pictured in 2014)

In the autumn of 1992, Thatcher was diagnosed withprostate cancer,[48]but it was caught early. He responded well to treatment.

On 17 January 2003, Thatcher underwent a six-hourheart-bypass operationandaortic valveoperation at aHarley Streetclinic. He had complained of breathlessness for several weeks before Christmas 2002, and the problem was diagnosed in early January. He left the clinic on 28 January 2003 and appeared to recover fully after recuperation. Thatcher returned home on 14 February and visited his son Mark in South Africa in April, but in early June, he again complained of breathlessness and listlessness. Lady Thatcher's staff also thought he looked unwell, and on 13 June, he was admitted to theRoyal Brompton Hospitalfor further tests.[49]Nothing wrong was found with his heart but terminalpancreatic cancerwas diagnosed,[50]along with fluid in his lungs. He was told nothing could be done for him, and after seven days there, on 20 June, he was transferred to theLister Hospital.[49]He lost consciousness on 24 June[51]and never regained it. He died on the morning of 26 June, at the age of 88.[51]

His funeral service took place on 3 July 2003 at the chapel of theRoyal Hospital Chelseain London, followed by a cremation atMortlake Crematorium[52]inRichmond, London.On 30 October, a memorial service was held atWestminster Abbey.His ashes were buried under a white marble marker just outside the Royal Hospital in Chelsea.[53]Afterhis wife's death in 2013,her ashes were buried near his.[54][55]

Profiles

[edit]

Married to Maggie

[edit]

Produced by his daughter Carol,[56]Thatcher's single public interview(which took place in October 2002)[citation needed]was made into a documentary film titledMarried to Maggie,[57]broadcast after his death.[58]In it he revealed that the spouses he liked wereRaisa Gorbacheva,Nancy ReaganandBarbara Bush.[58]He called his wife's successor,John Major,"a ghastly prime minister", saying that "[i]t would have been a [...] very good thing" had he lost the1992 general election.He added that he thought his wife was "the best prime minister sinceChurchill."[58]

Below the Parapet

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Below the Parapet(1996) is the biography by his daughter Carol. In it, he said that politics as a profession or way of life did not appeal to him.[20][page needed]World leaders he got on with includedGeorge H. W. Bush,[59]F. W. de Klerk,[60]Hussein of Jordan[61]andMikhail Gorbachev,[20][page needed]whilst he dislikedIndira GandhiandSir Sonny Ramphal.[62]Thatcher admitted that he was not sure where the Falkland Islands were until they wereinvaded in 1982.[63]

Medals and honours

[edit]

Thatcher was awarded the followingmedals and honours:

