John Bernard Ainslie

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(2 August 1921 – 5 January 2007), known as Jack Ainslie, was a

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

farmer and Liberal politician, Chairman of Wiltshire County Council from 1986 to 1990.

Early life

Born at

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, on 2 August 1921, the son of Charles Bernard Ainslie MC (1879–1937) and his wife Eileen Holloway (died 1962), Ainslie was educated at

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

and

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 ...

, where he matriculated in 1947.''Oxford University Gazette'', 26 April 2007
Obituaries
at ''ox.ac.uk''Graham, Christopher,

' from ''

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 ...

'', Monday, 9 April 2007 (online edition) His arrival at Oxford was delayed by his service in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

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 ...

, and he was commissioned into the

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

as a second lieutenant on 9 July 1942. His paternal grandfather was William George Ainslie, member of parliament (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

) for North Lonsdale in Lancashire from 1885 to 1892.

Career

Ainslie was an arable,

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

and

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

farmer at Home Farm,

Mildenhall, Wiltshire Mildenhall ( ) is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the River Kennet, Kennet Valley in Wiltshire, England, immediately east of the market town of Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough. The village is about east of the cent ...

. In politics he was a socialist when he left school, and commented in 1985 "I voted Labour in 1945 and got disillusioned with the party by the end of the 1940s". In the 1950s he became a

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

Liberal of the age inspired by

Jo Grimond Joseph Grimond, Baron Grimond, (; 29 July 1913 – 24 October 1993) was a British politician, leader of the Liberal Party for eleven years from 1956 to 1967 and again briefly on an interim basis in 1976. Grimond was a long-term supporter of ...

, and he was passionate about European unity, state education, and world development.
Former councillor dies
' from ''The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald'', Tuesday 9 January 2007 In 1962, with the support of others, Ainslie re-formed the moribund Devizes Constituency Liberal Association and established the Thrifty Orange in

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

, an early

charity shop A charity shop is a retail establishment run by a charitable organization to raise money. Charity shops are a type of social enterprise. They sell mainly used goods such as clothing, books, music albums, shoes, toys, and furniture donated by ...

, to raise funds for it. In 1964 he was first elected to

Wiltshire County Council Wiltshire Council, known between 1889 and 2009 as Wiltshire County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Wiltshire in South West England, and has its headquarters at County Hall in Trowbridge. Since 2009 it has bee ...

, and he continued to represent his rural area at that level for nearly thirty years, until 1993. Although during those years the county was predominantly

, while Ainslie was an outspoken Liberal, he served as chairman of the county's Education Committee from 1973 until 1977.Wiltshire County Council, Clerk's Department
at ''nationalarchives.gov.uk'' He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in Devizes at the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

general elections, and when in 1982 the SDP-Liberal Alliance agreed a division of constituencies between its two parties, it was a blow to him that he had to surrender Devizes to the SDP. Ainslie was a member of the local Alliance negotiating committee for

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

and Wiltshire, and he gave up his own position in Devizes to allow a younger Liberal to contest

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

. However, he remained a strong supporter of the Alliance and later of the merged party, the Liberal Democrats. In 1979, he contested the first direct elections to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

as a Liberal and in 1984 fought a strong SDP-Liberal Alliance campaign for the Wiltshire Euro-constituency, gaining over 60,000 votes. This campaign may have helped the Alliance to succeed at the Wiltshire County Council elections of 1985, when its members found themselves forming the largest political group and Ainslie became

Chairman of the County Council The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

, a post he held until 1989. During the same period, he was simultaneously chairman of the county council's Policy (later Policy and Resources) Committee, which made him the ''de facto'' Leader of the council as well. In 1990, Ainslie became the chairman of 'Action for the

River Kennet The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which � ...

' (ARK), a group he helped foundNigel Kerton
''Tributes to political stalwart''
Wednesday 10 January 2007, at ''thisiswiltshire.co.uk'' which campaigned against pollution and excessive water abstraction. After he died at Mildenhall on 5 January 2007 aged 85, Sara Morrison, a former vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, said that it was "the end of an era... when we took our public duties and responsibilities very seriously", and the Labour peer Lord Faulkner of Worcester described him as "...a representative of the old school of parliamentary candidates in country areas; urbane, intelligent, knowledgeable on rural matters, a gentleman". Roger de Vere, Ainslie's successor as chairman of ARK, said "He was a great leader and a great man." In June 2007, former

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

party leader

Charles Kennedy Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 19591 June 2015) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 to 2015. Kennedy wa ...

MP proposed the establishment of an annual countryside lecture as part of Ainslie's legacy.

Family

On 21 April 1951, Ainslie married Shelagh Lilian Forbes, and they had one son and three daughters.

Honours

1983 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1983 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'', known generally as ''The Gazette'', is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, i ...

'', Issue 49212 (Supplement), 30 December 1982
p. 9
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainslie, Jack 1921 births 2007 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford People from Stanmore Military personnel from the London Borough of Harrow Royal Berkshire Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War II Liberal Party (UK) councillors Politicians from Wiltshire Members of Wiltshire County Council

Early life

Career

Family

Honours

See also

References