Tributes Flood in for Robert Kinghorn

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Long serving Conservative Councillor for Chiswick Riverside dies

Councillor Robert Kinghorn has died after collapsing in the street in Chiswick last week. His death has prompted a significant number of tributes for the Conservative Councillor who represented Chiswick Riverside Ward since 1986.

Robert Kinghorn was a councillor in the London Borough of Islington from 1968-71 and stood as a parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party in Blyth Valley in 1987 and Norwich North in 1997.

He made his political mark in the London Borough of Hounslow where he served as a ward councillor for over 20 years and was Conservative Group Leader from 1992 to 1995. In 2006 he became Executive Member for Children and Life Long Learning.

Cllr Peter Thompson, Leader of Hounslow Council, said: "Robert was a good friend and a magnificent councillor. I greatly appreciated working with him over the years and know at first hand the effort he put into representing his constituents.

“His commitment to local government was total and he was making real changes in his role as Executive Member for Children and Lifelong Learning that will affect the education of children in the borough for many years to come.

“He was always exceptionally charming, informed and passionate, and his passing is a real loss to us all. He is one of those rare people who will truly be missed by everyone. Of course my immediate thoughts are with his wife Rosemary and the family."

Hounslow Council’s Director of Children’s Services and Lifelong Learning, Judith Pettersen, said,"We have all been deeply saddened by the death of Councillor Kinghorn. As the Lead Member for Education and Children he was a strong champion for high standards and he worked tirelessly for children and young people in the borough. We will miss his wisdom and his support."

Cllr Paul Lynch, a fellow Riverside ward councillor, said: “Robert was an outstanding councillor. He was totally committed to the helping the people of Chiswick, and his presence and capability and conscientiousness will be so missed. Nothing that has happened in Chiswick over the last 20 years escaped his involvement.

“We worked together on so many projects over the years and he was a dependable rock all the time. After years in opposition he so relished his role on the Executive with responsibility for children and education. He really engaged with staff at the Civic Centre and there was widespread sadness and tears when news of his death broke.”

Mary Macleod, the prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate for the Brentford and Isleworth constituency said on her web log, "I saw him last at the Party Conference this month in Blackpool. He had told his doctor that he was going to have a "few quiet days by the seaside"! The doctor did not realise that Robert was going to be chairing several transport meetings and attending many other meetings whilst he was there. He will be a loss to the Party and a loss to all who knew him."

Chiswick area committee chair and fellow ward councillor Felicity Barwood added, “Robert was more than my fellow ward councillor; he was my very great friend. I first met him when I moved to Chiswick 20 years ago, and he was my mentor when I was first elected to the Council. He was always dependable, and nothing was ever too much trouble for him, a fact that was borne out in his involvement in the local community. He was an extraordinary man, and he will be greatly missed.”

Cllr. Kinghorn was an active member and Churchwarden at the Parochial Church Council of St Nicholas with St Mary Magdalene, the historic parish church of Chiswick.

He was born on 19 August 1942 and educated at Eastbourne College, Edinburgh University, London University and the Open University. He worked until recently as a Lecturer in Petroleum Exploration, Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London. He was also a Fellow of the Geological Society and a Fellow of Royal Society of the Arts.

In his spare time, he was a railway history enthusiast. He had family connections with the North East and he recently published Lost Railways of Northumberland (2006). His previous railway publications include books on Scotland's east coast. He was Chairman of the Conservative Transport Group and had spent many years restoring and preserving a 1948 double decker bus.

He leaves behind his wife Rosemary and two sons, James (12) and Phillip. (22 months).

The Funeral will take place at 11am on Wednesday, 31 October, at Chiswick Parish Church (St Nicholas). Cards and floral tributes should be sent to Patrick Ryan and Daughter Funeral Directors, 6 South Ealing Road, Ealing W5.

October 26, 2007