Nick – Page 2 – Disappearing Kenilworth

1973 – 7th June – Warwick District Council Elections – Kenilworth

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Abbey & Borrowell (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
Helen Dore	Liberal Party	1384
Jack Bastock	Liberal Party	1054
Haydn Thomas	Liberal Party	925
Peter Moore	Conservative Party	870
Ronald Stansfield	Conservative Party	867
Eleanor Hogarth	Conservative Party	687
Thomas Litterick	Labour Party	283
Mrs I. Barley	Labour Party	236
G. Parkington	Labour Party	206

Windy Arbour (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
John Wilson	Conservative Party	827
Thomas Robinson	Conservative Party	789
Jan Mokrzycki	Liberal Party	474
Lynn Pollard	Liberal Party	444
Mrs M. McLellan	Labour Party	106

St John’s (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
Chris Webster	Labour Party	553
William Wozencroft	Labour Party	500
Terry Rogers	Liberal Party	380
Hugh Martyre	Liberal Party	376
E. I. Milligan	Conservative Party	320
J. Rickard	Conservative Party	315

Castle (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
Kenneth Rawnsley	Conservative Party	749
E. L. Burbidge	Conservative Party	728
Dora Greenway	Liberal Party	564
Peter Simmonds	Liberal Party	545
Jane Litterick	Labour Party	119
B. Carrell	Labour Party	108

Park Hill (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
Robert Butler	Liberal Party	650
Graham Bramwell	Liberal Party	588
Spencer Harrison	Conservative Party	586
Kenneth Hogarth	Conservative Party	569
W. J. Clarke	Labour Party	151
Mrs S. Harris	Labour Party	132

INAUGURAL DISTRICT COUNCIL ELECTIONS

In the re-organisation of local government, Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth were combined to form the new Warwick District Council (WDC). 11 of the 58 members were allocated to Kenilworth.

Five re-counts were required in the closely contested Park Hill ward, where Mr Bramwell beat Mr Harrison by just two votes for the second available seat.

Liberals dominated in the combined Abbey & Borrowell ward, gaining all three seats. Overall they had five candidates elected in the town.

Within the WDC, the Liberals have just seven seats, which may not seem many. But they now hold the balance of power at the new council as the Tories gained 26 seats and Labour 25.

Kenilworth District Councillors

5 Liberal Party (B. Butler, G. Bramwell, H. Dore, H. Thomas, J. Bastock)

4 Conservative Party (K. Rawnsley, E. Burbidge, J. Wilson, T. Robinson)

2 Labour Party (C. Webster, B. Wozencroft)

1976 – 6th May – Warwick District Council Elections – Kenilworth

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Abbey & Borrowell (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Helen Bainbridge Dore	Kenilworth Liberals	1397
*Jack Bastock	Kenilworth Liberals	1226
Kenneth William Hogarth	Conservative Party	1224
Richard Mayne Oldnall	Conservative Party	1002
Patrica Francis Adams	Conservative Party	942
*Haydn Alan Thomas	Kenilworth Liberals	918
Joseph William England	Labour Party	277
Roger Christopher Smith	Labour Party	260
Susan Elizabeth O’Donovan	Labour Party	199

Registered Voters 4358

Ballot Papers Issued 2618 (Spoilt 0)

Votes Cast 7445 (60%)

One Conservative gain from Liberal

Castle (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Kenneth Rawnsley	Conservative Party	1057
Michael Francis Coker	Conservative Party	977
John Henry Drew	Kenilworth Liberals	502
John Riordan	Kenilworth Liberals	443
Rosemary Mary Ellis	Labour Party	93
Jane Ellen Litterick	Labour Party	89

Registered Voters 2737

Ballot Papers Issued 1622 (Spoilt 16)

Votes Cast 3161 (59%)

No Change

Park Hill (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
Henry Fredrick Potts	Conservative Party	862
Ann Judith Pearce	Conservative Party	774
*Robert Charles Butler	Kenilworth Liberals	648
*George Lansbury Bramwell	Kenilworth Liberals	596
Malcolmn Leslie Burfitt	Labour Party	109
Peter Rhydwen Jones	Labour Party	104

