Walter Perry (actor)
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Walter Laing MacDonald Perry, Baron Perry of Walton (16 June 1921 – 17 July 2003) was a Scottish academic. He was the first Vice Chancellor of the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...
.


Life

Perry was born in
Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
, son of Flora and Fletcher Perry, and educated at
Ayr Academy Ayr Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Inbhir Àir'') is an 11–18 non-denominational secondary school situated within the Craigie Estate area at University Avenue in Ayr, South Ayrshire. It is the sixth largest secondary school in South Ayr ...
and the
High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is a private, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only private sc ...
. He studied medicine at the
University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...
, graduating with an MB ChB in 1943, MD in 1948 and a DSc in 1958. Between 1944 and 1946 he worked as a Medical Officer in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. He later worked as a
scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...
for institutions like the Medical Research Council. In particular he became an expert on
polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
. He had a reputation for following the
scientific method The scientific method is an Empirical evidence, empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and ...
rigorously. He developed his career at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
as Professor of Pharmacology, later Dean of Medicine and Vice Principal. In 1959 he was elected a member of the
Harveian Society of Edinburgh The Harveian Society of Edinburgh was founded in April 1782 by Andrew Duncan (physician, born 1744), Andrew Duncan. The Society holds an annual Festival in honour of the life and works of William Harvey, the physician who first correctly des ...
. In 1969 he became Vice Chancellor of the Open University and made that university into an effective institution proving that sceptics had been wrong. He was mainly responsible for deciding that the Open University would not compromise on academic standards – he was determined that its qualifications should be of equal academic value to non-distance learning universities. Perry worked further to develop distance learning through the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. Perry was appointed an
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 ...
in the 1957 New Year Honours and was
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
in 1974. He entered the House of Lords upon being 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 ...
with the title Baron Perry of Walton, of Walton in the County of
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
on 9 February 1979. He joined the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
(SDP) as a founder member in 1981, and was one of the signatories to the
Limehouse Declaration The Limehouse Declaration was a statement issued on 25 January 1981 by four senior United Kingdom, British Labour Party (UK), Labour politicians, all Member of Parliament, MPs or former MPs and Cabinet Ministers: Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rod ...
. When the SDP merged with the Liberals in 1988 he chose instead to become a member of the anti-merger 'continuing' SDP, and was deputy leader of the new party's peers from 1988 to 1989."Jenkins to lead SLD", ''The Times'', 18 March 1988, p. 4. He later took the Liberal Democrat whip, and served on the committee dealing with science and technology. He kept working right up to his death in 2003. Perry married (1) Dr Anne Elizabeth Grant in 1946 (2) Catherine Hilda Crawley in 1971. His second wife's sister Mary married
Alun Michael Alun Edward Michael (born 22 August 1943) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative retired politician. He served as Secretary of State for Wales from 1998 to 1999 and then as the first First Secretary of Wales (later known as First Minister) and L ...
and her brother married Christine Crawley, Baroness Crawley. A collection of Walter Perry's papers, containing work relating to the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...
, other
distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...
institutions and work for the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, are preserved in the Open University Archive.


References


External links


Open University Library Perry papers


{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Walter 1921 births 2003 deaths People educated at the High School of Dundee Alumni of the University of St Andrews Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society People associated with the Open University Social Democratic Party (UK) politicians Social Democratic Party (UK) life peers Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990) peers Perry of Walton People educated at Ayr Academy Politicians from Dundee Academics from Dundee Life peers created by Elizabeth II Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh