Denis Thatcher
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Sir Denis Thatcher Bt MBE TD |
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Denis Thatcher in February 1984
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| Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
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In role 4 May 1979 – 28 November 1990 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Audrey Callaghan |
| Succeeded by | Norma Major |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
10 May 1915 London, UK |
| Died | 26 June 2003 (aged 88) Lister Hospital, London, UK |
| Cause of death | Pancreatic cancer |
| Resting place |
Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, UK 51°29′15″N 0°09′30″W / 51.4874°N 0.1582°W |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | |
| Alma mater | Mill Hill School |
| Occupation | Businessperson |
| Known for | Husband of Margaret Thatcher |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Awards | See § Awards and decorations |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
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| Service/branch |
 British Army
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| Years of service | 1938–1965 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet, MBE, TD (10 May 1915 – 26 June 2003) was a British businessman and the husband of Margaret Thatcher. He was born in Lewisham, London, as the elder child of a New Zealand-born British businessman, Thomas Herbert "Jack" Thatcher. He remains the most recent person outside the Royal Family to be awarded a British hereditary title, which he was granted in 1990.
At age eight he entered a preparatory school as a boarder in Bognor Regis, following which he attended the nonconformist public school, Mill Hill School. At school he excelled at cricket, being a left-handed batsman. Thatcher left Mill Hill at the age of 18 to join the family paint and preservatives business, Atlas Preservatives. He also studied accountancy to improve his grasp of business, and in 1935 was appointed works manager. He joined the Territorial Army shortly after the Munich crisis, as he was convinced war was imminent: a view reinforced by a visit he made to Germany with his father's business in 1938.
During the Second World War, Thatcher was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 34th Searchlight (Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment) of the Royal Engineers. He transferred to the Royal Artillery on 1 August 1940. During the war he was promoted to war substantive captain and temporary major. Although, to his regret, he saw no real fighting – despite serving through the Invasion of Sicily and the Italian Campaign – he was twice mentioned in dispatches, and in 1945 was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The first mention in dispatches came on 11 January 1945, for service in Italy, and the second on 29 November 1945, again for Italian service. His MBE was gazetted on 20 September 1945, and was awarded for his efforts in initiating and supporting Operation Goldflake, the transfer of I Canadian Corps from Italy to the north-west European theatre of operations. By this time Thatcher was based in Marseille, attached to HQ 203 sub-area. In the recommendation for the MBE (dated 28 March 1945), his commanding officer wrote "Maj. Thatcher set an outstanding example of energy, initiative and drive. He deserves most of the credit for [...] the excellence of the work done." He also received the French approximate equivalent of a mention when he was cited in orders at Corps d'Armée level for his efforts in promoting smooth relations between the Commonwealth military forces and the French civil and military authorities. He was promoted to substantive lieutenant on 11 April 1945. Demobilised in 1946, he returned to run the family business, his father having died, aged 57, on 24 June 1943, when Thatcher was in Sicily. Because of army commitments, Thatcher was unable to attend the funeral.
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