Thursday, September 14, 2006

Quiz Question of the Day

Sir Arthur Douglas Dodds-Parker has died. Who, you may well ask? He was Conservative MP for Banbury 1945-59 and Cheltenham from 1964-74. He was a Foreign Office Minister during Suez. He was 97 when he died.

He was one of the last surviving members of the 1945-50 Parliament. A reader has emailed me to ask if I can think of any other people who are still alive who were in that Parliament. Michael Foot and John Freeman are the only two my correspondent can think of. Can you think of any others who were elected in 1945 who are still alive today?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you include MPs elected to that Parliament in bye-electons, Ernest Millington (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Millington)

Anonymous said...

Dennis Healey?

Anonymous said...

George Wadsworth. MP for East Riding, Yorkshire. Liberal politician born 1902. Yet to find any obituary but feel free to correct me. What do I win?

Ps. Healey was elected in 1952

Anonymous said...

Denis Healey stood for Pudsey and Otley in the 1945 general election but lost. He wasn't elected until 1952.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to sound like a know-it-all but WIkipedia informs me that the clear winner is Ernest Millington who was elected as the Labour MP for Chelmsford in a by-election in 1945 but before the general election for the Common Wealth Party (note not Commonwealth) and then held it in the general election before joining Labour in 1946.

Since the death of John Profumo he is the only living person elected before the 1945 election.

Huzzah!

Anonymous said...

Ernest Millington was actually elected to the previous Parliament in a byelection, re-elected in the 1945 general election.

There are some unsuccessful candidates from 1945 still around - the Westminster Abbey Labour candidate, Jeremy Hutchinson, is now the Lib Dem peer Lord Hutchinson of Lullington. His driver is still around as well (Anthony Wedgwood Benn).

Anonymous said...

David Renton was elected for Huntingdon in 1945 and is still an active member of the House of Lords. He looked very sprightly at the recent dinner the 1922 gave for Margaret Thatcher.

Anonymous said...

I don`t know but I do know that Shakin Stevens sold more singles in the UK and Europe than any other artist or group in the 80s .I find this amazes people of my vintage and would urge trivia enthusiasts to redirect there efforts . It is possible to win money and impress women with this suprsing fact . My hopes are not high that Dennis Healey related information will bear such interesting fruits .

I `ll let you get back to your high backed leather chairs at the club now .

Stan Bull said...

Well, you live and learn….I had never fully grasped the success of Shakin Stevens.
As for MPs elected in ’45. I had thought of Arthur Palmer (born1912 -?) elected as Labour MP for Wimbledon from 1945-50. Later went on to represent Cleveland in the 1950s and a Bristol constituency in the 1970s and early 1980s. Is he still in the land of the living?

Anonymous said...

Paul Newman, you are priceless.

But then again, maybe it's not unusual to get political trivia on a political blog?

Anonymous said...

Arthur Palmer is sadly no longer with us - died 14th August 1994.

Anonymous said...

Didn't Blair think he was in it. Maybe I'm confusing it with the Jackie Milburn issue, so sorry.

Anonymous said...

Iain, you mustn't ask such questions it encourages we political anoraks.

Michael Foot is, I believe, the last person alive who fought the 1935 General Election. He was defeated at Monmouth.

Major Horace Trevor Cox (elected 1937) died on October 30th 2005. He was Conservative MP for Stalybridge and Hyde until he lost his seat in 1945. He was 97.

Lt Col Uvedale Corbett (Conservative MP for Ludlow 1945-1951) died on September 1st 2005 aged 95.

Jack Profumo who died on March 9th 2006 at the age of 91 was the last MP elected prior to 1945. Elected in April 1940, he voted against Chamberlain in the vote of no confidence vote on May 8th 1940.

Sir Peter Trench who died last Sunday (Sept 10th)fought Bradford Central as a Liberal in 1945 but was never elected an MP. No doubt there are other defeated candidates from that election (including Denis Healey)who are still with us.

Question for your next quiz. Name the two constituencies where the MP died between polling day and declaration in 1945.

Anonymous said...

Bromley and Smethwick. Too easy.