Orders & Decorations of Sir John Moore Caldicott

-Knight Commander of the British Empire

 

The Honourable John Moore Caldicott was born in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire on 12 February 1900 the son of a Solicitor, John Croydon Moore and his wife Lilian. Both his father and his grandfather were Oxford men with the latter being the Rector and Dean of Shipston-on-Stour and the headmaster of Bristol Grammar School.

 

The England census of 1901 found a 1 year old John ensconced in “The Cottage” in Epsom, Surrey together with his parents, nursemaid Kathleen Sam and the “useful help” and domestic, Alice Frayling. It was apparent, given the background and his father’s profession, that the family was an affluent one for the times.

 

In 1902 John Caldicott (senior) set sail for Natal in South Africa on undisclosed business and, in what must have come as a shock to his nearest and dearest, passed away in 1905 at the age of 39. This inevitably meant that John was to be raised by his mother.

 

According to the 1911 England census he was a Boarder at Malvern Preparatory a Catholic Prep school in Worcestershire under Headmaster Dr. John Healey. He then went on to Shrewsbury School in Shropshire where he completed his education. 

 

August 1914 brought with it the start of the Great War and it couldn’t have been easy for young impressionable and patriotically fired up teenagers like Caldicott to sit on the sidelines whilst those who had been in Forms ahead of them were fighting and dying on the battlefields in defence of the Empire. Images of public school life during war-time in the mould of “Mr Chips” spring to mind.

 

At last he got his chance enrolling in the Royal Air Force on 22 April 1918. He wasn’t to know that the war to end all wars was almost over when he reported at the C.D.D. for deployment and training. Five days later, as Private (Cadet) no. 127305, he was posted to 20 Central Wing before moving to No. 5 School of Armoury on 29 June 1918. On 28 September he was posted to 45 Training Depot Station, Group South Eastern at Rendcombe moving on to 28 T.D.S. at Weston-on-the-Green on 6 December 1919 by which time the war in the air and everywhere else was over.

 

On 3 February 1919 Caldicott was transferred to 33 T.D.S. at Chiseldon before being placed on the Reserve on 11 March 1919 effectively calling an end to his service. As a Flight Cadet the end goal was to become a Pilot but, as mentioned, the end of the war got in the way and Caldicott was only granted an honorary commission as a 2nd Lieutenant with effect from 4 February 1919. Having never left England he was ineligible for the award of the British War Medal.

 

The war over Caldicott looked for something to occupy himself with. The fact that his father had journeyed to Africa and had died there might have acted as an incentive for him to undertake the trip to the Dark Continent himself. On 4 March 1921, at the age of 21, he sailed from London for Mombasa in Kenya as one of the 181 passengers aboard the “Nevasa”; his occupation being described as “Gentleman”. How long he remained there is uncertain but we know that he had made the move to the then Rhodesia by 1925. It was on 2 October of that year that he set sail from Southampton aboard the “Briton” for South Africa. His occupation was provided as Farmer and his destination as Rhodesia.

 

Caldicott settled down to the pursuit of farming in the Umvukwes District, an exercise which was to be of benefit to him when he later decided on a political career. In 1945 he married he married Evelyn Macarthur who came with two children of her own and who bore him a son.

 

In 1943 Caldicott was elected as the President of both the Rhodesia Tobacco Association in which capacity he served until 1945 before becoming the President of the Rhodesia National Farmers’ Union from 1946 until 1948. In that year he entered active politics standing for and winning the Mazoe seat in the Southern Rhodesian Parliament. He was immediately included in the Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture and Lands.

 

In 1951 his portfolio was extended to include the Health and Public Service departments and, in 1953, further extended to include Economic Affairs. They certainly believed in keeping him busy. As is that wasn’t enough they then made him Minister of the Common Market in 1962 and of Finance in 1963 by which time Southern Rhodesia had become the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

 

All this effort was not without reward – in 1953 he was awarded the Coronation Medal and, on 9 June 1955, he was Gazetted as a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George and allowed to append the post nominal’s C.M.G. to his name.

 

Further honours came his way on 1 January 1964 when he was knighted in the Queens New Year Honours list becoming a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and allowed to add the post nominal’s C.B.E. to his name. Caldicott, as Minister of Economic Affairs, negotiated the signing of an important Trade Agreement with neighbouring South Africa on 16 May 1960. This allowed for the most favoured nation customs duty to be attached to all cigarette and tobacco products; something of vital importance to his country whose foreign exchange earnings were quite dependant on tobacco as their main export.

 

Retiring from politics, Sir John Caldicott continued to farm until 1970 when he retired and moved to town taking up residence at 24 Court Road, Greendale, Salisbury (now Harare). On 31 January 1986 at the age of 86 he passed away at the Parirenyatwa Hospital from Cardio – Pulmonary arrest, a condition he had suffered from for the past 10 years. He was survived by his wife and son.

 

With the lot come his:

 

- Original Death Notice

- Original Passport

- Copy photo of 1948 Parliament in which he was a Minister.

- Extract from the African Who's Who

 

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