Frederick William Mulley, Baron Mulley, PC (3 July 1918 – 15 March 1995) was a British Labour Party politician, barrister-at-law and economist.

Early life

Mulley was born in

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, the son of William Mulley, a general labourer from

The Fens The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system o ...

, and his wife Mary (née Boiles), a domestic servant. He attended Warwick School on a scholarship between 1929 and 1936, leaving with the higher school certificate. As his father, who by this time was unemployed, could not afford to support him through university, Mulley instead became an accounts clerk under the national health insurance scheme. Dell, Edmund
"Mulley, Frederick William, Baron Mulley (1918–1995)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, October 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2024. He served in the Worcestershire Regiment during 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 ...

, reaching the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

, but was captured in 1940 and spent five years as a prisoner of war in Germany. During this time he obtained a BSc in economics from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

as an external student and became a chartered secretary.Worcestershire Regiment (29th/36th of Foot) Web site
/ref> At the end of the war, Mulley received an adult scholarship to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, graduating with a first-class degree in politics, philosophy and economics in 1947. After a brief spell as an economics fellow at St Catharine's College, Cambridge (1948–50), he trained as a barrister, being called to the Bar in 1954.

Parliamentary career

Mulley had been a member of the Labour Party and the National Association of Clerks and Administrative Workers since 1936, and at the 1945 general election he unsuccessfully contested the constituency of

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...

. He became Member of Parliament for Sheffield Park in 1950, a position he held until deselected by his local party prior to the 1983 general election, when his constituency disappeared in a redistribution of boundaries. During a long career in politics Mulley held many ministerial positions, including Minister of Aviation (1965–67), Minister for Disarmament (1967–69), and Minister of Transport (1969–70, 1974–75). While at the Transport Ministry he believed it would be inappropriate to be seen to be a car driver; thus, although he owned an Austin Maxi, his wife was the sole user of it during this period. In 1975

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

brought him into the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Education and Science, and in 1976 became Secretary of State for Defence. He fell asleep during the Queen's Jubilee Review of the Royal Air Force at RAF Finningley in 1977 when there was considerable noise around him. Having a small sleep during exercise was referred to by members of the RAF as having a "Fred Mulley". It was suggested in '' Private Eye'' that Mulley was guilty of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

(then still a capital offence) for having slept with the Queen. Writing in the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', former Cabinet minister Edmund Dell argued that Mulley was both a party loyalist of "unassailable" working-class credentials and a genuine

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collect ...

intellectual, an unusual combination that made him valuable to Wilson and to Wilson's successor,

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...

House of Lords

After retiring from the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in 1983, he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Mulley, of Manor Park in the City of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

on 30 January 1984, and he held a variety of directorial positions.

Legacy

A main road in the Lower Don Valley in Sheffield is named after him.

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mulley, Frederick 1918 births 1995 deaths Military personnel from Warwickshire Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff-sponsored MPs British Army personnel of World War II British Secretaries of State for Education Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) life peers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 People educated at Warwick School Secretaries of State for Defence (UK) Secretaries of state for transport (UK) UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 Worcestershire Regiment soldiers World War II prisoners of war held by Germany British World War II prisoners of war Life peers created by Elizabeth II