The Lord Shackleton | |
|---|---|
 1969 photograph, byGodfrey Argent | |
| Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords Shadow Leader of the House of Lords | |
| In office 19 June 1970 – 4 March 1974 | |
| Leader | |
| Preceded by | The Lord Carrington |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Carrington |
| Leader of the House of Lords | |
| In office 16 January 1968 – 20 June 1970 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Longford |
| Succeeded by | The Earl Jellicoe |
| Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal | |
| In office 16 January 1968 – 6 April 1968 | |
| Preceded by | The Earl Longford |
| Succeeded by | Fred Peart |
| In office 1 November 1968 – 20 June 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Fred Peart |
| Succeeded by | The Earl Jellicoe |
| Paymaster General | |
| In office 6 April 1968 – 1 November 1968 | |
| Preceded by | George Wigg |
| Succeeded by | Judith Hart |
| Deputy Leader of the House of Lords | |
| In office 7 January 1967 – 16 January 1968 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Leader | The Earl of Longford |
| Preceded by | The Lord Champion |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Shepherd |
| Minister without Portfolio | |
| In office 7 January 1967 – 16 January 1968 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Douglas Houghton |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Gordon Walker |
| Minister of State for the Air Force | |
| In office 19 October 1964 – 7 January 1967 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Hugh Fraser |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 11 August 1958 – 22 September 1994 Life peerage | |
| Member of Parliament forPreston South | |
| In office 23 February 1950 – 6 May 1955 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Alan Green |
| Member of Parliament forPreston | |
| In office 31 January 1946 – 3 February 1950 | |
| Preceded by | John William Sunderland |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 July 1911 Wandsworth, London, England |
| Died | 22 September 1994 (aged 83) Winchester,Hampshire, England |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Ernest Shackleton Emily Dorman |
| Alma mater | Magdalen College, Oxford |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1940–1956 |
| Rank | Wing Commander |
| Service number | 83143 |
| Battles / wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Officer of the Order of the British Empire |
Edward Arthur Alexander Shackleton, Baron Shackleton (15 July 1911 – 22 September 1994) was a Britishgeographer,Royal Air Force officer andLabour Party politician.
Born inWandsworth, London, Shackleton was the younger son ofEmily Mary and SirErnest Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer. Edward Shackleton was educated atRadley College, anindependentboarding school for boys inOxfordshire, followed byMagdalen College, Oxford.[1]
Shackleton arranged the 1932Oxford University Exploration Club expedition toSarawak inBorneo organised byTom Harrisson. During this trip, he made thefirst ascent ofMount Mulu.
In 1934 Shackleton organised the Oxford UniversityEllesmere Land Expedition and choseGordon Noel Humphreys to lead it. Shackleton accompanied the party as assistant surveyor to Humphreys. The expedition was eventually responsible for namingMount Oxford (after theUniversity of Oxford) and theBritish Empire Range. On leaving the university, he worked as a Talks Producer for the BBC inNorthern Ireland – an experience that turned him away from the Conservatives towards Labour.
Shackleton served in theRoyal Air Force (RAF) during theSecond World War. On 29 July 1940, he was commissioned into the Administrative and Special Duties Branch,Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, as apilot officer on probation.[2] On 1 March 1941, he was promoted and granted thewar substantive rank offlying officer.[3] Following the probationary period, his commission was confirmed on 29 July 1941.[4] He was promoted toflight lieutenant (temporary) on 1 September 1942,[5] and made a war substantive flight lieutenant on 15 February 1944.[6] He was an actingsquadron leader by June 1944,[7] and an actingwing commander by June 1945.[8]
In 1944, Shackleton wasmentioned in despatches.[7] In the1945 King's Birthday Honours, he was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).[8]
Shackleton relinquished his commission on 15 July 1956 and was granted permission to retain the rank of wing commander.[9]
Shackleton stood unsuccessfully for Labour atEpsom in the1945 general election and in the1945 Bournemouth by-election. In 1946, he was elected for Labour as Member of Parliament forPreston in a by-election. In 1949 he was appointed asParliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to theMinister of Supply,George Strauss.