Registered Voters 2443

Ballot Papers Issued 1576 (Spoilt 20)

Votes Cast 3093 (65%)

Two Conservative gains from Liberal

St John’s (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
Richard Ernest Monnington	Conservative Party	561
*William Henry Wozencroft	Labour Party	557
Jerry Hick	Conservative Party	551
Kevin John O’Donovan	Labour Party	435
Kenneth Charles Evans	Kenilworth Liberals	353
John Keith Ord	Kenilworth Liberals	309

Registered Voters 2276

Ballot Papers Issued 1462 (Spoilt 34)

Votes Cast 2766 (64%)

One Conservative gain from Labour

Windy Arbour (2 seats)

Candidates	Party	Votes
*John Pearson Wilson	Conservative Party	1134
*Thomas Fredrick Robinson	Conservative Party	1076
Derek Ching	Kenilworth Liberals	482
Dennis George Coulson	Kenilworth Liberals	391
Peter Frederick Singer	Labour Party	79
Graham Charles Hall	Labour Party	75

*denotes retiring councillor

Registered Voters 2544

Ballot Papers Issued 1651 (Spoilt 2)

Votes Cast 3237 (67%)

No change

RIGHT TURN FOR WARWICK DISTRICT

Any influence the Liberals had on the WDC has now finally diminished following this election. Three years ago they had the balance of power with just seven members, the Tories and Labour having the same number of seats. In Kenilworth they were down to just two councillors, Helen Dore and Jack Bastock. Both returned in Abbey ward. But Haydn Thomas was unsuccesful in retaining his seat in the same ward. Two other Liberals failed to be re-elected, Bob Butler and George Bramwell at Park Hill. Within the district the Liberals only have three members.

For the Tories, is was a good day with three of their members being re-elected, plus five new councillors. This doubled their Kenilworth representation from the 1973 poll. In the district, the Tories took overall control.

Labour were down to only one councillor, Bill Wozencroft, who was returned in St. John’s ward. Chris Webster who had been elected at the 1973 poll, did not seek re-election.

Kenilworth District Councillors (11 seats)

8 Conservative Party (M. Coker, K. Hogarth, J. Wilson, T. Robinson, R. Monnington, H. Potts, A. Pearce, K. Rawnsley)

2 Liberal Party (H. Dore, J. Bastock)

1 Labour Party (B. Wozencroft)

1977 – 24th November – Warwick District Council – By Election

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Park Hill

Spencer Charlton Harrison	Conservative Party	465
Lance Bramwell	Liberal Party	421
Malcolm Leslie Burfitt	Labour Party	76

CONSERVATIVES RETAIN SEAT

This by-election was called due to the resignation of sitting member Ann Pearce, who was leaving the town and moving to London with her husband.

But the Tories held the seat with a majority of 44. Winner, Spencer Harrison had contested the inaugural district council election in 1973 but was unsuccessful, losing by just 2 votes in Park Hill to Liberal, Graham Bramwell. He did not stand in last years poll.

Mr Harrison is 52 years-old and lives in Station Road. He is a director of Buckingham Swimming Pools in Priory Road and has four children, all attending local schools. He had previous been on the old Kenilworth Urban District Council for seven years, also representing Park Hill.

Kenilworth District Councillors

8 Conservative Party (M.Coker, J. Wilson, T. Robinson, R. Monnington, H. Potts, K. Rawnsley, K. Hogarth, S. Harrison)

2 Liberal Party (H. Dore, J. Bastock)

1 Labour Party (B. Wozencroft)

1979 – 3rd May – Warwick District Council Elections – Kenilworth

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Abbey & Borrowell (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Helen Bainbridge Dore	Liberal Party	1986
*Jack Bastock	Liberal Party	1795
Haydn Alan Thomas	Liberal Party	1387
*Kenneth William Hogarth	Conservative Party	1340
Ronald Stansfield	Conservative Party	1245
Nicholas Russell Wilson	Conservative Party	1141
Wendy Jane England	Labour Party	474
Susan Elizabeth O’Donovan	Labour Party	322
Collen Bernadette Ramsey	Labour Party	259

Registered Voters 4287

Ballot Papers Issued 3474 (7 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 9949 (81% Turnout)

Liberal gain from Conservative

Castle (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Michael Francis Coker	Conservative Party	1277
*Kenneth Rawnsley	Conservative Party	1199
Leslie Graham Windybank	Liberal Party	699
David Arthur Preece	Liberal Party	681
Thomas Swallow	Labour Party	166
Gordon Herbert Mitchell	Labour Party	161

Registered Voters 2765

Ballot Papers Issued 2271 (16 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 4183 (82.1% Turnout)

No Change

Park Hill (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
Robert Charles Butler	Liberal Party	1080
Spencer Charlton Harrison	Conservative Party	968
Kenneth Bulmer	Conservative Party	922
Kenneth Charles Evans	Liberal Party	869
Peter Rhydwen Jones	Labour Party	249
Peter Frederick Singer	Labour Party	222

Registered Voters 2684

Ballot Papers Issued 2237 (1 spoilt paper)

Votes Cast 4310 (83.3% Turnout)

Liberal gain from Conservative

St John’s (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*William Henry Wozencroft	Labour Party	790
*Richard Ernest Monnington	Conservative Party	710
Robert Ronald Wooller	Conservative Party	678
Malcolm Leslie Burfitt	Labour Party	566
Mary Muirhead Archer	Liberal Party	377
Leonard Charles Davis	Liberal Party	354

Registered Voters 2241

Ballot Papers Issued 1816 (2 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 3475 (81% Turnout)

No Change

Windy Arbour (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*John Pearson Wilson	Conservative Party	1381
James Herbert Whitby	Conservative Party	1282
Lynn Annette Pollard	Liberal Party	601
Stephen James Francis Adams	Liberal Party	524
Joseph William England	Labour Party	213
Elizabeth Evelyn Lee	Labour Party	176

*denotes retiring councillor

Registered Voters 2609

Ballot Papers Issued 2194 (10 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 4177 (84.1% Turnout)

No Change

MASSIVE TURNOUT BY KENILWORTH VOTERS

Not for many years has a Kenilworth election produced such a large turnout of voters. But as it was the same day as the General Election, it wasn’t surprising. Every ward produced more that 80%, un-heard of in local elections. In the event, the Liberals gained two seats from the Tories, much to everyones surprise. The lone Labour voice is Bill Wozencroft, who retained his seat by topped the poll at St John’s with 790 votes.

Liberal, Helen Dore received the highest vote in the election, 1,986 in Abbey & Borrowell.

Four Conservatives who seeked re-election retained their seats. One surprise return to the Tory ranks was James Whitby. He was first elected in Kenilworth in 1964, during the days of the old KUDC but did not seek re-election in the1967 poll. The Tories also saw the return of Spencer Harrision, another veteran of the old council.

In Kenilworth, the Tories took 46.6% of votes cast, Liberals 39.7 and Labour 13.5.

In the district, the Tories have overall control of the council with 40 of the 58 seats. Liberals have just 4 seats (all in Kenilworth), Labour have 13 seats, their best-to-date, plus one Independent, representing the Ratepayers of Whitnash. (later renamed Whitnash Residents Association)

Kenilworth District Councillors

6 Conservative Party (J. Pearson, J. Whitby, R. Monnington, S. Harrison, M. Coker, K. Rawnsley)

4 Liberal Party (R. Butler, H. Dore, J. Bastock, H. Thomas)

1 Labour Party (B. Wozencroft)

1982 – 25th November – Warwick District Council – By Election – Kenilworth

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Abbey & Borrowell

Candidate	Party	Votes
Leslie Graham Windybank	Liberal Party	834
John Anthony Cooke	Conservative Party	758
Melanie Ruth Lomas	Labour Party	150

LIBERAL HOLD

Turnout 49%

LIBERALS RETAIN SEAT

This by-election was called due to the resignation of Liberal, Helen Dore, who had been on the district council since its inception in 1973.

Graham Windybank, leader of the town council managed to retain the seat for the Liberals by a majority of 76 over rival, John Cooke. It was never going to be an easy task for the Conservatives who needed more than a 7% swing from 1979 poll, to be win the seat.

Labour candidate, Melanie Lomas, a former Kenilworth Grammar School pupil, faced an up-hill struggle to get anywhere near the winning line. District elections for Labour have always been poor in Kenilworth, especially in Abbey & Borrowell, where they have never had a candidate elected.

1983 – 5th May – Warwick District Council Elections – Kenilworth

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Abbey (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Kenneth Rawnsley	Conservative Party	1934
*Michael Coker	Conservative Party	1823
John Cooke	Conservative Party	1787
*Jack Bastock	Liberal Party	1766
*Graham Windybank	Liberal Party	1577
*Haydn Thomas	Liberal Party	1557
Melonie Lomas	Labour Party	313
Geoffrey Cleave	Labour Party	300
Teresa Blackwell	Labour Party	294

Park Hill (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Spencer Harrison	Conservative Party	911
*Robert Butler	Liberal Party	898
Tony Dalton	Conservative Party	896
Paul Weatherall	Liberal Party	840
John Airey	Labour Party	182
Chris Payne	Labour Party	166

St John’s (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
Bob Wooller	Conservative Party	2029
*John Wilson	Conservative Party	2009
*James Whitby	Conservative Party	1933
*William Wozencroft	Labour Party	1170
John Whitehouse	Social Democratic Party	830
Mary Harrison	Social Democratic Party	733
Brenda Payne	Labour Party	651
Mark Juby	Labour Party	564

*denotes retiring councillor

TORY LANDSLIDE IN KENILWORTH

The district council had reduced the number of councillors down to 45 from the previous 58. This left Kenilworth with only 8 seats to contest, which meant a restructuring of the ward boundaries and the reduction from five wards to three. This did not go down well with the Liberals. Abbey & Borrowell was renamed just Abbey with Castle and Windy Arbour being the two wards that disappeared.

The Consevatives took seven of the seats, leaving only one Liberal left, Bob Butler, who only just got elected by two votes over Tory rival Tony Dalton in Park Hill. But Jack Bastock and Haydn Thomas were the biggest casulties of all the Liberals, both being dumped out of Abbey ward. Mr Thomas said; “There is no doubt the boundary changes have helped the Tories and the Labour party took votes off us”. He added; “People voting Labour had effectively put the Tories in. If it were not for the Labour vote the Liberals would have been comfortably elected”.

Town mayor, Labour’s Bill Wozencroft, lost his seat in St. John’s. The newly formed SDP didn’t fair well, with their two candidates, John Whitehouse and Mary Harrison being unsuccessful in St. John’s ward.

Six of the Tories who stood for re-election, retained their seats. For John Cooke, this was the first district council election he had contested beating Liberal rival Jack Bastock by just 21 votes.

Overall in the district council, the Conservatives hold a 17-seat majority, winning 31 seats to Labour’s 7, Liberals 5 and the Whitnash Ratepayers Association 3.

Kenilworth District Councillors

7 Conservative Party (M. Coker, J. Cooke, B. Wooller, J. Wilson, J. Whitby, S. Harrison, K. Rawnsley)

1 Liberal Party (B. Butler)

1987 – 7th May – Warwick District Council Elections – Kenilworth

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Abbey (3 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Kenneth Rawnsley	Conservative Party	2027
*John Anthony Cooke	Conservative Party	2025
*Michael Francis Coker	Conservative Party	1989
Jack Bastock	SDP-Liberal Alliance	1887
Haydn Alan Thomas	SDP-Liberal Alliance	1586
Mary Latham Harrison	SDP-Liberal Alliance	1470
Teresa Margaret Blackwell	Labour Party	400
Garry John Lucas	Labour Party	302
Leonora Everitt	Labour Party	260

Votes Cast 11,946 (spoilt papers 29)

Park Hill (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Spencer Charlton Harrison	Conservative Party	1189
Thomas Anthony Dalton	Conservative Party	1116
Kenneth James Griffiths	SDP-Liberal Alliance	689
*Robert Charles Butler	SDP-Liberal Alliance	649
Lesley Jane Bowen	Labour Party	242
Anthony Bowen	Labour Party	240

Votes Cast 4,125 (spoilt papers 10)

St. John’ (3 seats)

