Anthony Royle, the Conservative MP for Richmond from 1959 until 1983, later made Lord Fanshawe of Richmond, died on December 28, aged 74.

Anthony Henry Fanshawe Royle, the son of Sir Lancelot Royle, an Olympic athlete, was educated at St Peters Court in Broadstairs, Harrow, and Sandhurst.

In 1945 he joined the 21st SAS Regiment TA, trained as a parachutist and set off for the Korean War, but en route contracted polio. He survived, with a permanent limp, and having been invalided out of the Army, became an insurance broker for Lloyds.

In 1979 he became vice-chairman of the Conservative Party. He was responsible for international affairs and the selection of parliamentary candidates. He said that he was keen to obtain more applications from the north and more from women, to avoid the trap of producing stereotype candidates with a narrow range of education and background.

Royle stood down as an MP in 1983, and was created a life peer. The then prime minister Margaret Thatcher asked him to remain as vice-chairman of the party for another year.

In 1957 he married the Vogue model Shirley Worthington. She survives him, with their two daughters, Suzannah and Lucinda.

He is remembered fondly by his best man, Colonel James Johnson, who says: He was an amazingly brave man because polio resulted in him being paralysed in the legs and arms for most of his life. He overcame his difficulties with immense courage and was very successful in politics and in business.

He was a very well read man and had a terrific sense of loyalty to his friends and a great sense of humour.