Alan David Walder was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 politician.

Born in St Pancras, London

St Pancras, London

St Pancras is an area of London. For many centuries the name has been used for various officially-designated areas, but now is used informally and rarely having been largely superseded by several other names for overlapping districts.-Ancient parish:...

, Walder was educated at Latymer School and Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery

Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

 in 1948. In 1953 he transferred to the 4th Hussars (Army Emergency Reserve) and was promoted Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

. He was promoted Captain

Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)

Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...

 in 1956. He became a barrister, called to the bar by Inner Temple

Inner Temple

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

 in 1956.

He unsuccessfully contested the Leicester South West

Leicester South West (UK Parliament constituency)

Leicester South West was a borough constituency in the city of Leicester. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

 constituency at the 1959 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1959

This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...

.
He was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for High Peak

High Peak (UK Parliament constituency)

- Elections in the 2000s :- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :-Elections in the 1970s:-Elections in the 1960s:...

 at a 1961 by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

, but lost the seat at the 1966 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1966

The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...

, to Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

's Peter Jackson.

He was returned to the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 at the 1970 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1970

The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...

 as MP for Clitheroe

Clitheroe (UK Parliament constituency)

Clitheroe was a parliamentary constituency in Lancashire.The town of Clitheroe was first enfranchised as a parliamentary borough in 1559, returning two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and finally to the...

, which he held until his death in Chelsea

Chelsea, London

Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...

 in 1978 at the age of 49. Walder was an assistant government whip from 1973 to 1974.

Walder coined "Walder's Law" which stated that the first speaker at any 1922 Committee

1922 Committee

In British politics, the 1922 Committee is a committee of Conservative Members of Parliament. Voting membership is limited to backbench MPs although frontbench Conservative MPs have an open invitation to attend meetings. While the party was in opposition, frontbench MPs other than the party leader...

 meeting was insane.

Walder's successor at the by-election after his death was David Waddington

David Waddington, Baron Waddington

David Charles Waddington, Baron Waddington, GCVO, DL, QC, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1968 to 1990, and was then made a life peer...

.

Walder was also a noted author and military historian. His works included humorous fiction relating primarily to his experiences in the army and politics, and comprised:

• Bags of Swank (1963)
• The Short List (1964)
• The House Party (1966)
• The Fair Ladies of Salamanca (1967)
• The Chanak Affair (1969)
• The Short Victorious War: Russo-Japanese Conflict 1904-5 (1973)
• Nelson (1978).

External links