A boundary change divided Preston into two seats, and in 1950 Shackleton was elected as MP forPreston South on a much-reduced majority. In the following year he was promoted to be PPS toLord President of the Council andForeign SecretaryHerbert Morrison, one of the heavyweight political figures in the post-war government. He was re-elected in 1951.
At the 1955 election, he was defeated. Hugh Gaitskell recommended Shackleton to the Prime Minister, and on 11 August 1958 he was created alife peer byletters patent asBaron Shackleton, ofBurley in theCounty of Southampton.[10] Shackleton delivered his maiden speech in theHouse of Lords on 11 November 1958, in a debate on a Wages Councils bill, one he thoroughly approved of and welcomed, to increase understanding between unions and management.
InHarold Wilson's government, he served asMinister of Defence for theRAF from 1964 to 1967. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1966 and made Deputy Leader of the House of Lords a year later. AsMinister without Portfolio in 1967–1968 andPaymaster General in 1968, he had a seat in the Cabinet. During theAden Emergency he was sent on a Special Mission as British Resident to help with the British withdrawal.
In April 1968, after the budget, Wilson made Shackleton Leader of theHouse of Lords, succeeding theEarl of Longford.
Shackleton was active in Wilson's proposals forHouse of Lords reform, designed to reduce the delaying powers of the Lords from two years to just six months, and he liaised between committees and sub-committees, but in April 1969 Wilson dropped the bill to "concentrate on priorities". Sitting on the committee for Civil Service Reform, Shackleton successfully widened access to entry for scientists.[11][12]
Shackleton remained Leader of the House of Lords until a Conservative government was elected in 1970 and thereafter was Opposition Leader in the Lords.
From 1971, Shackleton was President of theRoyal Geographical Society. Lord Shackleton was appointed aKnight Companion of the Order of the Garter in 1974.[13] From 1976 until 1992 he was Chairman of the joint-Political Honours and Scrutiny Committee. Lord Shackleton's report, commissioned byJames Callaghan, described the economic future of the Falkland Islands, the value of the being British to the islanders, and how their lot could be improved. It included the invaluable role eventually played byHMSEndurance.
Between 1988 and 1989 he chaired the Lords Science and Technology Committee and in 1989 was elected aFellow of the Royal Society under Statute 12, effectively an honorary fellow.[14] He also served as Chairman of the East European Trade Council[15]
In 1990 Shackleton was appointed an honorary Companion of theOrder of Australia (AC), Australia's highest civilian honour, "for service to Australian/British relations, particularly through theBritain–Australia Society.[16]
Lord Shackleton was Pro-Chancellor of theUniversity of Southampton, in which role he was deeply interested in the development ofgeography at Southampton.[14] A portrait photograph of Lord Shackleton was unveiled by his daughter Alexandra Shackleton in December 1997 in the university's Shackleton Building, which houses the Departments of Geography and Psychology.
In 1994 he became the Life President of the newly founded James Caird Society, named after the boat in which his explorer father and crew escaped Antarctica (itself, in turn, named forJames Key Caird [1837–1916],jute baron and philanthropist). He acted also as patron of theBritish Schools Exploring Society (B.S.E.S.) from 1962 until his death inWinchester.
In 1938 Shackleton married Betty Homan, and they had two children, Alexandra (born 1940) and Charles (1942–1979).[11]
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Lord Shackleton'sGarter banner, which hung inSt. George's Chapel in Windsor during his lifetime, is now on display inChrist Church Cathedral, Falkland Islands.[17]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forPreston 1946–1950 With:Samuel Segal | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forPreston South 1950–1955 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Air 1964–1966 | Office abolished |
| Preceded by | Deputy Leader of the House of Lords 1967–1968 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Privy Seal 1968 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by George Wigg | Paymaster General 1968 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the House of Lords 1968–1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Privy Seal 1968–1970 | |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Labour Party in the House of Lords 1968–1974 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Senior life peer 1988–1994 | Succeeded by |
