Major Basil Arthur John Peto (13 December 1900 – 3 February 1954)[1] was a British Conservative Party politician.

Early life

Peto was born 13 December 1900 at Chertsey, Surrey, the son of Sir Basil Peto, a former Member of Parliament.[2] Peto was educated at Harrow School and St John's College, Cambridge, where he read history and political economy.[2]

Military

In 1924, Peto was commissioned in the Royal Artillery; two years later he transferred to the King's Dragoon Guards.[2] In 1929, he was appointed as ADC to the governor of Bombay, and from 1932 to 1935 he served in India.[2] Peto retired in 1939, but, with the start of the Second World War in 1939, Peto rejoined the army.[2]

Politics

As a founder member of the Cambridge University Conservative Association and a father who was a Member of Parliament he always had an interest in politics. In 1941, Peto was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham King's Norton at a by-election in May 1941 following the death of the sitting MP Ronald Cartland.[2][3] From 1941 to 1945, Peto was a parliamentary private secretary to Geoffrey Lloyd chairman of the Oil Control Board.[2] Peto stood again at the 1945 general election but was defeated by the Labour Party candidate, Raymond Blackburn.[3]

Family and later life

Peto married Patricia Geraldine Browne in 1934; the couple had a son and three daughters.[2] On 3 February 1954, Peto was found shot dead in the garden of his home in Witley, Surrey with the gun beside him.[2] It was concluded that Peto, who regularly shot in his gardens, had slipped on ice and shot himself.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 2)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Major John Peto." Times [London, England] 4 Feb. 1954: 8. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 28 Apr. 2013.
  3. 1 2 Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 86. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  4. ↑ "Former M.P. Found Shot Dead." Times [London, England] 4 Feb. 1954: 6. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 28 Apr. 2013.
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