Antony Head, 1st Viscount Head

Antony Henry Head, 1st Viscount Head, GCMG, CBE, MC, PC (19 December 1906 – 29 March 1983) was a British soldier, Conservative politician and diplomat.

"Antony Head" redirects here. For the actor, see Anthony Head.

The Right Honourable
The Viscount Head
GCMG CBE MC PC
Secretary of State for War
In office
31 October 1951 – 18 October 1956
MonarchsGeorge VI
Elizabeth II
Prime MinisterSir Winston Churchill
Sir Anthony Eden
Preceded byJohn Strachey
Succeeded byJohn Hare
Minister of Defence
In office
18 October 1956 – 9 January 1957
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterSir Anthony Eden
Preceded bySir Walter Monckton
Succeeded byDuncan Sandys
Personal details
Born19 December 1906 (1906-12-19)
Died29 March 1983 (1983-03-30) (aged 76)
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
SpouseLady Dorothea Ashley-Cooper
Alma materRoyal Military College, Sandhurst

Background and education

Head was the son of Geoffrey Head and Ethel Daisy, daughter of Arthur Flower. He was educated at Ludgrove School,[1] Eton and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Military career

A career soldier, Head was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars on 30 August 1926.[2] He later joined the Life Guards, serving through the Second World War and achieving the rank of brigadier. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) on 20 December 1940.[3]

Political career

Head was elected Conservative MP for Carshalton in 1945. He served as Secretary of State for War from 1951 to 1956 and as Minister of Defence (with a seat in the cabinet) from 1956 to 1957,[4] in the administrations of Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1951 and in 1960 he was raised to the peerage as Viscount Head, of Throope in the County of Wiltshire.[5] He was later High Commissioner to Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and High Commissioner to Malaysia from 1963 to 1966. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 1961 New Year Honours[6] and promoted to be Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in 1963.[7]

Family

Lord Head married Lady Dorothea Louise (29 April 1907 – 1987), daughter of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, on 23 July 1935. They had four children:

Lord Head died in March 1983, aged 76, and was succeeded in the viscountcy by his eldest son, Richard.

Arms
Coat of arms of Antony Head, 1st Viscount Head
Crest
A unicorn's head couped Sable armed and crined Or between two arrows erect points downward of the last.
Escutcheon
Sable a chevron Argent between two unicorns' heads couped in chief and in base as many arrows in saltire and filed by a ducal crown Or.
Supporters
On either side a Staffordshire terrier Sable gorged with a dog collar Or.
Motto
Study Quiet [8]

References
  1. Barber, Richard (2004). The Story of Ludgrove. Oxford: Guidon Publishing. p. 189. ISBN 0-9543617-2-5.
  2. "No. 33198". The London Gazette. 3 September 1926. p. 5765.
  3. "No. 35020". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 December 1940. p. 7197.
  4. "Mr Anthony Head (Hansard)". Hansard. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  5. "No. 42108". The London Gazette. 2 August 1960. p. 5321.
  6. "No. 42231". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 December 1960. p. 8892.
  7. "No. 43052". The London Gazette. 12 July 1963. p. 5883.
  8. Debrett's Peerage. 2000.
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