John Forrester

Infobox Person
name = John Forrester


birth_date = 17 June 1924
birth_place = Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
death_date = 24 November 2007
death_place = Stoke-on-Trent
education = Stoke-on-Trent City School of Commerce, Alsager Teacher Training College
occupation = Teacher, Member of Parliament, City councillor
spouse =
parents =
children =

John Stuart Forrester (born 17 June 1924, died 24 November 2007) is a British Labour Party politician.

Brief Biography

Forrester was born in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and was educated at Eastwood (local authority run) School, the City School of Commerce in Stoke-on-Trent, and Alsager teacher training college in Cheshire. ["The Times Guide to the House of Commons", Times Newspapers Ltd, 1966, 1983 & 1997; ]

He spent three and a half years in the Royal Navy and taught English to the Polish Resettlement Corps before becoming a teacher in the city. [ Bruce, Catherine (24th November 2007) "Politicians Mourn ‘Gentleman’ John", The Sentinel newspaper; ] Partly as a consequence of his experience in the armed services, Forrester remained a "steadfast Atlanticist all his political life". [ Hughes, Richard (4th December 2007) "Word From The Web", The Sentinel newspaper; ]

Having been secretary of the local Constituency Labour Party from 1961, Forrester was Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent North from 1966 to 1987, when was deselected as Labour candidate and replaced by Joan Walley. ["The Times Guide to the House of Commons", Times Newspapers Ltd, 1966, 1983 & 1997; ]

In 1970, he was appointed as parliamentary private secretary to David Ennals, the then Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Security. [ Bruce, Catherine (24th November 2007) "Politicians Mourn ‘Gentleman’ John", The Sentinel newspaper; ]

Forrester was a Stoke-on-Trent City Councillor for East Valley (a ward that includes parts of Smallthorne, Sneyd Green, Milton and Baddeley Green) from 1973 to 2000 and served as chairman of the authority's licensing committee.

He was made Stoke-on-Trent's 50th honorary Freeman in September 1992. He also served as a Magistrate in the city. [ Bruce, Catherine (24th November 2007) "Politicians Mourn ‘Gentleman’ John", The Sentinel newspaper; ]

After Forrester's death, the Secretary of his local Labour Party Branch described his "sense of duty, his commitment, his approachability, his warmth, and his humour". [ Hughes, Richard (4th December 2007) "Word From The Web", The Sentinel newspaper; ]

References