Sir Walter Clegg (18 April 1920 – 15 April 1994) was a British Conservative politician.

Walter Clegg
Comptroller of the Household
In office
1973–1974
Preceded byBernard Weatherill
Succeeded byJoseph Harper
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
In office
1972–1973
Preceded byBernard Weatherill
Succeeded byPaul Hawkins
Member of Parliament
for Wyre
Fylde North (1966-1983)
In office
31 March 1966 – 18 May 1987
Preceded byRichard Stanley
Succeeded byKeith Mans
Personal details
Born18 April 1920
Bury, Lancashire, England
Died15 April 1994(1994-04-15) (aged 73)
Fleetwood, Lancashire, England
Political partyConservative
SpouseElise Hargreaves (m. 1951–1993, her death)
Alma materManchester University
OccupationMember of Parliament

Clegg contested Ince in 1959 and was elected Member of Parliament for North Fylde in 1966. He became a Lord of the Treasury in 1970 and was successively Vice-Chamberlain of the Household in 1972 and Comptroller of the Household from 1973 to 1974. He was MP for Wyre from 1983 until his retirement in 1987.[1]

Personal life

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Clegg was born on 18 April 1920 in Bury, Lancashire, the son of a weaver.[2]

He was educated at Bury Grammar School, Blackpool's Arnold School and University of Manchester Law School. He became a solicitor in 1947, having qualified by a correspondence course conducted from a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II while serving in the Royal Artillery.[3] He later became a partner in the firm of Ingham, Clegg and Crowther, on North Albert Street in Fleetwood, Lancashire.[3]

In 1951, Clegg began 42 years of marriage to Elise Hargreaves, who was working as a reporter at Blackpool's Evening Gazette. She was assigned to cover the proceedings at the local Magistrate's Court, where her future husband was defending a client.[2]

In 1955 he was elected as a Lancashire County Councillor, serving until 1961.

Clegg was knighted in 1980.

In 1984, the Irish Republican Army bombed Brighton's Grand Hotel. Along with several other people, Clegg, whose bedroom was directly above the explosion,[2] was badly hurt, and spent the majority of his later life in a wheelchair.[4]

Until his wife's death in 1993, they lived together at Beech House on Raikes Road in Thornton, Lancashire.

Death

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Clegg died on 15 April 1994 in Fleetwood,[4] aged 73.

References

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  1. ^ - "Sir Walter Clegg" - Clegg's profile at www.parliament.uk
  2. ^ a b c "Nice to have you back where you belong.." - Blackpool Gazette, 15 April 2013
  3. ^ a b "History and Values" - Inghams Solicitors
  4. ^ a b "Obituary: Sir Walter Clegg" - The Independent, 18 April 1994
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for North Fylde
19661983
Succeeded by
(constituency abolished)
Preceded by
(new constituency)
Member of Parliament for Wyre
19831987
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
1972–1973
Succeeded by
Preceded by Comptroller of the Household
1973–1974
Succeeded by