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29-611: In 1794, the position of Secretary of State for War was created. The Secretary's department was at first unofficially known as the War Department . Colonial affairs were later added and it became the Colony Department. After the outbreak of war with revolutionary France it became Colony and War Department and on the restoration of peace in 1815 the Colonial Department. In February 1855, the offices of

58-673: A Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1975. Profumo was born in Kensington , London, the son of Albert Profumo , a diplomat and barrister of Italian ancestry, who died in 1940. He attended Harrow School and Brasenose College, Oxford . Whilst at Oxford Profumo was a member of the Bullingdon Club . In 1933, "Jack" Profumo began a long-term relationship with a German student, Gisela Klein, who later became

87-699: A model and subsequently worked for German intelligence in Paris, and eventually married an American called Edward Winegard. Secret Service papers state Profumo also wrote to Winegard while he was an MP. On 1 July 1939, Profumo was commissioned into the Royal Armoured Corps as a second lieutenant . He had previously been a member of the Officer Training Corps and a Cadet Sergeant while at Harrow. He served in North Africa with

116-666: A safe Conservative seat. Profumo was a well-connected politician with a good war record and, despite Margesson's aforementioned outburst, was highly regarded in the Conservative Party. Those qualities helped him to rise steadily through the ranks of the Conservative government elected in 1951. He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation in November 1952, Joint Parliamentary Secretary to

145-435: A wheelchair. His last appearance was at the memorial service for Sir Edward Heath on 8 November 2005. On 7 March 2006, Profumo suffered a stroke and was admitted to London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital . He died two days later surrounded by his family, at the age of 91. After his death, many commentators said that he should be remembered as much for his contribution to society after his fall from political grace as for

174-511: Is part of the plot for season 2, episode 10 – "Mystery Man". Shortly after his resignation, Profumo was invited to work at Toynbee Hall as a volunteer by Walter Birmingham , who was a warden there. Toynbee Hall is a charity based in the East End of London , and Profumo continued to work there for the rest of his life, becoming Toynbee Hall's chief fundraiser, and using his political skills and contacts to raise large sums of money. All this work

203-789: The 15th Army Group . In November 1947, Acting Colonel Profumo was awarded the Bronze Star Medal by the United States "in recognition of distinguished services in the cause of the Allies". In 1940, while still serving in the Army, Profumo was elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Kettering in Northamptonshire at a by-election on 3 March . Shortly afterwards he voted against

232-665: The Chamberlain government in the debate following the British defeat at Narvik in Norway. This defiance on Profumo's part enraged the Chief Whip , David Margesson , who said to him "I can tell you this, you utterly contemptible little shit. On every morning that you wake up for the rest of your life you will be ashamed of what you did last night." Profumo later remarked that Margesson "couldn't have been more wrong". Profumo

261-834: The Northamptonshire Yeomanry as a Captain ( acting major ), where he was mentioned in dispatches . He landed in Normandy on D-Day and was engaged in the subsequent fierce fighting to secure that region of France. His final rank in the British Army was brigadier . On 21 December 1944, Major (temporary Lieutenant Colonel ) Profumo was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE, Military Division) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in Italy", specifically, for his service on Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander 's staff commanding

290-813: The Secretary of State for War , and Secretary at War were merged and the new department and became the War Department once again until 1857 when it became the War Office . In 1964, the department became the Ministry of Defence . One aspect of the War Department's work was the supply of locomotives and rolling stock for use on railways in the United Kingdom, other parts of the British Empire , and in theatres of conflict. In World War I ,

319-505: The war secretary , was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom , which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Office and was assisted by a parliamentary under-secretary of state for war , a parliamentary private secretary who was also a member of parliament (MP), and a military Secretary , who was a general . The position of secretary of state for war

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348-577: The 19-year-old model Christine Keeler in 1961. The scandal, which became known as the Profumo affair , led to his resignation from the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan . After his resignation Profumo worked as a volunteer at Toynbee Hall , a charity in East London , and became its chief fundraiser. These charitable activities helped to restore his reputation and he was appointed

377-480: The Conservative government, and was generally held to have been among the causes of its defeat by Labour at the 1964 election . Macmillan had already gone by then, having resigned in October 1963 on health grounds to be succeeded by Alec Douglas-Home . Profumo maintained complete public silence about the matter for the rest of his life, even when the 1989 film Scandal —in which he was played by Ian McKellen —and

406-709: The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation in November 1953, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies in January 1957, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign Office in November 1958, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in January 1959. In July 1960, he was appointed Secretary of State for War (outside of the Cabinet) and was sworn of the Privy Council . In 1954, he married

435-483: The War Department ran the War Department Light Railways which were a system of narrow gauge trench railways used for the supply of ammunition and stores, the transport of troops and the evacuation of the wounded. In World War II , large numbers of steam locomotives were produced, as well as some diesel locomotives, of varying gauges to suit the area of planned operation. After the end of

