{{Short description|British Conservative Party politician (1924–2021)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}} {{Use British English|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Eric Paul Cockeram | honorific_suffix = | image = | alt = | constituency_MP = Bebington | parliament = United Kingdom | predecessor = Edwin Brooks | successor = Alfred Bates | term_start = 18 June 1970 | term_end = 8 February 1974 | constituency_MP1 = Ludlow | parliament1 = United Kingdom | predecessor1 = Jasper More | successor1 = Christopher Gill | term_start1 = 3 May 1979 | term_end1 = 18 May 1987 | birth_date = {{birth date|1924|07|04|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{death date and age|2021|12|25|1924|07|04|df=y}} | death_place = | spouse = | party = Conservative | relations = | alma_mater = | occupation = Politician, Army Captain | profession = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = | children = 4 }}
'''Eric Paul Cockeram''' (4 July 1924 – 25 December 2021) was a British Conservative Party politician.
==Life and career== Cockeram was born on 4 July 1924.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mr Eric Cockeram (Hansard)|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/mr-eric-cockeram/index.html|access-date=2021-12-28|website=api.parliament.uk}}</ref>
Educated at Birkenhead School
He served in the British Army in the Second World War, taking part in the D-Day landings during World War II as a Second Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-06-04|title=75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings|url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/newsitem/262|access-date=2021-01-08|website=WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Chaucer Auctions - Lot 428|url=https://www.ukauctioneers.com/auction_catalogue.cfm?itemID=20E9CB0FD7D62BFED0EFFECEFF580CEAEA2FADCF&auction=21EDC809DF|access-date=2021-01-08|website=www.ukauctioneers.com}}</ref> where he was wounded in the face by a grenade on Gold Beach. He was demobilised with the rank of Captain.<ref name=shropstar>{{cite news|title=Former county MP and Normandy veteran dies|work=Shropshire Star|date=7 January 2022|page=3}}</ref>
He worked in his family's tailoring and outfitters firm, Watson Prickard, becoming company chairman.<ref name=shropstar/>
Originally elected Member of Parliament for Bebington in 1970, Cockeram lost his seat (which he fought unsuccessfully as the renamed Bebington and Ellesmere Port) in both the 1974 general elections. Elected for Ludlow in 1979,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://origin.shropshirestar.mna.arcpublishing.com/news/nostalgia/2017/05/22/sensation-in-montgomery-as-shropshire-turns-all-blue/ |title=Sensation in Montgomery as Shropshire turns all blue}}</ref> he suddenly announced his retirement weeks before the 1987 general election, following allegations of multiple share applications for British Telecom and British Gas.<ref name="shropshirestar">{{cite web |title=Election 2010: Ludlow « Shropshire Star |url=http://www.shropshirestar.com/election-2010-ludlow/ |access-date=10 March 2021 |date=20 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320101339/http://www.shropshirestar.com/election-2010-ludlow/ |archive-date=20 March 2012 }}</ref> This followed the Thatcher government's privatisation of both organisations, which allowed members of the public to buy shares in them. One of the share applications was for Cockeram's grandchildren but he denied wrongdoing and the Crown Prosecution Service decided he had no case to answer.<ref name=shropstar/>
Cockeram died on 25 December 2021, at the age of 97.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cockeram |url=https://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/254333/cockeram |website=The Telegraph |access-date=28 December 2021 |date=27 December 2021}}</ref> At time of his death he was married with four children<ref name=shropstar/> and was one of the few surviving former MPs who saw active service during World War II.
==References==
{{reflist}}
*''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'', Times Newspapers Ltd, 1983 *{{Rayment-hc|date=March 2012}}
== External links == * {{Hansard-contribs | mr-eric-cockeram | Eric Cockeram }}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{s-bef | before = Edwin Brooks }} {{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for Bebington | years = 1970–1974 }} {{s-non | reason = Constituency abolished }} {{succession box | title = Member of Parliament for Ludlow | years = 1979–1987 | before = Jasper More | after = Christopher Gill }} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockeram, Eric}} Category:1924 births Category:2021 deaths Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Category:UK MPs 1970–1974 Category:UK MPs 1979–1983 Category:UK MPs 1983–1987 Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Shropshire Category:British Army personnel of World War II Category:Gloucestershire Regiment officers