Edward Redhead

Edward Charles Redhead, JP (8 April 1902 – 15 April 1967) was a British civil servant and politician who became the successor to Clement Attlee as Member of Parliament for Walthamstow West.

Civil servant

Redhead was born in Walthamstow and went to Walthamstow Higher Elementary School as well as receiving a private education. He left school at 15 to be a boy clerk in the Post Office. Two years later he transferred into Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, and rose steadily through the ranks to finish as a Higher Executive Officer. Active in his trade union, Redhead left the civil service to be General Secretary of the Society of Civil Servants in 1948. A school on Higham Hill Road was later named, Edward Redhead Junior School.

Political activity

He was active in municipal affairs, and was elected as a Labour Party councillor to Walthamstow Borough Council in 1929. From 1945 he was an Alderman, and served as Mayor of the town in 1949-1950 and again in 1961–1962. At the 1951 general election, Redhead fought Gillingham.

Parliament

When Clement Attlee received an Earldom, Redhead was the local candidate picked to follow him. He kept the seat in a 1956 byelection. From 1959 to 1964 Redhead served as an Opposition Whip, and when Labour came into government, he was Minister of State at the Board of Trade. In October 1965 he transferred to the Department of Education and Science, retiring due to ill health in January 1967. He died the following April. The resulting by-election came at an inconvenient time for the Labour government, and the Conservative candidate Frederick Silvester gained the seat.

gollark: They even *commend* me for doing my homework *technically* mostly on time, unlike one of my brothers.
gollark: <:ferris:786305136963354634>
gollark: And my parents mostly let me get away with that, thus μhahahaha.
gollark: Yes, I should be able to mismanage time UTTERLY if I wish to.
gollark: I work most efficiently when there's a deadline the day after and/or it's ridiculously late.

References
  • M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981)
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Clement Attlee		 Member of Parliament for Walthamstow West
1956–1967		 Succeeded by
Fred Silvester
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