31 Facts About Duncan Sandys

Duncan Sandys was a son-in-law of Winston Churchill and played a key role in promoting European unity after World War II.

Duncan Sandys' parents divorced in January 1921 when he was 12 years old.

Duncan Sandys was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford.

Duncan Sandys entered the diplomatic service in 1930, serving at the Foreign Office in London as well as at the embassy in Berlin.

Duncan Sandys became Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Norwood in south London in a by-election in March 1935, at which he was opposed by an Independent Conservative candidate sponsored by Randolph Churchill.

In 1937, Duncan Sandys was commissioned into the 51st Anti-Aircraft Brigade, Royal Artillery, of the Territorial Army.

Duncan Sandys was approached by two unidentified men, presumably representing the secret services, and threatened with prosecution under section 6 of the Official Secrets Act 1920.

Duncan Sandys reported the matter to the Committee of Privileges which held that the disclosures of Parliament were not subject to the legislation, though an MP could be disciplined by the House.

Duncan Sandys's father-in-law gave him his first ministerial post as Financial Secretary to the War Office from 1941 to 1944 during the wartime coalition government.

Duncan Sandys had been wartime Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply.

Robotham of Rolls-Royce who had headed development of the Meteor tank engine in WWII was surprised and pleased when in 1963 Duncan Sandys said "I regard the adoption of the Meteor tank engine as the absolute turning-point in the history of British tank development", at the opening of a Rolls-Royce aero engine factory at East Kilbride.

Duncan Sandys resigned his TA commission as a lieutenant-colonel the following year.

Duncan Sandys played a key role in the creation of the European Movement.

Duncan Sandys established the United Europe Movement in Britain in 1947 following a speech of his father-in-law, Winston Churchill, in Zurich on 19 September 1946 when Churchill had called for the "European family" to be recreated and provided with "a structure under which it can dwell in peace, in safety and in freedom".

In December 1947, the Committee was renamed the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity and Duncan Sandys was elected its Chairman and Retinger its Honorary Secretary.

Duncan Sandys served as a member of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe from 1950 until 1951.

Duncan Sandys was elected to parliament at the 1950 general election for Streatham and, when the Conservatives regained power in 1951, he was appointed Minister of Supply.

Duncan Sandys was appointed Minister of Defence in 1957 and quickly produced the 1957 Defence White Paper that proposed a radical shift in the Royal Air Force by ending the use of fighter aircraft in favour of missile technology.

Duncan Sandys continued as a minister at the Commonwealth Relations Office, later combining it with the Colonies Office, until the Conservative government lost power in 1964.

Duncan Sandys remained in the shadow cabinet until 1966 when he was sacked by Edward Heath.

Duncan Sandys had strongly supported Ian Smith in the dispute over Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence.

Duncan Sandys was not offered a post when the Conservatives won the 1970 general election, but instead served as leader of the United Kingdom delegation to the Council of Europe and Western European Union until 1972 when he announced his retirement.

In 1974 he retired from parliament and was awarded a life peerage on 2 May As the title of Baron Sandys was already held by another family, he followed the example of George Brown and incorporated his first name in the title Baron Duncan-Sandys of the City of Westminster.

Duncan Sandys was an active early member of the Conservative Monday Club.

In 1935, Duncan Sandys married Diana Churchill, daughter of the future prime minister Winston Churchill.

Duncan Sandys died on 26 November 1987 at his home in London.

Duncan Sandys is buried in the churchyard of St Nicholas in Child Okeford, Dorset.

Duncan Sandys's grave is marked by a horizontal white slab.

Duncan Sandys formed the Civic Trust in 1957 and was its President; the Royal Institution of British Architects made him an honorary Fellow in 1968, and the Royal Town Planning Institute made him an honorary member.

Duncan Sandys was a trustee of the World Security Trust.

Duncan Sandys was therefore caught up in the scandal in which Lonrho was revealed to have bribed several African countries and broken international sanctions against Rhodesia, as well as the "unpleasant and unacceptable face of capitalism" episode involving eight directors being sacked by Tiny Rowland.