James Allason

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James Harry Allason OBE (* 6. September 1912 ; † 16th June 2011 ) was a British politician of the Conservative Party , athletes and former military strategist who with Louis Mountbatten and Winston Churchill worked. He was the oldest living former member of the House of Commons .

life and career

Military career

Brigade General Walter Allason's son attended Haileybury and Imperial Service College and the Royal Military Academy Woolwich . He served as an officer in the British Army for 24 years, from 1930 to 1954, including India , Ceylon and Burma, and rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel . In 1932 he joined the Royal Artillery . In 1937 he was transferred to the 3rd Carabiniers .

A gifted mathematician, he dealt with the problem of using magnetic compasses with tanks, the Allason Sun compass was used for use in Asian theaters of war.

Allason worked with Supreme Allied Commander Louis Mountbatten as a planning staff officer in the South East Asia Command and was injured while commanding armored forces during the Burma Campaign . He was later awarded. He then performed a similar role as a senior military planner with the War Office in London, answering inquiries from Winston Churchill and giving briefings in the Cabinet War Rooms . His last planning task was to advise on the logistics for the withdrawal from Palestine . From 1950 to 1954 he served in the War Office as the person responsible for discipline in the army.

Political career

After leaving the army, Allason worked as an insurance broker at Lloyd's of London . In 1956 he was elected Councilor of the Kensington Borough Council .

Allason stood in the 1955 general election for the constituency of Hackney Central . He was a member of parliament for the constituency of Hemel Hempstead from 1959 to 1974 when, following changes in the constituencies' layout, he just lost his seat in the October 1974 general election to Labor politician Robin Corbett .

In the government he was valued for his knowledge not only of defense but also of pensions. As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of War, he was familiar with the Profumo affair . When this became known, he waited until after Profumo's death in March 2006 to publish his knowledge.

When the Tories were in opposition , Allason was spokesman for housing for six years and is seen as the initiator of developing policies to allow tenants of publicly rented buildings to take into account their own incomes. This was picked up by Margaret Thatcher and adopted by subsequent Conservative governments, which contributed to electoral success.

After leaving Parliament, he continued to influence environmental policy from positions on the executive branch of the Town and Country Planning Association and the Transport Committee of the Environment Council . Following the deaths of Patrick Maitland, 17th Earl of Lauderdale in December 2008 and Bert Hazell in January 2009, Allason became the oldest British former MP still alive.

Family and personal life

As an athlete, he raced Bentley vehicles in Brooklands , played polo with Maharajas in India , skied and sailed in international competitions, and represented the House of Commons in five sports. He skied until he was 87 and still played contract bridge . He attends opera performances, which he also wrote about.

He married Nuala McAreavey from Dublin in 1946 , with whom he has two sons, one of whom, the historian Rupert Allason, followed him to Parliament as a member of the constituency of Torbay . The marriage was divorced in 1974.

Publications

  • Ringside Seat: The Political and Wartime Memoirs of James Allason , Timewell Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1857252231

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ House of Commons entry on Leigh Rayment website , accessed January 13, 2013
  2. ↑ Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1950, 1966 and October 1974
  3. ^ The Mail on Sunday, March 12, 2006
personal data
SURNAME Allason, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Allason, James Harry (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Conservative Party politician, Member of the House of Commons, athlete and military strategist
DATE OF BIRTH September 6, 1912
DATE OF DEATH June 16, 2011