David Hedley Ennals, Baron Ennals, (19 August 1922 – 17 June 1995) was a
British Labour Party
The Labour Party is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of Social democracy, social democrats, Democratic socialism, democratic socialists and trade u ...
politician and campaigner for human rights. He served as
Secretary of State for Social Services The Secretary of State for Health and Social Services was a position in the UK cabinet, created on 1 November 1968 with responsibility for the Department of Health and Social Security. It continued until 25 July 1988 when Department of Health and th ...
from 1976 to 1979.
Early life and military career
Born in 1922 in
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
, Staffordshire to Arthur Ford Ennals and his wife Jessie Edith Taylor, Ennals was educated at
Queen Mary's Grammar School
Queen Mary's Grammar School (QMGS) is a boys' grammar school with academy status located on Sutton Road, Walsall, England, about a mile from the town centre and one of the oldest schools in the country.
The sixth form is coeducational.
Admiss ...
,
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
Windsor, Connecticut
Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population of Windsor was 29,492 at the 2020 census.
Po ...
on a one-year student exchange scholarship. In 1939 he was a reporter on the ''
Walsall Observer
The ''Walsall Observer'' was a weekly newspaper, published in Walsall in the West Midlands of England from 1868 to 2009.
History
Founded October 24, 1868 by brothers John and William Griffin as ''The Walsall Observer, and General District Adver ...
''.
In
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...
on his nineteenth birthday, 19 August 1941, he enlisted in the
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...
(RASC) and joined 9th Training Battalion (Drivers) at
Alfreton
Alfreton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton parish was 7,971 at the 2011 Census. The villages of Ir ...
. Selected for officer training, he was posted to 162 Officer Cadet Training Unit at
Lanark
Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...
in March 1942.
He was commissioned into the
Reconnaissance Corps
The Reconnaissance Corps, or simply Recce Corps, was a corps of the British Army, formed during the Second World War whose units provided reconnaissance for infantry divisions. It was formed from infantry brigade reconnaissance groups on 14 Janu ...
service number
A service number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they may be used in civilian organizations as well. National identification numbers may ...
was 245228. Landing in Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944, Lieutenant Ennals commanded a Contact Detachment providing wireless links between units. On the night of 28/29 June 1944 he went on a night patrol with 1st Battalion
Royal Norfolk Regiment
The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...
who were holding the position to the right of 3 Recce to the north of
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,fracture of his right humerus. He was transferred to a UK hospital on the 14 August and classed as unfit for duty until he was invalided out with the rank of Lieutenant in 1947.
Political career
Ennals stood unsuccessfully as a
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
. He later joined the Labour Party and served as secretary to the international department at the Labour Party's head office.
In
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
he was elected as the Member of Parliament for
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is ...
before being appointed as a Minister of State for Social Services in 1968. He lost his government post and his seat following Labour's defeat in the 1970 general election. However, in Wilson's Resignation Honours, he was sworn of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
Secretary of State for Social Services The Secretary of State for Health and Social Services was a position in the UK cabinet, created on 1 November 1968 with responsibility for the Department of Health and Social Security. It continued until 25 July 1988 when Department of Health and th ...
, which he held until Labour lost power in
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
Black Report The Black Report was a 1980 document published by the Department of Health and Social Security (now the Department of Health and Social Care) in the United Kingdom, which was the report of the expert committee into health inequality chaired by S ...
(published in 1980) into health inequality. After losing his seat in the general election of 1983, he was created a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
, as Baron Ennals, of Norwich in the County of Norfolk.
Other work
Following his exit from parliament in 1970, Ennals became Campaign Director for the
National Association for Mental Health
Mind is a mental health charity in England and Wales. Founded in 1946 as the National Association for Mental Health (NAMH), it celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2016.
Mind offers information and advice to people with mental health problems an ...
(MIND), which he served as until 1973. He became chairman in 1984, and served as President from 1989 to 1995.
After serving as secretary to the
United Nations Association
A United Nations Association (UNA) is a non-governmental organization that exist in various countries to enhance the relationship between the people of member states and the United Nations to raise public awareness of the UN and its work, to promot ...
from 1952 to 1957, he became chairman in 1984, as well as Chairman of the
Gandhi Foundation
The Gandhi Foundation is a United Kingdom-based voluntary organisation which seeks to further the work of Mahatma Gandhi through a variety of educational events and activities.
Aims and activities
As part of its mission, the Gandhi Foundation ...
, which he held until 1995. Ennals also served as Chairman of the
Anti-Apartheid Movement
The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by the policie ...
, from 1960 to 1964, a position that would also be held by his brother John from 1968 to 1976. However, he later came under criticism from the Movement for his involvement in passing the
Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968
The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 (c. 9) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Act
The Act amended the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, further reducing rights of citizens of the Commonwealth of Nations countries (as of 2 ...
.
In 1987 Lord Ennals went on a parliamentary fact-finding mission to
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and on his return to the UK he became a tireless campaigner for Tibetan independence and a personal friend of the
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...
. He joined the Tibet Society of the UK, Tibet Society of the UK the first Tibet support group in the world, established in 1959, and became its chairman for a number of years. He campaigned energetically and enthusiastically with it and various other UK and international Tibet support groups until his death in 1995.
Personal life
Ennals married Eleanor Maud Caddick (born 1924/1925) on 10 June 1950, and they had four children before they divorced in 1977. Later that year he married Katherine Gene Tranoy (born 1926/1927).
Ennals had an older brother, John and a younger brother Martin.
Martin Ennals
Martin Ennals (27 July 19275 October 1991) was a British human rights activist.
Ennals served as the secretary-general of Amnesty International from 1968 to 1980. He went on to help found the British human rights organisation ARTICLE 19 in 198 ...
, was a human rights activist and Secretary-General of
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
National Children's Bureau
The National Children’s Bureau works collaboratively across the issues affecting children to influence policy and get services working together to deliver a better childhood.
Established in 1963, they have been at the forefront of campaigning f ...
.
He died in 1995 of
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
at his home in
Belsize Park
Belsize Park is an affluent residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden (the inner north-west of London), England.
The residential streets are lined with mews houses and Georgian and Victorian villas. Some nearby localities ar ...