Arthur Walter James (30 June 1912 – 5 August 2015) was a British journalist and

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politician.

Background

He was the son of W.J. James OBE. He was educated at Uckfield Grammar School and

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

, where he obtained a 1st Class degree in Modern History. He was a Liddon Student and an Arnold Essay Prizeman. He married, in 1939, Elisabeth Howroyd. They had one daughter. The marriage was dissolved in 1956. He then remarried in 1957 to Ann Jocelyn Burton. They had one daughter, one adopted son and two adopted daughters. She died in 2004.

Professional career

He was Senior Demy of

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, 1935; Scholar in Mediæval Studies, British School at Rome, 1935; He was on the Editorial staff, at the

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, 1937–46. NFS 1939–45. He moved to London where he was Deputy Editor, of

The Times Educational Supplement ''TES'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a British weekly trade magazine aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity th ...

, 1947–51, Editor, 1952–69; Special Advisor on Education, of Times Newspapers, 1969–71; and Editor, Technology, 1957–60. He was Reader in Journalism, at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

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, 1971–74. He was a Member of: the BBC General Advisory Council, 1956–64; Council of Industrial Design, 1961–66; Council,

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

, 1964; Committee, British-American Associates, 1964; He was a Governor, of

Central School of Art and Design The Central School of Art and Design was a school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Crafts. ...

, 1966. Woodard Lecturer, 1965.

Political career

Both James and his first wife, Elisabeth Howroyd were active in politics for the Liberal Party in the Manchester area. He took a particular interest in the Liberal policy of

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. He was a Liberal candidate for the Bury Division of Lancashire at the 1945 General Election. After the election he was re-adopted by the Bury Liberal Association to contest the seat again and remained PPC through to 1947 when he moved to London. Following boundary changes, the seat was abolished and he did not stand for parliament again.

Later years

Upon turning 100, he wrote an article for The Sunday Times reflecting on his age. He was believed to be one of only three known surviving candidates from the 1945 general election. The others being

Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he remains the lo ...

and Jeremy Hutchinson. He died on 5 August 2015, aged 103.

Publications

He was the Editor of ''Temples and Faiths'' 1958; ''The Christian in Politics'', 1962; ''The Teacher and his World'', 1962; ''A Middle-class Parent's Guide to Education,'' 1964; He was also a contributor to ''Looking Forward to the Seventies'', 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Arthur Walter 1912 births 2015 deaths Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Alumni of Keble College, Oxford British men centenarians People educated at Uckfield School