Sir (Joseph Percival) William Mallalieu (18 June 1908 – 13 March 1980) was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author.

Life

Mallalieu was of Huguenot origin, a son of Frederick Mallalieu, a Member of Parliament. Mallalieu's ancestors had settled at

Saddleworth Saddleworth is a civil parishes in England, civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and Hamlet (place), hamlets as well as suburbs of Oldham on the Saddleworth Moor, west ...

in the early 1600s, where they lived in humble circumstances working as weavers. Frederick Mallalieu's father, Henry (1831–1902), was a self-made businessman, at the age of twelve a

hand-loom A loom is a device used to weaving, weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the Warp (weaving), warp threads under tension (mechanics), tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of ...

weaver. He became a woollen manufacturer, chairman of ironworks companies, and magistrate. Mallalieu was educated at the

Dragon School The Dragon School is a private school across two sites in Oxford, England. The Dragon Pre-Prep (children aged 4–7) and Prep School (children aged 8–13) are both co-educational schools. The Dragon Prep School was founded in 1877 as the Oxfo ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

, and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. He was President of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...

in 1930 and a

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

. He served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

1942–45, joining as an

ordinary seaman __NOTOC__ An ordinary seaman (OS) is a member of the deck department of a ship. The position is an apprenticeship to become an able seaman, and has been for centuries. In modern times, an OS is required to work on a ship for a specific amount ...

and later being commissioned and promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. His novel, ''Very Ordinary Seaman'', is based on his experiences in the navy. From 1945 to 1950, Mallalieu was Member of Parliament for

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

; and then, after boundary changes, for Huddersfield East from 1950 to 1979. He had various ministerial positions under

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 ...

native), including

Minister of Defence for the Royal Navy The Minister of Defence for the Royal Navy was a senior ministerial appointment of the British Government established in April 1964. The office holder was the ministerial head of the Navy Department of the Ministry of Defence, and reported to the ...

(1966–1967), the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

(1967–1968) and Technology (1968–1969). Mallalieu is the author of ''Rats!'' (

Left Book Club The Left Book Club is a publishing group that exerted a strong left-wing influence in Great Britain, during its initial run, from 1936 to 1948. It was relaunched in 2015 by Jan Woolf and Neil Faulkner, in collaboration with Pluto Press. Pionee ...

, 1941) under the pseudonym 'The Pied Piper'. A collection of his writing on various sports, mostly written for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'', was published as ''Sporting Days'' (The Sportsmans Book Club, 1957). He was given the Freedom of

Kirklees Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. The borough comprises the ten towns of Batley, Birstall, West Yorkshire, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite. It ...

in West Yorkshire on 27 January 1980.

Family

In 1945, Mallalieu married Harriet Rita Riddle Tinn, daughter of Jack Tinn, manager of

Portsmouth F.C. Portsmouth Football Club is a professional association football club based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The team is currently competing in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system in the 2024–25 ...

from 1927 to 1947. Their daughter,

Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in ...

, is a Labour peer. Mallalieu's brother

Lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...

was also a Member of Parliament. His uncle, Albert Henry Mallalieu, was head of that family of Tan-y-Marian, Llandudno.On Larkhill, J. P. W. Mallalieu, Allison & Busby, 1983, p. 21

Arms

References

External links

* 1908 births 1980 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford English people of French descent Knights Bachelor Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies J P W Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 Oxford University RFC players People educated at Cheltenham College People educated at The Dragon School People from Saddleworth Presidents of the Oxford Union Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy sailors UK MPs 1945–1950 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 University of Chicago alumni {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub