Rodney Adamson
Member of Parliament
for York West
In office
1940–1954
Preceded byJohn Streight
Succeeded byJohn Hamilton
Personal details
Born(1901-11-08)November 8, 1901
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DiedApril 8, 1954(1954-04-08) (aged 52)
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Political partyConservative
Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s)Rosamund Lazier (1930-1943)
Cynthia Jacqueline Oakley (1947-1954)
RelationsAgar Adamson, father
Mabel Cawthra, mother
Anthony Adamson, brother
Children2
OccupationMining engineer
Military service
AllegianceCanadian
Branch/serviceRoyal Air Force, 1918
Canadian Army, 1940-1945
RankLieutenant
UnitLorne Scots

Agar Rodney Adamson (November 8, 1901 – April 8, 1954) was a Canadian politician. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada who represented the riding of York West from 1940 to 1954. He died in a plane crash in 1954.

Biography

Adamson was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1901.[1] He was the son of Agar Adamson, who commanded Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry from 1916 to 1918 during World War I. His mother was Mabel Cawthra, a wealthy heiress, artist and decorator.[2] He attended Ridley College in St. Catharines and later Magdalene College in Cambridge, England. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force and served as a pilot in 1918 in the last year of World War I. He was trained as a mining engineer and worked for Brazilian Traction in South America and Ontario Hydro.[3]

He was elected as a Conservative to represent York West, a riding to the west of Toronto that would eventually become Mississauga. Shortly after he was elected he took leave from parliament to serve overseas in the army with the Lorne Scots regiment. He served with the regiment for two years as an intelligence officer. In 1942 he transferred to a headquarters unit in London, England where he served for the rest of the war. In 1947 he married Cynthia Jacqueline Oakley whom he had met in Banff on a skiing trip. Previously he had been married to Rosamund Lazier but that marriage ended in divorce. He and Cynthia raised two sons.

After the war, he returned to his role as M.P. He was re-elected in 1945, 1949 and 1953. He and his wife died in a TCA plane crash near Moose Jaw SK on April 8, 1954. He was 52.[3]

Electoral record

1953 Canadian federal election: York West
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeAgar Rodney Adamson12,22841.5+3.4
LiberalRobert M. Campbell10,26234.8-2.3
Co-operative CommonwealthCharles Hibbert Millard6,56922.3-2.5
Labor–ProgressiveHarry Hunter4171.4
Total valid votes 29,476100.0
1949 Canadian federal election: York West
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeAgar Rodney Adamson19,18438.1-3.1
LiberalKenneth Thompson18,68937.1+0.9
Co-operative CommonwealthMurray S. Kernighan12,49824.8+4.7
Total valid votes 50,371100.0
1945 Canadian federal election: York West
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeAgar Rodney Adamson14,70341.2-3.4
LiberalChris. J. Bennett12,94736.2-6.0
Co-operative CommonwealthMurray S. Kernighan7,18320.1+6.9
Labor–ProgressiveAlexander Whyte Welch8862.5-97.5
Total valid votes 35,719100.0
1940 Canadian federal election: York West
Party Candidate Votes%±%
ConservativeAgar Rodney Adamson12,78844.6+12.9
LiberalChris. J. Bennett12,11742.2+10.3
Co-operative CommonwealthDavid Lewis3,78713.2-6.4
Total valid votes 28,692100.0

Note: "National Government" vote is compared to Conservative vote in 1935 election.

References

  1. ↑ "ADAMSON, Agar Rodney". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 2014-07-04.
  2. ↑ Tennyson, Brian Douglas (2013-05-01). The Canadian Experience of the Great War: A Guide to Memoirs. Scarecrow Press. pp. 3–4. ISBN 978-0-8108-8680-3. Retrieved 2014-07-04.
  3. 1 2 "Rodney Adamson M.P. dies with wife in North Star". Toronto Daily Star. April 9, 1954. p. 10.
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