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Sir Julian Ridsdale | |
|---|---|
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| Member of Parliament for Harwich | |
| In office 11 February 1954 – 16 March 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Stanley Holmes |
| Succeeded by | Iain Sproat |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Julian Errington Ridsdale 8 June 1915 |
| Died | 21 July 2004 (aged 89) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Other political affiliations | National Liberal |
| Spouse | |
| Relatives |
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| Education | Tonbridge School |
| Alma mater | Royal Military College, Sandhurst |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch/service |  British Army |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Royal Norfolk Regiment |
Sir Julian Errington Ridsdale CBE (8 June 1915 – 21 July 2004) was a British National Liberal and later Conservative politician and long-serving Member of Parliament (MP) for Harwich. He took a particular interest in Japan.
The son of a stockbroker and nephew both of former Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and Liberal MP Sir Aurelian Ridsdale, he was educated at Tonbridge School and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. After being commissioned as an officer into the Royal Norfolk Regiment, he studied Japanese at the School of Oriental and African Studies and during the war was a military intelligence officer specialising in Japan, rising to the rank of Major.
After the war, he ran a fruit farm in Sussex. His wife Victoire Evelyn Patricia "Paddy" Bennett, whom he married in 1942, was then secretary to the writer Ian Fleming. She is reported to have been a model for the character "Miss Moneypenny", secretary to James Bond. She was her husband's secretary and chairman of the Conservative MPs' Wives, and was awarded the DBE in 1991.[citation needed]