Walter Fletcher | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Bury | |
In office 6 July 1945 – 23 February 1950 | |
Majority | 110 |
Member of Parliament for Bury and Radcliffe | |
In office 24 February 1950 – 26 May 1955 | |
Majority | 1,891 |
Personal details | |
Born | Walter Fleischl von Marxow 8 April 1892 Shagbrooke, Reigate, Surrey, England |
Died | 6 April 1956 London, England | (aged 63)
Resting place | Sacombe, near Ware, Hertfordshire |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse | Esme Boyd (married 1928) |
Parents |
|
Relatives | Ernst von Fleischl-Marxow (uncle) |
Residence | London |
Alma mater | |
Occupation |
|
Nickname | Dr Dynamo [1] |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() Special Operations Executive |
Years of service | 1914-1918; 1940-1945 |
Rank | Major |
Unit |
|
Battles/wars | World War I
World War II
|
Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Sir Walter Fletcher CBE MP (8 April 1892 – 6 April 1956) was a British businessman, World War I veteran, Special Operations Executive's secret agent and smuggler, fine art artist and Conservative Party politician. [2] [3]
Born Walter Fleischl von Marxow, he was the second son of Paul Fleischl von Marxow and his wife Cecile (née Levis) [4] of Shagbrooke, Reigate, Surrey. [3] [5] His father was an Austrian-born woolbroker, brother of Ernst von Fleischl-Marxow, who became a naturalised British citizen in 1887. [6]
Following education at Charterhouse School and the University of Lausanne, he began training as a manager in the rubber industry. [3]
With the outbreak of World War I in 1914 he entered the British Army, obtaining a commission in the Army Ordnance Department. He served in East Africa, and by the end of the war in 1918 had reached the rank of major. [3]
In September 1919 he changed his name by deed poll to Walter Fletcher. [7] He returned to Africa, where he managed a large number of rubber plantations. He returned to England, where he subsequently became chairman and managing director of Hecht, Levis and Kahn, a major rubber and commodities company. He held the position for thirty years. [3] In 1928 he married Esme Boyd. [3]
In late 1940, Fletcher approached the Special Operations Executive and offers them his speciality, he eventually assigned to the Force 136 and running an operation called Operation Remorse. [1] Originally it was hoped Fletcher could use his contacts to smuggle rubber out of Japanese-occupied Malaya and Indo-China through the Chinese black market. The operation was diversified to include the smuggling of foreign currency, diamonds and machinery to fund the SOE's activities. [8] [9]
Colin Mackenzie, the head of Force 136 (SOE in the Far East), said of Fletcher, “He did it very well… even in the early days I had £20,000 of diamonds across my desk in one go. One estimate is that the net profit was worth £77 million.” [10] Mackenzie also commented:
Walter was gloriously fat. It was rumoured that he won the hundred yards at Charterhouse when he was nineteen stone. I didn’t believe it, but when I saw him running for a bus when he was still nineteen stone I began to believe it might be true.
In 1947 Fletcher was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his war service. [3]
Politically, Fletcher was a Conservative, and he was selected as the party's prospective parliamentary candidate for the Birkenhead East seat in 1930. However, with the formation of a National Government prior to the 1931 general election he stood aside to allow Henry Graham White, a Liberal member of the government to hold the seat. [3]
He was elected at the 1945 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury in Lancashire. [3] [11] When that constituency was abolished for the 1950 election, he was returned for the new Bury and Radcliffe constituency, [2] and held the seat until he retired from the House of Commons at the 1955 general election. [3] In 1953 he was knighted. [3]
In addition to his business and political interests, Fletcher had extensive farms in Hertfordshire. [3] He was also an accomplished painter, exhibiting at the Royal Academy and in Bond Street galleries. [3]
Fletcher died at his London home in April 1956 aged 63. [3] He was buried in Sacombe, near Ware, Hertfordshire. [12]
walter fletcher soe.
