Walter Turner Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, (17 January 1891 – 9 January 1965) was a British lawyer and Conservative politician.
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Early years
Monckton was born in the village of Plaxtol in north Kent. He was the eldest child of paper manufacturer Frank William Monckton (1861–1924), and his wife, Dora Constance (d. 1915). He was head boy of his preparatory school, The Knoll, at Woburn Sands in Buckinghamshire, and attended Harrow School from 1904 to 1910. He played cricket for Harrow against Eton in the famous Fowler's match in 1910. He chose to enter Balliol College, Oxford, as a commoner, despite in 1910 having won an Exhibition to Hertford College. Whilst at Oxford, he played a first-class match for the combined Oxford and Cambridge Universities cricket team in 1911. In 1912 he obtained a third class in Classical Moderations and in 1914 a second in modern history. He was elected president of the Oxford Union in 1913.
Monckton paused his studies during the first world war. He attempted to enlist in the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Flying Corps but was rejected each time due to his poor eyesight. He was finally able to join the British Army after a medical officer advised him to read the test with his good eye, memorise the details and then repeat from memory while using his bad eye. Monckton served in the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment and was present at Ypres in June 1917. He was awarded a Military Cross on 3 June 1919 for military operations in France and Flanders.