Deryck Abel

Deryck Abel (September 1918–13 February 1965) was a British author and political activist.

Abel sutdied at Tottenham County School the London School of Economics and London University.^[1] He fought in World War II, losing a leg.^[2] After the war, Abel became active in the Liberal Party, standing unsuccessfully in St Albans at the 1950 UK general election^[1] and Torquay in 1951.^[3] He also was also active in the Free Trade Union, edited and wrote for the Free Trader and authored a number of books.^[1]

During the 1950s, Abel was a leading proponent of the construction of a Channel Tunnel, linking Britain with France.^[4] From 1957 to 1959, he served as Chairman of the Liberal Party.^[5] He also stood unsuccessfully in Worthing at the 1959 UK general election.^[6]

In 1959, Abel resigned from the Free Trade Union and the Free Trader, following their takeover by supporters of Oliver Smedley.^[5] He married Betty, a lecturer and member of the editorial staff of the Contemporary Review,^[2] a publication of which he served as editor from 1960 to 1965.^[7] He died around this time, his health never having recovered from his wartime experiences.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} 'The Times Guide to the House of Commons (1951), p.102
2. ^ ^{a b c} Richard Mullen, "Betty Abel, 1916-1996", Contemporary Review, April 1996
3. ^ 'The Times Guide to the House of Commons (1959), p.110
4. ^ Books Ca-Ch, Oakwood Press and Video Library
5. ^ ^{a b} John Meadowcroft and Jaime Edwards, "Liberals and the New Right", Journal of Liberal History (2005)
6. ^ "Obituary: Mr Deryck Abel", The Guardian, 15 February 1965
7. ^ Magazine Data: Page 83

Party political offices
Preceded by Granville Slack	Chairman of the Liberal Party 1957–1959	Succeeded by Leonard Behrens

Persondata
Name	Abel, Deryck
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1918
Place of birth
Date of death	1965
Place of death