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Sir Patrick Henry Bligh Wall, (14 October 1916 – 15 May 1998) was a British
commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...
in the
Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
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 later a Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Haltemprice in the
East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...
and subsequently for
Beverley Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...
, over a period spanning 33 years. He was a leading figure in the
Conservative Monday Club The Conservative Monday Club (usually known as the Monday Club) was a British political pressure group, aligned with the Conservative Party, though no longer endorsed by it. It also had links to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unio ...
, and a parliamentary consultant to the
Western Goals Institute Western Goals Institute (WGI) was a far-right pressure group and think-tank in Britain, formed in 1989 from Western Goals UK, which was founded in 1985 as an offshoot of the U.S. Western Goals Foundation.''Labour Research'', November 1988, p. 2. ...
. In the last decade of his life, he was President of the British UFO Research Association (BUFORA).


Education and military career

The son of Henry Benedict Wall, Patrick Wall was educated at
Downside School Downside School (formally The College of St Gregory the Great, Downside but simply referred to as Downside) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, independent, day and boarding school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England. It was establish ...
. He was commissioned into the
Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
in 1935 and qualified as a naval gunnery instructor. 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 ...
, he served onboard ''Iron Duke'', ''Valiant'', and ''Malaya'', followed by a spell at ''HMS Turtle'', the landing craft base. In 1945, he was patrol officer and second-in-command 48 Commando RM 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 ...
on the
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, where he was wounded. Wall's exploits in action drew the highest commendation: "An outstanding character whose industry and devotion to duty are beyond praise. He is a very devout man, and draws real inspiration from his
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
religion. In battle and behind the line, he is an example of energy and the aggressive spirit. His aim appears to be to do as much as possible", stated his report. He was awarded the
Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...
in the
North-West Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The term is used in geographic, history, and military contexts. Geographic definitions Geographically, Northwestern ...
campaign, and was awarded the US
Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...
the same year, for his services during the invasion operations in northern Italy and the south of France. He taught at the
Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...
in 1946, and the Joint Services Staff College from 1947 to 1948. He spent a further two years on the staff of the Commandant-General, RM. He was promoted to the rank of major in 1949, and decided to leave the Royal Marines the following year in order to enter politics. He continued his naval connection as Commander of 47 Commando Royal Marines Voluntary Reserve from 1951 to 1957, and from 1950 to 1966, was Commissioner of the
Sea Scout Sea Scouts are a part of the Scout movement, with a particular emphasis on boating and other water-based activities on the sea, rivers or lakes (canoeing, rafting, scuba, sailboarding). Sea Scouts can provide a chance to sail, cruise on boats, ...
s for London. In 1953, Wall married Sheila Elizabeth, daughter of James Putnam, of Broadstone,
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
.


Political career

Wall was a councillor on the
City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...
Council from 1953 to 1963. In the 1951 General Election and a subsequent by-election in 1952, he stood unsuccessfully for the parliamentary seat of
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
, Yorkshire. He was later elected Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Haltemprice 1954–1983, and for
Beverley Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...
, Yorkshire 1983–1987. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889 ...
1955–57, and to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
1958–59. He was UK delegate to the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...
in 1962, Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence 1965–1977, Chairman of the British-South Africa Parliamentary Group 1970–1987, on the British-Portuguese Parliamentary Group 1979–1987, and leader of the British delegation to the North Atlantic Assembly 1979–1987, of which he was president, 1983–1985. In February 1972, in 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 ...
he called for government intervention in the miners' strike, saying that "initimidation and even violence by picketing miners has given rise to widespread anxiety". During the Thatcher years, Wall reflected that Britain had "moved rapidly to the Left under Labour governments, and more slowly to the Left under successive Conservative governments". During this period, he sat on numerous parliamentary committees, one of which recommended building a strategic airfield in the Falkland Islands after the war.


