Maurice Atherton

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Maurice Alan Atherton, nicknamed The Gripper, was a British Army officer who rose to brigadier and served from 1946 to 1981. He was born on 9 October 1926 in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and died on 15 July 2019 in Barham, Kent, aged 92.

He served in the Far East and the Middle East, and held several ceremonial and public roles after his military career. He was High Sheriff of Kent from 1983 to 1984 and Vice Lord Lieutenant of Kent from 2000 to 2002. He studied at St John’s School, Leatherhead, and the Staff College, Camberley.

Atherton was commissioned into the East Yorkshire Regiment in 1946. His commands included the 1st Battalion, Green Howards. He also served as military assistant to the Commander of British Forces Overseas Hong Kong, and as chief instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was Commander of Shorncliffe Garrison from 1976 to 1981 and Deputy Constable of Dover Castle.

In civilian life he was a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, a Dover magistrate, and held leadership roles with the Royal British Legion and the Cinque Ports. He married Gwendolene Upton in 1954 and had two children; his wife Wendi helped entertain the Queen Mother when she became Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1979.

Atherton led Canterbury Christ Church University as chair of its governing body from 1994 to 1999, overseeing its transition to university status. He was awarded a Doctorate of Civil Law in 1996. He passed away in 2019, and a service was held at Canterbury Cathedral on 23 September 2019, with a eulogy by Robert Willis.