Editing R. B. Bennett (section)

==Retirement, House of Lords, and death (1935–1947)==
[[File:Mickleham, St Michael's Church, Richard Bedford Bennett tomb.jpg|thumb|Grave, St Michael's Church, Mickleham]]
Bennett led the Conservative Party and Opposition for the next three years until he was succeeded by his former Cabinet minister [[Robert James Manion]] in the [[1938 National Conservative leadership convention|July 1938 leadership convention]]. Bennett moved to England on January 28, 1939, and resigned his Calgary West seat that same day.<ref name="BennettBio" /> He purchased a 94-acre property in [[Surrey]] called Juniper Hill, an 18th-century ({{circa|1780}}) mansion<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/mansion-up-sale-still-riddle-4859052 | title=Mansion up for sale; still riddle over ownership | date=April 20, 2000 }}</ref> built for David Jenkinson<ref>{{cite web | url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101028833-juniper-hill-mickleham#.Y84Zof7MLIU | title=Juniper Hill, Mickleham, Surrey }}</ref> and located across from [[Juniper Hall]] on Downs Road); this was the first home Bennett owned as he had only lived in the [[Fairmont Palliser Hotel|Calgary Palliser]] Hotel and the [[Château Laurier]] Hotel in Ottawa in his adult life.<ref name="BennettCanadianEncyclopedia" />

On June 12, 1941, Bennett became the first and only former Canadian prime minister to be elevated to the [[peerage]] as Viscount Bennett, of [[Mickleham, Surrey|Mickleham]] in the [[Surrey|County of Surrey]] and of [[Calgary]] and [[Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick|Hopewell]] in the [[Canada|Dominion of Canada]].<ref>{{London Gazette
| issue = 35225
| date = 22 July 1941
| page = 4213
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/pm/index.asp?Language=E&param=bio&id=11|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620065606/http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/pm/index.asp?Language=E&param=bio&id=11|url-status=dead|title=Prime Ministers of Canada: The Rt. Hon. Richard Bedford Bennett|archive-date=June 20, 2006|access-date=July 9, 2022}}</ref> The honour, conferred on the recommendation of British PM [[Winston Churchill]], was in recognition for Bennett's valuable unsalaried work in the Ministry of Aircraft Production, managed by his lifelong friend Lord Beaverbrook. Bennett took an active role in the [[House of Lords]] and attended frequently until his death.<ref>"Canada's Prime Ministers: Macdonald to Trudeau", 2007, pp. 325–326</ref> He also participated in many speaking engagements and served on various boards.<ref name="BennettCanadianEncyclopedia" />

Bennett's interest in increasing public awareness and accessibility to Canada's historical records led him to serve as vice-president of the [[Champlain Society]] from 1933 until his death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.champlainsociety.ca/about-us/|title=Former Officers of the Champlain Society (1905–2012)|last1=The Champlain Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027031034/http://www.champlainsociety.ca/about-us/|archive-date=27 October 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=19 October 2014}}</ref>

By March 1947, Bennett sold nearly all of his investments; it became clear his health was declining. Bennett died after suffering a [[heart attack]] while taking a bath on June 26, 1947, at Mickleham. He was exactly one week shy of his 77th birthday. He is buried there in [[St. Michael's Churchyard, Mickleham]]. The tomb, and Government of Canada marker outside, are steps from the front doors of the church. He is the only deceased former Canadian Prime Minister not buried in Canada.<ref name="Parks_Grave">{{cite web|url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/clmhc-hsmbc/Sepulture-gravesiteindx/listesepulture-listgravesite/bennett.aspx|title=Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada – Former Prime Ministers and Their Grave Sites – The Right Honourable Richard Bedford Bennett|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=20 December 2010|website=Parks Canada|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=27 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022111712/http://www.pc.gc.ca/clmhc-hsmbc/Sepulture-gravesiteindx/listesepulture-listgravesite/bennett.aspx|archive-date=22 October 2013}}</ref>