Views on Africa and communism

Wall chaired several party committees concerned with Africa. He defended the British colonial record and was convinced of the benefits of white rule in Rhodesia and South Africa. In 1960, he claimed that the colonial problem arose not from differences in colour, but from differences in standards. "What we have to do is to work as hard as we can by raising the standards of the black Africans to ensure that we level up and do not take the easy way out by levelling down. Progress in Central Africa depends on the maintenance of standards and I believe we owe it, not only to our kith and kin, but to the vast mass of as yet uneducated black Africans for whom we are trustees, to see that the existing standards in Central Africa are not debased." (cf. Reeves, p. 116). He was a friend of the
Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
n Prime Minister,
Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 191920 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. He w ...
, and fully supported him. After Rhodesia's UDI in 1965, he joined forces with
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury Robert Arthur James Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury (27 August 1893 – 23 February 1972), known as Viscount Cranborne from 1903 to 1947, was a British Conservative politician. Background Nicknamed "Bobbety", Salisbury was the eldest ...
, to lead the Tory revolt against their party's support for the Labour administration's sanctions policy. Wall believed that white rule in Southern Africa was the last bulwark against the spread of communism in the region, which he described as "this evil virus". He argued that this, in turn, would mean that the West would lose vital mineral supplies and that the oil route round the Cape would come under threat. In 1974, Wall attacked the Labour government's pull-out from the Simonstown naval base in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, and stated in 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 ...
that "they" (the government) "must be insane. This is the only link NATO has with the Cape. British interests in Africa as a strategic part of the world should be maintained." In 1975, writing in the journal ''To The Point'', Patrick Wall said "the basic philosophy of the Communist powers is to detach Southern Africa from the Western World." A committed supporter of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...
(NATO), he was leader of the British delegation to the North Atlantic Assembly from 1979 to 1987. Wall was especially suspicious of the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...
, which he believed had contributed to Britain's decline. He would quote an African minister's remark: "We never trust you British because you never protect your own tribe."


Monday Club

Wall was an early member (1963) of the
Conservative Monday Club The Conservative Monday Club (usually known as the Monday Club) was a British political pressure group, aligned with the Conservative Party, though no longer endorsed by it. It also had links to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unio ...
, sat on several of its committees, served on its Executive Council, and was National Club Chairman 1978–80. He collaborated on many papers and publications for the club, and spoke for club policies and concerns in 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 ...
. On
May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...
1970, the club held a 'Law and Liberty' rally in
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...
where he, and several other of the club's MPs were principal speakers. In November 1971, he and John Biggs-Davison, joined, as observers, British troops in action in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
against the
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
(IRA). As University Groups Parliamentary Liaison Officer, he was active in supporting the 55 Monday Club groups formed in universities and colleges. He became a target for the Left and was denounced by the Marxist-led National Union of Students. In 1968, he was attacked at
Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...
and Mrs. Wall was knocked to the ground and kicked. Speaking at
Portsmouth Polytechnic The University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a public university in Portsmouth, England. Comprising five Faculty (division), faculties, the university offers a wide range of academic disciplines. in 2022, with around 28,280 students enrolled in Unde ...
in December 1972, his meeting was broken up by a shouting group of students who pelted Wall with missiles. In May 1974, Wall, John Biggs-Davison, and Robert Taylor tabled a motion in the House of Commons deploring the Labour government's decision to cancel the visit of the Royal Yacht ''
Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...
'' to
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, describing it as "vindictive and selective spite." In August Commander Anthony Courtney and Wall issued a Monday Club Paper attacking the "high proportion of official Communist representatives in London, who are known to be engaged in 'legal' espionage under diplomatic cover." They warned also that Britain would become increasingly vulnerable following the opening of a
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
Embassy in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
as the IRA was
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
. In a letter published in 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 foun ...
'' in November 1974, Patrick Wall wrote "Conservatism has lost millions of votes because the man in the street no longer believes that they stand primarily for Britain's interests." He added: "to the man in the street the Conservative leadership has been more intent on crushing the Rhodesians than the IRA; more interested in the Ugandan Asians than in maintaining the rights of Britons living abroad; more worried about
Enoch Powell John Enoch Powell (16 June 19128 February 1998) was a British politician, scholar and writer. He served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South West for the Conservative Party (UK), Conserv ...
than Messrs.
Hugh Scanlon Hugh Parr Scanlon, Baron Scanlon (26 October 1913 – 27 January 2004) was a British trade union leader. Scanlon was born in Melbourne, to parents who had emigrated from Britain. His mother brought him back from Australia to the UK when he ...
and
Arthur Scargill Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938) is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. He is best known for leading the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike, a major event in the history o ...
". Wall was presented with a Fellowship Certificate of the
Chartered Institute of Journalists The Chartered Institute of Journalists is a professional association for journalists and is the senior such body in the UK and the oldest in the world. History The ''Chartered Institute of Journalists'' was proposed during a meeting in Manchest ...
at a formal reception for the occasion, held at the National Liberal Club, London, on Wednesday 12 July 1989.


