Violet Bathurst, Lady Apsley

Violet Emily Mildred Bathurst, Lady Apsley
CBE
Member of Parliament
for Bristol Central
In office
18 February 1943 – 4 July 1945
Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
Preceded by Allen Bathurst
Succeeded by Stan Awbery
Personal details
Born Violet Emily Mildred Meeking
(1895-04-29)29 April 1895
Marylebone, London, England
Died 19 January 1966(1966-01-19) (aged 70)
Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s)
Allen Bathurst
(m. 1924; d. 1942)

Violet Emily Mildred Bathurst, Lady Apsley, CBE (née Meeking; 29 April 1895 – 19 January 1966) was a British Conservative Party politician. Upon the death of her husband, Lord Apsley, she succeeded him as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol Central in a 1943 by-election.[1] She held the seat until 1945 when it was taken by Labour.

Violet Mildred Emily Meeking was born on 29 April 1890 in Marylebone, London. She was the daughter of Captain Bertram Meeking of the 10th Hussars and his wife, Violet Charlotte (née Fletcher). She would later use the name "Viola".[2]

During the First World War she served with a Voluntary Aid Detachment at Marsh Court Military Hospital. [3] She had an early interest in politics and was president of the Southampton Women's Conservative Association in 1924.[3]

On 27 February 1924, she married Lord Apsley[1] and they had two sons: Henry Allen John (1927–2011) and George Bertram (1929–2010).

Apsley gained her pilot's licence in 1930 and served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during the Second World War, resigning her commission after being elected to Parliament.[4]

Her husband died in an aircraft accident in 1942, and she succeeded him as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol Central, winning a 1943 by-election with a majority of 1,559.[3] In the 1945 General Election Lady Apsley lost her seat. She contested the Bristol North East seat between 1947 and 1951 but was not re-elected to Parliament. Between 1952 and 1954 she was a member of the Central Council of the Victoria League.[3] She held numerous offices in the Conservative Party, and was National Chairman of the Women's Section of the British Legion. She was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1952 Queen's Birthday Honours, "for public and social services".[5]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "No. 35916". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 February 1943. p. 937.
  2. ↑ "Forthcoming Marriages". The Times (43510). London. 28 November 1923. p. 15.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Lady Apsley". The Times (56335). London. 21 January 1966. p. 14.
  4. ↑ "No. 36186". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 September 1943. p. 4304.
  5. ↑ "No. 39555". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 May 1952. p. 3016.

References

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Lord Apsley		 Member of Parliament for Bristol Central
1943–1945		 Succeeded by
Stanley Awbery


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