Walter Turner Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, GCVO, KCMG, MC, PC (January 1891-1965) was a British politician.

Monckton was educated at Harrow School and Balliol College, Oxford.

A lawyer, Monckton served as advisor to Edward VIII during the abdication crisis, having been his Attorney-General since 1932. He was Recorder of Hythe from 1930 to 1937.

He worked in propaganda and information during World War II and became Solicitor-General in Winston Churchill's 1945 caretaker government, although he refused to join the Conservative Party. He finally joined after the war and became a Member of Parliament for Bristol at a 1951 by-election. Churchill soon appointed him to the cabinet as Minister of Labour and National Service, in which post he served from 1951 to 1955. He was Anthony Eden's Minister of Defence 1955-1956, but was the only cabinet minister to oppose his Suez policy, and was moved to Paymaster-General 1956-1957.

Monckton was made Viscount Monckton of Brenchley in 1957. He was chairman of Midland Bank (1957-64), President of the Marylebone Cricket Club (1956-57), Chairman of the Iraq Petroleum Company (1958), Chairman of the Advisory Commission on Central Africa (1960), and Chancellor of the University of Sussex (1961-65).

He was succeeded by Gilber Monckton on his death in 1965.

Biography

The life of Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, Frederick Winston Furneaux-Smith , (1969)