Frank Marsden (15 October 1923 – 5 November 2006) was a British Labour Party politician. He served as member of parliament (MP) for

Liverpool Scotland Liverpool Scotland was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Membe ...

from 1971 to 1974. Marsden was born in Everton in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, and was educated at Abbotsford Road Secondary School. He volunteered to join the RAF in 1941, aged 18, and served with 115 Squadron, which flew

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

bombers A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strategic bombing is ...

from bases in East Anglia in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He married his wife, Muriel, in 1943, and was

demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...

as a

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...

in 1948. He returned to Liverpool and worked as a salesman for Fitzpatricks (a wholesale greengrocer and flower merchant), as a crane driver in

Liverpool Docks The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed Dock (maritime), dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, Merseyside, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Great Float, Birkenhead Docks betwee ...

, and then as a telephonist for the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...

. He joined the Labour party in 1948, and became member of

Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous ...

for the St Domingo ward in 1964. He lost his seat in 1967, but was re-elected for the Vauxhall ward in 1969. He resigned from the council when he was elected as MP for

in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

held in April 1971, after the sitting Labour MP Walter Alldritt had resigned to become regional secretary of the

National Union of General and Municipal Workers The GMB is a general union, general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 560,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National He ...

. Marsden had previously served at Alldritt's agent. In Parliament, Marsden was a strong supporter of

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

s. Marsden's constituency was merged with the neighbouring

Liverpool Exchange Liverpool Exchange was a borough constituency within the city of Liverpool in England, centred on Liverpool Exchange railway station. It returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the ...

for the February 1974 general election, and Robert Parry won the selection for the new Liverpool Scotland Exchange seat. Marsden returned to his job at the GPO. He remained a loyal supporter of the Labour Party, and was later elected as a councillor on

Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council Knowsley Council, or Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the ...

and

Merseyside County Council Merseyside County Council (MCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for Merseyside, a metropolitan county in North West England. MCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 1974 by the Local Gov ...

. He disagreed with the

Militant tendency The Militant tendency, or Militant, was a Trotskyist group in the British Labour Party, organised around the ''Militant'' newspaper, which launched in 1964. In 1975, there was widespread press coverage of a Labour Party report on the infiltrat ...

in the 1980s. His wife died in 2001, but Marsden was survived by their three sons. He died in Liverpool.

External links

Obituary
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 15 November 2006
Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 15 November 2006
Obituary
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 18 November 2006

External links

* 1923 births 2006 deaths Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1970–1974 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool constituencies Labour Party (UK) councillors in Liverpool Crane operators Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force airmen {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub