Summary
Irene Mervyn Parnicott Pike, Baroness Pike, DBE (16 September 1918 – 11 January 2004) was a British Conservative politician. The name by which she came to be known, Mervyn, had been the name of her father's best friend, who was to have been her godfather; when he was killed in action, a few days before she was born, her father decided that the baby would take his name.[1]
The Baroness Pike | |
|---|---|
 Pike in 1959 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs | |
| In office 1 March 1963 – 16 October 1964 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Charles Fletcher-Cooke |
| Succeeded by | George Thomas |
| Assistant Postmaster-General | |
| In office 22 October 1959 – 1 March 1963 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | Kenneth Thompson |
| Succeeded by | Ray Mawby |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 15 May 1974 – 11 January 2004 Life peerage | |
| Member of Parliament for Melton | |
| In office 19 December 1956 – 8 February 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Anthony Nutting |
| Succeeded by | Michael Latham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Irene Mervyn Parnicott Pike 16 September 1918 Castleford, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 11 January 2004 (aged 85) Kelso, Scottish Borders |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | University of Reading |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch/service |  Royal Air Force |
| Unit | Women's Auxiliary Air Force |
Early life edit
Born in Castleford, Yorkshire,[2] into a family of Castleford pottery manufacturers, Pike was educated at Hunmanby Hall (East Riding of Yorkshire) and at Reading University and served with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force during World War II. She was managing director of a firm of pottery manufacturers.[1]
Career edit
Pike contested Pontefract in 1951 and Leek in 1955 without success. She was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Melton at a by-election in December 1956. She held several positions including Assistant Postmaster-General from 1959 to 1963, joint Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department from 1963 to 1964 and Chair of the WRVS from 1974 to 1981 and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission from 1981 to 1985.
Awards edit
Pike was created a life peer on 15 May 1974 as Baroness Pike, of Melton in Leicestershire,[3] and was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1981 Birthday Honours.[4]
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Death edit
She died in 2004, unmarried, at a nursing home in Kelso, Scottish Borders, aged 85, from pneumonia following a stroke.[2]
References edit
- ^ a b Roth, Andrew (16 January 2004). "Obituary: Baroness Pike of Melton". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ a b Sutherland, Duncan (24 May 2008). "Pike, (Irene) Mervyn Parnicott, Baroness Pike (1918–2004), businesswoman, politician, and voluntary worker". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/93152. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "No. 46292". The London Gazette. 17 May 1974. p. 6033.
- ^ "No. 48639". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 1981. p. 8.
- ^ Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage. 2000.
External links edit
- Announcement of Pike's death in the House of Lords – minutes of proceedings, 13 January 2004