Candidates	Party	Votes
*Robert Ronald Wooller	Conservative Party	2348
*John Pearson Wilson	Conservative Party	2334
*James Herbert Whitby	Conservative Party	2214
William Henry Wozencroft	SDP-Liberal Alliance	1581
Dennis Edmund Royston	SDP-Liberal Alliance	1206
Vera Maud Royston	SDP-Liberal Alliance	1187
John David Bennett	Labour Party	415
John Payne	Labour Party	393
Geoffrey Ernest Cleave	Labour Party	378

*denotes retiring councillor

Votes Cast 12,056 (spoilt papers 9)

CLEAN SWEEP FOR TORIES IN KENILWORTH

Bob Butler, the lone SDP-Liberal Alliance from the 1983 poll, lost his seat in Park Hill. He said he was very disappointed and puzzled by the result. He also lost his town council seat and he said he is contemplating standing down from local politics. He said., “This might be my ‘swan song’, I’ve worked hard in Kenilworth for the last 12 years but if this is what the voters want, then that is what they will get, you never really know the reasons why. I haven’t faced any animosity from people or the oppostion”.

Town Mayor-elect, Bob Wooller was of course delighted with the Kenilworth and overall district results, saying it is down to the good and hard working Tory group. Councillor Rawnsley, currently the leader of the Conservative group on the district council, believed the success was due to their record over the last four years. He was disappointed to lose three councillors in Leamington but happy that they had a sweeping success in Kenilworth.

The Conservatives kept their overall majority at the district council. They lost two seats to the Alliance but still have a good majority of 29 over their rivals. Labour have 7 seats, Alliance 6 and the Whitnash Ratepayers 3.

Kenilworth District Councillors

8 Conservative Party (K. Rawnsley, M. Coker, J. Cooke, B. Wooller, J. Wilson, J. Whitby, T. Dalton, S. Harrison)

Thomas Litterick MP

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Kenilworth’s Scottish Politican

Former Quarry Road resident Thomas Litterick was born in Clydeside, Glasgow on the 25th May 1929 to working-class parents, William and Annie.

The family moved south, probably to find work. In the 1939 register, the family were living at Standard Ave in Coventry. His father was recorded as being an ‘Engine Assembly Fitter’, which was probably in the car industry, as the city was a major car manufacturer.

Thomas had a younger sister called Margaret.

Arrival In Kenilworth

Thomas eventually became a university lecturer having graduated in economics at Dundee University. He also studed at the University of St. Andrews. He lecturered at both Lanchester Polytechnic in Coventry, and at Aston University in Birmingham, on Industrial Relations.

In 1957, Thomas married Jane Ellen Birkenhead at Chippenham and they eventually came to Kenilworth. They moved into a ‘new build’ at 1, Quarry Road, probably in 1966. They had four daughters together. Quarry Road has only four houses and adjoins Malthouse Lane with De Montfort Road.

Political Life – 1970

But it was politics that made Thomas, tick, especially the left-wing variety. This made him a ‘thorn-in-the-flesh’ of not only opposition parties like the conservatives but his own Labour party as well. He was uncompromising as well as outspoken and had strong principles and was never afraid to express his opinions.

But his political life was somewhat of a roller-coaster. His first venture into public office was in the 1970 Kenilworth Urban District Council (KUDC) election when he was elected in the St John’s ward with 521 votes. He then stood in the first ever Warwick District Council (WDC) elections in 1973 but fell short in the combined Abbey & Borrowell ward, finishing 7th out of 10 candidates with only 283 votes. He also contested the County Council elections in 1970 and 1973 but was unsuccessful on both occasions.

His wife Jane, also stood in the 1970 KUDC election but came 5th out of six in Castle ward. She last stood in 1976, both at the district and town council elections.

Resignation From KUDC – 1974

He remained on the KUDC until 1974, but he resigned his seat when all the councillors were automatically transferred to the new Town Council. He believed that a poll should have taken place.

But that same year he was nominated by the Labour Party to stand in the February general election in the Selly Oak constituency, traditionally a Tory seat but it was marginal. He fell short by 2,882 votes to Tory incumbent Harold Gurden. But when another general election was called in October of the same year, he again went head to head with Gurden but this time he was triumphant winning by just 326 votes, due to a 3% swing. So his dream had come true, he was now a Member of Parliament on the back-benchs in the Wilson government. His voice would be heard on numerous occasions in the chamber, but he was somewhat surprised at the ‘cat-calling’ abuse that he found there.

