Major Sir Geoffrey Ernest Tritton CBE DL (3 November 1900 – 15 November 1976), was a British businessman, soldier and Liberal Party politician, who later joined the Conservative party.

Background

Tritton was born the son of Sir Alfred Tritton. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge.[1] In 1925 he married Mary Patience Winifred Foster. They had one son and one daughter. He succeeded his father as Baronet in 1939. He was appointed a CBE in 1958.[2]

Professional career

Tritton was a partner in a firm of discount brokers[3] and achieved the rank of Major as an officer in the Territorial Army Rifle Brigade. He was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant for Wiltshire.[4]

Political career

Tritton was Liberal candidate for the Henley division of Oxfordshire at the 1929 General Election. Henley was a Unionist seat. The Liberals had come within 1,000 votes of winning Henley at the 1923 General Election. At the 1924 General election, the majority was more than 6,000. Tritton's prospects of winning were set back when the Labour Party, who had not run a candidate in either 1923 or 1924, decided to intervene. He retained second place but was unable to reduce the Unionist majority. After this experience he did not contest another general election for 21 years and by then he had changed his party. He was Conservative candidate for the Swindon division of Wiltshire at the 1950 General Election. Swindon was a Labour seat and he managed to retain second place out of four candidates. He contested Swindon again at the 1951 General Election, this time in a two-candidate contest with Labour, but still lost. He did not stand for parliament again,[5] but during the 1950s served as a member of Wiltshire County Council.[6]

Electoral record

General Election 1929: Henley[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Robert Ronald Henderson 16,943 51.9 -12.9
Liberal Geoffrey Ernest Tritton 9,786 29.9 +5.3
Labour Bernard Benjamin Gillis 5,962 18.2 n/a
Majority 7,157 22.0 -18.2
Turnout 32,631 73.3 +3.1
Unionist hold Swing -9.1
General Election 1950: Swindon[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas Reid 21,976 51.47
Conservative Sir Geoffrey Ernest Tritton 13,697 32.08
Liberal Doreen Marjorie Gorsky 6,726 15.75
Communist Irving Gradwell 295 0.69
Majority 8,279 19.39
Turnout 87.19
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1951: Swindon[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas Reid 23,980 57.02
Conservative Sir Geoffrey Ernest Tritton 18,072 42.98
Majority 5,908 14.05
Turnout 89.00
Labour hold Swing

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Times House of Commons, 1929
  2. ↑ ‘TRITTON, Major Sir Geoffrey Ernest’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 14 March 2016
  3. ↑ The Times House of Commons, 1929
  4. ↑ ‘TRITTON, Major Sir Geoffrey Ernest’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 14 March 2016
  5. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1983, FWS Craig
  6. ↑ Warminster, Westbury, and District Directory 1960–61 (B. Lansdown & Sons, 1960), p. 7
  7. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig
  8. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1950–1973, FWS Craig
  9. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1950–1973, FWS Craig
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