Year Appointment Ribbon Letters
1945 War Medal 1939–1945withMention in DispatchesOakleaf —
Italy Star
1939–1945 Star
Member of the Order of the British Empire(Military Division) MBE
1982 Territorial Decoration TD
1990 Baronetcy Bt
1991 Commander of the Order of St John CStJ
Coat of arms of Sir Denis Thatcher, Bt
Crest
A demi-lion rampant Or within a circlet of New Zealand ferns Argent, holding between the fore-paws a pair of shears proper.[64][page needed]
Escutcheon
Gules, two chevrons Or between three crosses moline Argent. On a chief Azure, between two fleurs-de-lis Argent, a mural crown Or masoned Gules.[64][page needed]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdefghiCollins 2009.
  2. ^Thatcher 1996,p. 18.
  3. ^abThatcher 1996,p. 39.
  4. ^Thatcher 1996,p. 25.
  5. ^abcdBarker, Dennis(26 June 2003)."Sir Denis Thatcher".The Guardian.Retrieved25 March2021.
  6. ^Thatcher 1996,p. 53.
  7. ^Thatcher 1996,p. 34.
  8. ^"No. 34977".The London Gazette(Supplement). 22 October 1940. pp. 6182–6184.
  9. ^"No. 36886".The London Gazette(Supplement). 9 January 1945. pp. 315–317.
  10. ^"No. 37368".The London Gazette(Supplement). 27 November 1945. pp. 5791–5795.
  11. ^"No. 37274".The London Gazette(Supplement). 18 September 1945. p. 4673.
  12. ^"WO 373/73/1003"(fee may be required to view full original recommendation).The National Archives.Retrieved28 May2017.
  13. ^"WO 373/185/1209"(fee may be required to view full original recommendation).The National Archives.Retrieved28 May2017.
  14. ^"No. 37279".The London Gazette(Supplement). 21 September 1945. p. 4740.
  15. ^"No. 43646".The London Gazette(Supplement). 7 May 1965. p. 4565.
  16. ^"No. 49114".The London Gazette(Supplement). 20 September 1982. p. 12237.
  17. ^ab"Sir Denis Thatcher, Bt".The Telegraph.27 June 2003.Archivedfrom the original on 9 June 2010.Retrieved27 March2021.
  18. ^Thatcher 1996,pp. 49–50.
  19. ^Thatcher 1996,p. 51.
  20. ^abcThatcher 1996.
  21. ^Thatcher 1996,pp. 46–47.
  22. ^Moore, Charles(19 April 2013)."A side of Margaret Thatcher we've never seen".The Telegraph.Retrieved25 July2017.
  23. ^"History of Baroness Margaret Thatcher".UK Government. Archived fromthe originalon 5 August 2011.Retrieved31 July2011.
  24. ^Cosgrave 1978,p. 111.
  25. ^Blundell 2013,p. 13.
  26. ^Thatcher 1995,p. 78.
  27. ^abcdCannadine 2017.
  28. ^Rayner, Gordon (23 April 2013)."Margaret Thatcher: Sir Denis 'contemplated divorce' after he suffered a nervous breakdown in 1960s".The Telegraph.Retrieved16 January2017.
  29. ^Ramsden 1996,p. 117.
  30. ^abBlundell 2008,pp.59Closed access icon–60.
  31. ^Hodgkinson 1988,p. 95.
  32. ^Campbell 2000,p. 88.
  33. ^Thatcher 1996,pp. 91–92.
  34. ^abScott-Smith 2003.
  35. ^"Denis Thatcher's Company in Alleged Bribery Dealing".Australian Financial Review.5 July 1989.Retrieved27 October2022.
  36. ^Annual accounts for year ended 31 July 1994Attwoods 5 December 1994 page 14[dead link]
  37. ^Annual accounts for year ended 31 July 1992Attwoods 2 December 1992 page 9[dead link]
  38. ^Harris 2013,p. 45.
  39. ^"[Denis Thatcher]".The Times(Interview). Interviewed by Kirsten Cubitt. 5 October 1970. p. 7.
  40. ^Pilkington, Edward (26 February 1996)."Dear Bill: gin-soaked halfwit was all a ruse".The Guardian.Retrieved13 July2016.
  41. ^Runciman, David(6 June 2013)."Rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat".London Review of Books.Retrieved11 June2013.
  42. ^"TV's top 10 tantrums".BBC News.31 August 2001.Retrieved26 July2009.
  43. ^Bale, Tim(14 April 2013)."Thatcher's Life and Legacy"(Interview). Interviewed byRNZ National.Retrieved16 April2013.
  44. ^"No. 52360".The London Gazette.11 December 1990. p. 19066.
  45. ^"No. 52443".The London Gazette.7 February 1991. p. 1993.
  46. ^Tuohy, William(8 December 1990)."It's Now 'Lady Thatcher,' but She'll Stick With 'Mrs.'".Los Angeles Times.London.Retrieved5 March2017.
  47. ^"No. 52590".The London Gazette.1 July 1991. p. 10029.
  48. ^Moore 2019,p. 788.
  49. ^ab"Sir Denis Thatcher dies in London aged 88".The Irish Times.26 June 2003.Retrieved12 October2020.
  50. ^Harris 2013,p. 426.
  51. ^abBrown, Colin (29 June 2003)."'I was holding Lady Thatcher's hand, and she was holding Denis's when he died. There were no final words'".The Telegraph.Retrieved2 December2019.
  52. ^"Notable dead at Mortlake"(PDF).Mortlake Crematorium. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 14 March 2005.
  53. ^"Margaret Thatcher: 'Don't waste money on a flypast at my funeral'".The Telegraph.London. 8 April 2013.Retrieved21 March2021.
  54. ^"Baroness Thatcher's ashes laid to rest".The Telegraph.28 September 2013.Retrieved21 March2021.
  55. ^"Margaret Thatcher's ashes laid to rest at Royal Hospital Chelsea".BBC News.28 September 2013.Retrieved21 March2021.
  56. ^Married to Maggie: The Denis and Margaret Thatcher Story.2003.ASINB00GGTBVGQ– viaAmazon Prime Video.
  57. ^Married to Maggie: Denis Thatcher's Story(Film). Interviewed by Carol Thatcher.Channel 4.3 August 2003. Archived fromthe originalon 23 April 2021.Retrieved23 April2021– via theBFI.
  58. ^abcBanks-Smith, Nancy(4 August 2003)."Stand by your ma'am".The Guardian.Retrieved22 April2021.I liked Raisa Gorbachev... I liked Barbara Bush... I liked Nancy Reagan.
  59. ^Thatcher 1996,p. 252.
  60. ^Thatcher 1996,p. 231.
  61. ^Thatcher 1996,p. 176.
  62. ^Thatcher 1996,p. 211.
  63. ^Thatcher 1996,p. 188.
  64. ^abDebrett's 2000.

Works cited

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