Peter Vanneck

Air Commodore Sir Peter Beckford Rutgers Vanneck, GBE, CB, DL, AFC, AE (7 January, 1922 – 2 August, 1999) was a British Royal Navy officer, jet pilot, engineer, stockbroker and politician. He made notable contributions to Anglo-French relations as Lord Mayor of London and as a Member of the European Parliament.

Family

Vanneck was the son of Lord Huntingfield (Sir William Vanneck), who was Member of Parliament for Eye, Suffolk and Governor of Victoria. The family was originally from den Haag (The Hague) in the Netherlands but had anglicised their surname from van Neck when they moved to the United Kingdom in the 18th century.

Education

Growing up in Australia during his father's time there, Vanneck first went to Geelong Grammar School. He was then sent back to Britain to Stowe School, and further studied at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth after joining the Royal Navy. As the Second World War broke out, Vanneck was a Midshipman. He served on "HMS King George V (41)" during the operation to sink the "Bismarck". Later in the war he led anti-submarine operations in the North Atlantic and was given command of a motor torpedo boat.

Aviation

When the war ended, Vanneck transferred to the Fleet Air Arm where he learned to fly. He got permission to resign his commission in 1949 and studied engineering at Trinity College, Cambridge, keeping up his interest in flying by joining the University Air Squadron. When he moved on to Harvard University, he flew the P-51 Mustang.

Vanneck then went into business with the engineering company Ransome's in Ipswich, followed by Rowe and Pitman (stockbrokers) in the City of London. He joined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and flew the de Havilland Vampire and Gloster Meteor with 601 (County of London) Squadron; in the 1960s he was in command of No 1 Maritime HQ Unit based at RAF Northwood and promoted to Group Captain. He became honorary Air Commodore and inspector of auxiliaries, as well as serving as Aide-de-camp to the Queen from 1963 to 1973.

Business life

Meanwhile his business career advanced. He was appointed to the Stock Exchange Council, and also became involved in Municipal affairs through the City of London Corporation (as Alderman for Cordwainer Ward and a member of many Livery Companies). He was a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of London from 1970, and Deputy Chairman of the Stock Exchange from 1973 to 1975.

Lord Mayor

Vanneck was elected the 650th Lord Mayor of London in November 1977, towards the end of the Queen's Silver Jubilee year. He held an eloquent speech at the Guildhall in which he recalled the first time he had met The Queen, who accompanied her father during a visit to the Royal Naval College when Vanneck was a young cadet there.

A popular Lord Mayor, Vanneck declared that despite his interesting careers, he had missed out on the one he would most like, which was to be a tug-boat skipper on the Thames. He made excellent contacts with his Paris counterpart Jacques Chirac and arranged an official visit to visit (one of only two that had taken place since the French revolution). Vanneck was a Francophile who was fluent in French.

European Parliament

At the end of his Lord Mayoral term, Vanneck was adopted as Conservative candidate for the European Parliament for Cleveland. He won the seat at the 1979 election, enjoying his time in the European institutions. He was vice-chairman of the Political Affairs committee and served on Energy Resources and Technology. After keeping his seat by only 2,625 votes in 1984, he lost in the 1989 election, and then retired from public life.

Retirement

High Sheriff of Suffolk from 1974, Vanneck continued to enjoy yacht racing (a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron, he was a regular at Cowes Week).

References

*Obituary, "The Times", 26 August, 1999
*"Who Was Who", A&C Black

External links

* [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/archive/alphaOrder/view.do?language=EN&id=1494 European Parliament] site