John Battley

John Rose Battley, JP (26 November 1880 – 1 November 1952) was a British printer, company director and Labour Party politician. He served on the London County Council and was Member of Parliament for Clapham for a single five-year term.

Early life

Attending only the Basnett Road elementary school, Battley became a printer's apprentice and later set up his own firm with his brother George. He was Governing Director of Battley Brothers Ltd. During the First World War, Battley's Baptist beliefs bade him to declare his conscientious objection; he was a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation.

Municipal contribution

He was also a member of the Labour Party and in 1934 he was one of the Labour candidates for Wandsworth Borough Council in the Clapham North ward; he lost narrowly. He then fought the Clapham division in the 1937 London County Council election; while unsuccessful then, he was elected there by 57 votes in a byelection in May 1938. He was made a Justice of the Peace for the County of London in 1940.

Parliament

At the 1945 general election, Battley won the Clapham Parliamentary seat (which had the same boundaries as his LCC division). He was a Parliamentary supporter of temperance movement, and opposed a government amendment to allow restaurants run by local authorities to sell alcoholic liquor. He also opposed continuation of National Service.

Retirement

Although he had only been elected three years previously, Battley announced in June 1948 that he would stand down to make way for a younger man or woman. He therefore did not contest the 1950 general election, and died two years later after a long illness.

Family

He was the father of actor David Battley

External links

*M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981)
* [http://www.york.ac.uk/res/dlb/entries/Battley.htm Battley's entry in "Dictionary of Labour Biography"]