HARROGONE
James Ramsden has died aged 96. A former brewer, the former Conservative politician was MP for Harrogate from 1954 to 1974. He served in the governments of Harold MacMillan and Alec Douglas-Home in the War Department, and became the last ever War Secretary in 1963. With the Labour election victory in 1964, the post was merged into the Defence Department. In his role, he got rid of compulsory National Service. Outside of political he was the president of the Northern Horticultural Society, and a big fan of fox hunting, so much so that he founded his own hunt so it wouldn’t get in the way of important parliamentary business.
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James Ramsden
1 November 1923 – 29 March 2020
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