Name J. W. Party Labour Party Education University of Chicago | Died March 13, 1980 Role Politician | |
Sir Joseph Percival William Mallalieu (18 June 1908 – 13 March 1980), known after his knighthood as Sir William Mallalieu, was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author.
Mallalieu was educated at the Dragon School in Oxford, Cheltenham College, Trinity College, Oxford and the University of Chicago. He was President of the Oxford Union in 1930 and a Rugby blue. He served in the Royal Navy 1942-45, joining as an ordinary seaman and later being commissioned and promoted to lieutenant. His novel, Very Ordinary Seaman, is based on his experiences in the navy.
Mallalieu was Member of Parliament for Huddersfield from 1945 to 1950, and for Huddersfield East after boundary changes from 1950 to 1979. He had various ministerial positions under Harold Wilson, including Defence for the Royal Navy (1964–1967), the Board of Trade (1967–1968) and Technology (1968–1969).
Mallalieu's father Frederick and brother Lance were also Members of Parliament. His daughter, Ann, is a Labour peer.
Mallalieu is the author of Rats! (Left Book Club, 1941) under the pseudonym 'The Pied Piper'.
A collection of his writing on various sports, mostly written for The Spectator magazine, was published as Sporting Days (The Sportsmans Book Club, 1957).
He was given the Freedom of Kirklees in West Yorkshire on 27 January 1980.