Connection to offshore and citizens' band (CB) radio

Wall was one of a number of Tory MPs associated with Radio 270, an
offshore radio Offshore radio is radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures. Offshore broadcasters are usually unlicensed but transmissions are legal in international waters. This is in contrast to unlicensed broadcasting on land or within a nat ...
station broadcasting off the
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
coast in the 1960s. On 11 May 1967 the station gave Conservative candidates in local elections at
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
airtime which the candidates had paid for themselves, and on 14 May it broadcast a programme made by the
York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
branch of the Monday Club, in which Wall spoke on
Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
. Labour MP
Andrew Faulds Andrew Matthew William Faulds (1 March 1923 – 31 May 2000) was a British actor and Labour Party politician. After a successful acting career on stage, on radio and in films, he was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 1997. Early life Faul ...
called (perhaps not entirely seriously) for the results of some municipal elections to be declared invalid because an "illegal broadcast" had been made, and
Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government officia ...
Edward Short stated that "It is the first time in peacetime that this country has been subjected to a stream of misleading propaganda from outside our territorial waters and I do not think this is a matter for joking". (ref. ''
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 ...
'', 12 and 15 May 1967) Shortly before the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act 1967 became law later that year, Radio 270 carried a broadcast, also sponsored by the University of York Monday Club, attacking the government for closing down the pirate stations. Wall, Ronald Bell and John Biggs-Davison, all prominent members of the Monday Club, took part. John Biggs-Davison stated that he felt that many Labour supporters would also regret the Act, claiming that "concern for freedom is not confined to one party and a voice of freedom will have been silenced when Radio 270 goes off the air". Wall said that "I think it is monstrous that private enterprise radio stations are being closed, and even more monstrous that the Government are not setting up an adequate alternative to cater for the amusement that many people want to hear. Indeed, I have had more letters on this subject than on any other in the 13 years I have been MP for Haltemprice". (ref. ''The Times'', 11 August 1967) Eventually, the Tory party would bring about deregulation of the media (through the
Broadcasting Act 1990 The Broadcasting Act 1990 (c. 42) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which aimed to liberalise and deregulate the British broadcasting industry by promoting competition; an example being ITV (TV network), ...
) such as was being called for. From 1976 until its success in 1981, Wall was also a strong supporter of the campaign for the legalisation of Citizens' Band Radio in the UK, and was one of the most influential members of the House of Commons ad hoc committee on CB.


Publications

*Wall, Patrick, ''Soviet Maritime Thrust'' Monday Club, London (P/B). *Wall, Patrick, ''Southern Ocean and the Security of the Free World''. *Wall, Patrick, M. C., V. R. D., M. P., with John P. P. Smith, ''Student Power'' Monday Club, London, 1968, (P/B). *Wall, Patrick, M. C., M. P., with John Biggs-Davison, M. P., Julian Amery, M. P., Stephen Hastings, M. C., M. P., Harold Soref, M. P., ''Rhodesia and the Threat to the West'', Monday Club, London, 1976, (P/B). *Wall, Patrick, ''The Royal Marine Pocket Book'', with Lt G A M Ritson RM


Archives

*Wall, Sir Patrick: Papers held at the Hull History Centre Archives.


References

*Copping, Robert, ''The Story of The Monday Club – The First Decade'', Current Affairs Information Service, April 1972, (P/B). *Copping, Robert, ''The Monday Club – Crisis and After'' (Foreword by John Biggs-Davison, M. P.), CAIS, May 1975, (P/B). *Reeves, Frank, ''British Racial Discourse'' – A Study of British Political Discourse about Race and Race-related Matters, Cambridge University Press, 1983, *Williamson, David, with Patricia Ellis, ''Debrett's Distinguished People of Today'', London, 1988, p. 1058, *''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 foun ...
'', 19 May 1998, ''Obituary – Major Sir Patrick Wall'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Wall, Patrick 1916 births 1998 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in Greater London Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Academics of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Knights Bachelor People educated at Downside School Recipients of the Military Cross British anti-communists British white supremacists Royal Marines Commando officers Royal Marines personnel of World War II Ufologists 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 UK MPs 1983–1987