Health and Family Issues – 1977

But it was in 1977, that he attracted most publicity. Whilst recovering from a heart attack after being on the danger-list in the Coronary Unit of Warwick Hospital, he announced he had left his wife for another woman. But, after recovering and moving to London, he suffered a relapse and was admitted to hospital.

During a press interview his wife said that she put his condition down to many factors, including the death threats they were getting, causing him stress. Indeed, his first heart attack came only hours after he had rushed back home from Westminster following death threats the family had received. She also blamed the long working hours that MPs had to endure and called for the government to change MPs working hours. Kenilworth Police became aware of the deaths threats and put on extra patroles around the area of the Littericks’ home.

The Thatcher Revolution – 1979

By the time of the 1979 General Election, the ‘wind of change’ was blowing threw UK politics. Margaret Thatcher had been tory leader since 1975 and her party stormed to a decisive victory over the Callaghan government with an overall majority of 44 seats. Thomas Litterick was one of the casualties, losing his Selly Oak seat by 4,775 votes. This must have been one of the lowest periods of his life. Thatcher would have been his arch nemesis, being on the complete opposite ends of the political spectrum to himself.

Death – 1981

Thomas Litterick died in London, on Monday 5th January 1981, he was 51 years old. His wife said she did not receive any notification until Tuesday afternoon when her solicitor called round to tell her of the tragic news. A death notice had appeared in The Times but no details of the funeral arrangements were mentioned. Mrs Litterick said that she had never given up hope that he would come back home to the family in Kenilworth.

Of the ‘other woman’ in his life she said; “If she is going through what we are going through, then I feel sorry for her but I appeal to her to let me have Tom’s body back so that he can be buried alongside his parents at Canley Cemetery”. But, on the 8th January, she conceded; “I will be attending the funeral tomorrow at the West London Crematorium”. Her 20 year-old daughter, Tracey, was also there. About 150 people were at the funeral and his last election rosette was placed on his coffin.

Tributes

MP Tony Benn, described him as a remarkable man, and a dedicated socialist. He said he was a fine teacher and a very modest man.

Former Chairman of the Kenilworth Labour Party, Joe England, of Forrest Road, said that in 1973, Mr Litterick told him that there was one thing he’d like to do before he dies was to spend some time in the ‘gasworks’ – his name for the House of Commons. A year later he got his wish.

Love him or loath him, one thing that Thomas Litterick must always be remembered for, is that he was the first Kenilworth resident ever to become an MP.

Jane Litterick continued to live in Quarry Road until her death in 2006, aged 73.

Kenilworth Town Council Mayors

27 June 202326 October 2025 Nick 2 Comments

1974 – present

1974/75 Jack Cox	1975/76 Harry Potts	1976/77 Kenneth Hogarth
1977/78 Ronald Stansfield	1978/79 Thomas Robinson	1979/80 Florence Adcock
1980/81 Kenneth Rawnsley	1981/82 Richard Monnington	1982/83 Bill Wozencroft
1983/84 Kenneth Rawnsley	1984/85 Spencer Harrison	1985/86 Jack Bastock
1986/87 John Cooke	1987/88 Bob Wooller	1988/89 Graham Windybank
1989/90 Michael Coker	1990/91 Pauline Edwards	1991/92 Peggy Cox
1992/93 Spencer Harrison	1993/94 Jack Bastock	1994/95 Bob Wooller
1995/96 Haydn Thomas	1996/97 Patrick Ryan	1997/98 Helen Pavier
1998/99 Pauline Edwards	1999/00 Dave Shilton	2000/01 Graham Windybank
2001/02 Felicity Bunker	2002/03 John Hatfield	2003/04 Doug Golby
2004/05 Pauline Edwards	2005/06 Norman Vincent	2006/07 Michael Coker
2007/08 Patrick Ryan	2008/09 Spencer Harrison	2009/10 Richard Davies
2010/11 Susan Howell	2011/12 Dave Shilton	2012/13 George Illingworth
2013/14 Felicity Bunker	2014/15 John Cooke	2015/16 Michael Coker
2016/17 Richard Davies	2017/18 Kate Dickson	2018/19 Michael Hitchins
2019/20 Alison Firth	2020/21 Richard Dickson	2021/22 Peter Jones
2022/23 Samantha Louden-Cooke	2023/24 Alix Dearing	2024/25 Alan Chalmers
2025/26 James Kennedy

