Walter Ernest Padley (24 July 1916 – 15 April 1984) was a British Labour Member of Parliament for Ogmore. He was also President of the

Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) is a trade union in the United Kingdom, consisting of over 360,000 members. Usdaw members work in a variety of occupations and industries including: shopworkers, factory and warehouse wor ...

from 1948 to 1964.

Early life

Walter Ernest Padley was born on 24 July 1916, the son of Ernest and Mildred Padley. In 1933, whilst still a teenager, he became active in a distributive workers' trade union. He was educated at

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 201 ...

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

and

Ruskin College, Oxford Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is a higher education institution and part of the University of West London, in Oxford, England. It is not a college of Oxford University. Named after the essayist, art and social cr ...

with a TUC scholarship. 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 registered as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

, but after appearances at both his Local and the Appellate Tribunals, he was permitted only exemption from combatant service, and was required to serve in the

Non-Combatant Corps The Non-Combatant Corps (NCC) was a corps of the British Army composed of conscientious objectors as privates, with NCOs and officers seconded from other corps or regiments. Its members fulfilled various non-combatant roles in the army during the ...

(NCC).

Political career

Padley was a member of the National Council of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

from 1940 to 1946. During this time, he contested the

1943 by-election Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

in Acton, in which he was an (ILP) candidate, coming a distant second to the Conservative candidate. There was no Labour Party candidate, due to a pact between members of the wartime coalition. In 1950, Padley was elected as the Labour Member of Parliament for the party's

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both. With such seats, there is very little chance of a seat changing h ...

of Ogmore, and served until the 1979 general election. He was a member of the party's National Executive Committee from 1956 to 1979. In Parliament, he was Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 1964 to 1967. Padley was also

Chairman of the Labour Party The Chair of the Labour Party is a position in the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party of the United Kingdom. The Chair is responsible for administration of the party and overseeing general election campaigns, and is typically held concurrently with ...

from 1965 to 1966, and its Overseas Committee from 1963 to 1971.

Personal life and death

In 1942, he married Sylvia Elsie Wilson; they had a son and daughter. He lived in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

north London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

, and died on 15 April 1984, aged 67.

Bibliography

* ''The Economic Problem of the Peace'' London: Gollancz (1944) * Marcus Aurelius (pen name) ''Am I My Brother's Keeper?'' London: Gollancz (1945) * ''Britain: Pawn or Power?'' London: Gollancz (1947) * ''Soviet Russia: Free Union or Empire?'' Bombay: National Info. & Publications (1947)

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons October 1974'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Padley, Walter 1916 births 1984 deaths Alumni of Ruskin College Presidents of British trade unions Welsh Labour MPs Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members 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 British conscientious objectors Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) Personnel of the Non-Combatant Corps Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970