Cyril Townsend

Sir Cyril David Townsend (21 December 1937 − 20 November 2013) was a British politician.

Townsend was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath at the February 1974 election, and held the seat until retiring at the 1997 election.

Early life Townsend was born in Woking to Lois Henderson and Lieutenant Colonel Cyril Townsend. He was educated at Bradfield College and Sandhurst.

Military career He was commissioned in 1958 into the Durham Light Infantry. He served during the end of the Cyprus Emergency. He was promoted to captain in December 1963. In 1966 he fought in Malaysia in the confrontation with Indonesia. He was the Hong Kong Governor's aide-de-camp from 1964 to 1966, and in March 1968, after two years serving as adjutant to the first battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, retired from the army at the rank of captain.

Politics After joining the Conservative Party, Townsend was recruited as a personal assistant by Edward Heath, the party leader, in 1968.

Member of Parliament Townsend was made a member of the Select Committee on Violence in the Family, and concerned about child sexual abuse, was the sponsor of the Protection of Children Act 1978, which he introduced as a private member's bill in 1977.

After retaining his seat at the 1992 general election with a majority of 14,086, he served on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. After the 1997 boundary changes he was not selected as a candidate for Bexleyheath and Crayford and left Parliament having been knighted in the 1997 New Year Honours.

Outside Parliament Townsend was part of the Council for Arab-British Understanding. He served as joint chair during the 1980s, and became joint president in 1996. After retiring from Parliament he took this role full-time until stepping down in 2002.

In 2005 he became disillusioned with the Conservatives. In 2006, having joined the Liberal Democrats due to support for European integration, and was also a regular contributor to the Western Morning News.