Walter Fletcher | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Bury | |
In office 6 July 1945 – 23 February 1950 | |
Majority | 110 |
Member of Parliament for Bury and Radcliffe | |
In office 24 February 1950 – 26 May 1955 | |
Majority | 1,891 |
Personal details | |
Born | Walter Fleischl von Marxow 8 April 1892 Shagbrooke, Reigate, Surrey, England |
Died | 6 April 1956 London, England | (aged 63)
Resting place | Sacombe, near Ware, Hertfordshire |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse | Esme Boyd (married 1928) |
Parents |
|
Relatives | Ernst von Fleischl-Marxow (uncle) |
Residence | London |
Alma mater | |
Occupation |
|
Nickname | Dr Dynamo [1] |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() Special Operations Executive |
Years of service | 1914-1918; 1940-1945 |
Rank | Major |
Unit |
|
Battles/wars | World War I
World War II
|
Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Sir Walter Fletcher CBE MP (8 April 1892 – 6 April 1956) was a British businessman, World War I veteran, Special Operations Executive's secret agent and smuggler, fine art artist and Conservative Party politician. [2] [3]
Born Walter Fleischl von Marxow, he was the second son of Paul Fleischl von Marxow and his wife Cecile (née Levis) [4] of Shagbrooke, Reigate, Surrey. [3] [5] His father was an Austrian-born woolbroker, brother of Ernst von Fleischl-Marxow, who became a naturalised British citizen in 1887. [6]
Following education at Charterhouse School and the University of Lausanne, he began training as a manager in the rubber industry. [3]
With the outbreak of World War I in 1914 he entered the British Army, obtaining a commission in the Army Ordnance Department. He served in East Africa, and by the end of the war in 1918 had reached the rank of major. [3]
In September 1919 he changed his name by deed poll to Walter Fletcher. [7] He returned to Africa, where he managed a large number of rubber plantations. He returned to England, where he subsequently became chairman and managing director of Hecht, Levis and Kahn, a major rubber and commodities company. He held the position for thirty years. [3] In 1928 he married Esme Boyd. [3]
In late 1940, Fletcher approached the Special Operations Executive and offers them his speciality, he eventually assigned to the Force 136 and running an operation called Operation Remorse. [1] Originally it was hoped Fletcher could use his contacts to smuggle rubber out of Japanese-occupied Malaya and Indo-China through the Chinese black market. The operation was diversified to include the smuggling of foreign currency, diamonds and machinery to fund the SOE's activities. [8] [9]
Colin Mackenzie, the head of Force 136 (SOE in the Far East), said of Fletcher, “He did it very well… even in the early days I had £20,000 of diamonds across my desk in one go. One estimate is that the net profit was worth £77 million.” [10] Mackenzie also commented:
Walter was gloriously fat. It was rumoured that he won the hundred yards at Charterhouse when he was nineteen stone. I didn’t believe it, but when I saw him running for a bus when he was still nineteen stone I began to believe it might be true.
In 1947 Fletcher was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his war service. [3]
Politically, Fletcher was a Conservative, and he was selected as the party's prospective parliamentary candidate for the Birkenhead East seat in 1930. However, with the formation of a National Government prior to the 1931 general election he stood aside to allow Henry Graham White, a Liberal member of the government to hold the seat. [3]
He was elected at the 1945 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury in Lancashire. [3] [11] When that constituency was abolished for the 1950 election, he was returned for the new Bury and Radcliffe constituency, [2] and held the seat until he retired from the House of Commons at the 1955 general election. [3] In 1953 he was knighted. [3]
In addition to his business and political interests, Fletcher had extensive farms in Hertfordshire. [3] He was also an accomplished painter, exhibiting at the Royal Academy and in Bond Street galleries. [3]
Fletcher died at his London home in April 1956 aged 63. [3] He was buried in Sacombe, near Ware, Hertfordshire. [12]
walter fletcher soe.