The 1962 South Dorset by-election occurred following the death of George Montagu, 9th Earl of Sandwich on 15 June 1962.
His son Viscount Hinchingbrooke, the incumbent MP for the constituency of South Dorset, was subsequently elevated to the peerage, becoming the 10th Earl of Sandwich.
The campaign coincided with a period when the United Kingdom was negotiating to join the European Communities ("Common Market").
The issue resulted in a local Conservative, Sir Piers Debenham, standing as an anti-Common Market candidate with the support of Viscount Hinchingbrooke.
The law stated that, on standing in a Parliamentary election, they would be released from the Forces; this was, therefore, a way to receive an early honourable discharge, for the cost of a lost deposit.