1974 – The Beginning – Kenilworth Town Council

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The New Authority

Between 6th July 1973 and 31st March 1974, Kenilworth had officially become a parish council, with 1st April, being the start of the new council. During a meeting on 11th April, the Town Clerk was appointed the ‘Proper’ officer under the title of Clerk of the Council, with the effect from 2nd April. The salary being £750 per annum. The Clerk’s private telephone quarterly rental would also be paid for the cost of the appropriate number of local calls. Also available to the Clerk was a part-time ‘clerked’ assistant on a salary of £200 per annum, if needed.

First Annual Meeting

The first Annual meeting of the Kenilworth Town Council (KTC) took place at the castle gatehouse on Tuesday 7th May. There were principally two main issues to resolve. Firstly, to fill two vacancies, and secondly, to choose the new Mayor of the town.

The Vacancy Problem

Due to the death of Leonard Smalley (Castle ward) and the resignation of Thomas Litterick (St John’s), because he didn’t agree about the present councillors being automatically transfered to the new authority, he believed a poll should have taken place.

As there were no set rules for filling ‘casual vacancies’, the new council had to decide how they would go about it, and there was much debate at the meeting regarding the best resolution. Members of the public would assume that by-elections would take place, but this was apparently not possible. The traditions among many parish councils, of much longer standing than Kenilworth, was to co-opt the runners-up from the previous election.

No By-Elections Allowed

The Clerk of the Council, Leslie Hibbard, informed the meeting, that no election by poll of new councillors, could take place before 31st December 1975. Cllr Helen Dore said; “Many people in the town think the democratic way of doing things would be for the public to elect their representatives at a public meeting. But I consider the fairest way to do it would be to accept the runners-up in the respective wards from the last election”.

Show Of Hands or Secret Ballot?

One suggestion was, that there be a secret ballot, the other, a show of hands. But some members were not in favour of a show of hands, preferring to conceal their individual preferencies from the public who were present.

Tory Cllr Rawnsley, moved that co-option should take place by a secret ballot, but Labour Cllr Webster had the opposite view, saying there should be a show of hands, so that people could see who individual councillors were supporting. But Cllr Webster’s motion was lost by a vote amongst the members – by a show of hands.

Ian Milligan for the Tories was elected to Castle ward and Bill Wozencroft for Labour at St. John’s.

Castle Ward

Candidate	Votes
Ian Milligan (Con)	7
Eleanor Hogarth	3
Harry Sunley	3
Dora Greenway	1

St John’s Ward

Candidate	Votes
Bill Wozencroft (Lab)	7
Harry Sunley	6
Eleanor Hogarth	2
Terence Rogers	1
Richard Monnington	0
Hugh Martyr	0

First Mayor of Kenilworth

Oaks Road resident, Jack Cox, was overwelming voted the new Mayor of Kenilworth. Former chairman Kenneth Hogarth handed over the chain saying this was the last link between the old KUDC and the new authority and effectively was saying goodbye to the chairmanship, which had stood for 80 years. Mrs Peggy Cox, the Mayor’s wife, became the Mayoress.

Kenilworth Town Councillors

15 Conservatives (I. Milligan, K. Hogarth, Florence Adcock, D. Charlton, J. Cox, E. Evans, S. Harrison, D. Moore, H. Potts, K. Rawnsley, T. Robinson, Joan Salkeld, L. Wiles. R. Stansfield, H. Whiteman)

2 Labour (W. Wozencroft, C. Webster)

1 Liberal (Helen Dore)

Mayors

1974-75 Jack Cox

1975-76 Harry Potts

Town Clerk – Mr Leslie Hibbard

Subsequent co-opted members

1975 (10th June) – Patrica Adams replaced Joan Salkeld