464-633: The actress Valerie Hobson . In July 1961, at a party at Cliveden , home of Viscount Astor , John Profumo met Christine Keeler , a 19-year-old model with whom he began a sexual relationship. The exact length of the affair between Profumo and Keeler is disputed, ending either in August 1961 after Profumo was warned by the security services of the possible dangers of mixing with the Ward circle , or continuing with decreasing fervour until December 1961. Since Keeler had also had sexual relations with Yevgeny Ivanov ,

493-409: The admiralty , and secretary of state for air became formally subordinated to that of minister of defence , which had itself been created in 1940 for the co-ordination of defence and security issues. In the 1960s, John Profumo held this post at the time of the Profumo affair . On 1 April 1964, with the creation of a new united Ministry of Defence headed by the secretary of state for defence ,

522-583: The outset of the First World War , prime minister H. H. Asquith was filling the role, but he quickly appointed Lord Kitchener , who became famous while in this position for Lord Kitchener Wants You . He was replaced by David Lloyd George , who went on to become prime minister. Between the World Wars, the post was held by future prime minister Winston Churchill for two years. In 1946, the three posts of secretary of state for war, first lord of

551-668: The publication of Keeler's memoirs revived public interest in the affair. Profumo was portrayed by Daniel Flynn in Andrew Lloyd Webber 's stage musical Stephen Ward , which opened at the Aldwych Theatre on 19 December 2013. He was portrayed by Ben Miles in the 2019/2020 BBC drama The Trial of Christine Keeler and by Tim Steed in the Netflix series The Crown , where the Profumo Affair

580-529: The senior naval attaché at the Soviet Embassy, the matter took on a national-security dimension. In December 1962, a shooting incident in London involving two other men who were involved with Keeler led the press to investigate her, and reporters soon learned of her affairs with Profumo and Ivanov. But the British tradition of respecting the private lives of British politicians, for fear of libel actions,

609-424: The three service ministries as well as the post of minister of defence as created in 1940 were abolished. For 1801–1854 see Secretary of State for War and the Colonies . John Profumo John Dennis Profumo CBE PC ( / p r ə ˈ f juː m oʊ / prə- FEW -moh ; 30 January 1915 – 9 March 2006) was a British politician whose career ended in 1963 after a sexual relationship with

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638-536: The war, these locomotives were largely disposed of to various railways around the world, though some were retained for peacetime use on UK military railways. Of those that were sold, examples of three types ended up as part of the British Railways fleet (where they were often referred to as 'Austerity' locos): For more details see Steam locomotives of British Railways . Secretary of State for War The secretary of state for war , commonly called

667-564: Was an unforgivable offence in British politics. Profumo resigned from office and from the Privy Council, and applied for and was appointed to the role of steward of the Chiltern Hundreds to give up his Commons seat. Before making his public confession, Profumo confessed the affair to his wife, who stood by him. It was never shown that his relationship with Keeler had led to any breach of national security. The scandal rocked

696-506: Was any "impropriety" in their relationship and threatened to sue if newspapers asserted otherwise. Profumo's statement did not prevent newspapers publishing stories about Keeler, and it soon became apparent to Macmillan that Profumo's position was untenable. On 5 June 1963, Profumo was forced to admit that he had lied to the House in March when he denied an affair with Keeler, which at that time

725-517: Was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE, Civil Division) in the 1975 Birthday Honours , and received the honour at a Buckingham Palace ceremony from Queen Elizabeth II , signalling his return to respectability. In 1995, former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher invited him to her 70th birthday dinner, where he sat next to the Queen. He appeared only occasionally in public, particularly in his last years when he used

754-410: Was done as a volunteer, since Profumo was able to live on his inherited wealth. His wife, the actress Valerie Hobson , also devoted herself to charity until her death in 1998. In the eyes of some, Profumo's charity work redeemed his reputation. His friend, social reform campaigner Lord Longford , said he "felt more admiration [for Profumo] than [for] all the men I've known in my lifetime". Profumo

783-399: Was first held by Henry Dundas who was appointed in 1794. In 1801, the post became that of secretary of state for war and the colonies . The position of secretary of state for war was re-instated in 1854 when the secretary of state for the colonies was created as a separate position. In the nineteenth century, the post was twice held by future prime minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman . At

812-486: Was maintained until March 1963, when the Labour MP George Wigg , claiming to be motivated by the national-security aspects of the case, and taking advantage of Parliamentary privilege , which gave him immunity from any possible legal action, referred in the House of Commons to the rumours linking Profumo with Keeler. Profumo then made a personal statement in which he admitted he knew Keeler but denied there

841-672: Was then the youngest MP and, by the time of his death, he had become the last surviving former member of the 1940 House of Commons. At the 1945 election , Profumo was defeated at Kettering by the Labour candidate, Dick Mitchison . Later in 1945, he was chief of staff to the British Mission to Japan. In 1950, he left the Army and, at the general election in February 1950 , he was elected for Stratford-on-Avon in Warwickshire ,

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