Harold Wilson

On 1 January, 1940, Harold Wilson married Gladys Mary Baldwin, whom he met in 1936. Although for Wilson it was a love at first sight Mary took some time to decide. They had two sons, Robin and Giles. Mary was also a poet, having ‘Selected Poems’ published in 1970.

Harold Wilson died on 24 May 1995 from colon cancer and Alzheimer's disease. He was then 79 years old and was survived by his wife and children.

James Harold Wilson was born on 11 March, 1916 in Milnsbridge, located in the outskirts of Huddersfield, a large market town in Yorkshire, England. Although his family belonged to the lower-middle class stratum, young Harold grew up watching real poverty and dependence on charity all around him.

His father, James Herbert Wilson, was an industrial chemist by profession. Initially, he was an active member of the Liberal Party; but after the First World War, joined the Labour Party. His mother, Ethel née Seddon, was a former schoolteacher. Harold Wilson had an elder sister named Edith Marjorie Wilson.

From the very beginning, his parents instilled in him an austere view of life. He was taught to keep his problems and anxieties under his control and not to display his feelings. Consequently, he grew up loyal, but lonely, having few friends with whom he could open up.

In 1920, he began his education at New Street Elementary School, Milnsbridge, studying there until 1927. Sometime around 1924, when he was eight years old, he visited London, where he had a picture taken, standing at the doorstep of the Prime Minister’s official residence at 10 Downing Street.

In 1926, 10-year-old Harold travelled to Australia, where his maternal uncle, Harold Seddon, was a Member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia. Fascinated by the pomp and glamour of politics, Harold Wilson wanted to become prime minister and told his mother so on their return journey.

In 1937, Wilson earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with a first class and alphas on each paper. In the same year, he began his career as a lecturer of Economic History in New College.

Also in 1937, he started working with William Beveridge on the theories of John Maynard Keynes. Although they were not really fond of each other, with Beveridge calling Wilson ‘a machine, not a human being’, it did not stop them from forming a mutually beneficial collaboration.

While preparing his epoch report on social insurance and other welfare measures, Beveridge heavily depended on Wilson’s efficient and streamlined assistance. In return, he helped Wilson to secure a Fellowship at the University College in 1938, which continued till 1945.

As the Second World War broke out, Wilson volunteered for military service. May be because of his work with Beveridge, he was classified as a specialist and was drafted in the civil service. In 1941, he started working as a statistician and economist for the coal industry.

In 1943, he became the Director of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Fuel and Power, holding the position till 1944. Here, he undertook an extensive research, greatly improving the available statistics, making the picture clear for the authorities. The result was published in 1945 as ‘New Deal for Coal’.

As the Second World War came to an end, Harold Wilson decided to contest the 1945 general election on Labour Party ticket. Therefore, he resigned from his civil service job, eventually entering the House of Commons from Ormskirk and was immediately appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works.

In 1947, he was appointed Secretary for Overseas Trade, in which capacity he made several trips to the USSR. Later on 29 September 1947, he became President of the Board of Trade, thus becoming United Kingdom’s youngest Cabinet Minister since 1792. In this capacity, he abolished some of the wartime rationing.

During this period, he started cultivating his middleclass image. He dropped his first name James and continued to speak in his Yorkshire accent, preferring beer rather than champagne, wearing raincoat over a shabby suit. In the political circle, he began to be known as a Left winger.

In 1951, when it was announced the National Health Service, which had been designed as a free service, would charge the patients, Wilson resigned from his post along with the Minister of Health, Aneurin Bevan. The gesture made him even more popular.

In the 1951 general election, Wilson stood for the new seat of Huyton near Liverpool and although his party lost the election he narrowly won the seat. Eventually, he became Labour’s spokesperson on finance and foreign affairs.