(William) Donald Williams (17 October 1919 – 5 January 1990) was a British chartered accountant and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician. Williams went to the Royal Grammar School in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

. Before he could go out to work, the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

led him to join the

Worcester Regiment The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regime ...

. He was taken prisoner at

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

to get back to Britain in March 1945. After the war he qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1949, and in April 1950 became a Partner in Kendall, Wadley and Company, based in

Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is a historic conservation area, which grew dra ...

. At the 1966 general election, he was the

candidate in

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

against

George Wigg George Edward Cecil Wigg, Baron Wigg, PC (28 November 1900 – 11 August 1983) was a British Labour Party politician who only served in relatively junior offices but had a great deal of influence behind the scenes, especially with Harold Wils ...

. When Wigg resigned, Williams was selected to fight the seat in the ensuing byelection. This came at a time when

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 ...

's Labour government was very unpopular and Williams achieved a large swing to win the seat in March 1968. In Parliament, Williams was friendly with neighbouring MP

Enoch Powell John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...

and allied with the right, voting against the Race Relations Bill in 1968 and opposing House of Lords reform. Williams lost his seat at the 1970 general election, with Labour regaining it, although the Conservatives ousted Labour from government at that election. Three years later he was elected to

Hereford and Worcester County Council Hereford and Worcester County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Hereford and Worcester in west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1974 and was abolished on 31 March 1998. The county council was based at Co ...

. He was an unsuccessful Conservative candidate for Dudley East at the 1979 general election. He had left his previous accountancy firms, and became a company director of a food company and an electronic engineering company.

References

*M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981) *Times Guide to the House of Commons 1979

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Donald 1919 births 1990 deaths British escapees British World War II prisoners of war Worcestershire Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1966–1970 People educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester Members of Hereford and Worcester County Council