Jack Ashley, Baron Ashley of Stoke (6 December 1922 – 20 April 2012) was a British politician. He was a Labour Member of Parliament in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

for Stoke-on-Trent South for 26 years, from 1966 to 1992, and subsequently sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He was a long-term campaigner for disabled people.

Early life and education

John Ashley was born in

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, on 6 December 1922. He left school at 14 to work in the chemical process industry. He became a crane driver and was a

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a trades/labour union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the un ...

in the Chemical Workers' Union, a union of which he was the youngest executive member aged 22. He served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and then won a scholarship to study at

Ruskin College, Oxford Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is a higher education institution and part of the University of West London, in Oxford, England. It is not a college of Oxford University. Named after the essayist, art and social cr ...

, where he received a Diploma in Economics and Political Science in 1948. He continued his studies at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

, where he was President of the

Cambridge Union Society The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic Debate, debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the ...

in 1951. He worked as a research worker for the

National Union of General and Municipal Workers The GMB is a general union, general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 560,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National He ...

and then worked as a radio producer for the North American Service and

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

. In 1956 he joined the BBC television service and worked as a producer on ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

'' and ''

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

''.

Member of Parliament

He served on

Borough Council as a councillor from 1946. At the 1951 general election, Ashley contested

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

without success. He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stoke-on-Trent South at the 1966 general election. In December 1967, at the age of 45, as a result of complications of a routine ear operation to correct a mild hearing loss caused by a

perforated eardrum A perforated eardrum (tympanic membrane perforation) is a prick in the eardrum. It can be caused by infection ( otitis media), trauma, overpressure (loud noise), inappropriate ear clearing, and changes in middle ear pressure. An otoscope can be ...

early in his working career, he became profoundly deaf. He described the event as "rather like being struck by lightning". He initially thought that he should resign his seat, but instead undertook a course in

lip-reading Lip reading, also known as speechreading, is a technique of understanding a limited range of speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue without sound. Estimates of the range of lip reading vary, with some figures as ...

. He returned to the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's first totally deaf MP, reportedly a world first for an elected assembly.Obituary at bbc.co.uk
/ref> Later, he used a palantype transcription system developed by Alan Newell, Andrew Downton and others at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

– this allowed a palantype secretary seated in the public gallery to type what was being said in real time and Ashley could read the transcribed English text from a discreetly-placed monitor at his seat. The first known use of the term "

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

" in a modern context, meaning violence in the home, was by Ashley in an address to Parliament in 1973 in which he noted the pioneering work of campaigner

Erin Pizzey Erin Patria Margaret Pizzey (; born 19 February 1939) is a British men's rights activist and novelist known for her advocacy on behalf of both men's and women's rights and for her work against domestic violence. She is recognized for founding ...

, founder of the first domestic violence shelter. The term previously referred primarily to

civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, civil strife, or turmoil, are situations when law enforcement and security forces struggle to maintain public order or tranquility. Causes Any number of things may cause civil di ...

, violence from within a country as opposed to violence perpetrated by a foreign power.

Disability campaigner

He became a tireless campaigner for disabled people, especially those who were deaf or blind, and won broad cross-party sympathy, support and respect in parliament for his approach. In 1972, he sponsored the pivotal motion in the House of Commons making a distinction between legal and moral obligation. The success of this enabled ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' to continue its moral campaign for improved compensation for children disabled by

thalidomide Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is an oral administered medication used to treat a number of cancers (e.g., multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and many skin disorders (e.g., complication ...

even while the parents' legal case was still technically in the courts. His Labour colleague

Alf Morris Alfred Morris, Baron Morris of Manchester, (23 March 1928 – 12 August 2012) was a British Labour Co-operative politician and disability rights campaigner. Political career Morris served as Member of Parliament for Manchester Wythenshawe ...

(later Lord Morris of Manchester) was also a supporter. The editor of ''The Sunday Times'',

Harold Evans Sir Harold Matthew Evans (28 June 192823 September 2020) was a British-American journalist and writer. In his career in his native Britain, he was editor of ''The Sunday Times'' from 1967 to 1981, and its sister title ''The Times'' for a year f ...

, later wrote in ''Good Times, Bad Times'' how Ashley selflessly gave up writing his autobiography so as to concentrate on the

campaign. He also campaigned for compensation for

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...

damage and for damage caused by the

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

drug

Opren Benoxaprofen, also known as benoxaphen, is a chemical compound with the formula C16H12ClNO3. It is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) of the profen (drug class), arylpropionic acid class, and was marketed under the brand name Opren i ...

. He became a

Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire. The orde ...

in the

1975 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1975 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1975 to celebr ...

, and joined the Privy Council in 1979. He also received a Doctor of Humane Letters from the

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school ...

, the world's only university for the deaf, in 1975 for his efforts on behalf of deaf and hard-of-hearing persons. Ashley's ability to follow the proceedings of the House of Commons helped inspire the development of live captioning on television to benefit the deaf and hard-of-hearing. He had the ability to read the output from the

stenograph A steno machine, stenotype machine, shorthand machine, stenograph or steno writer is a specialized chorded keyboard or typewriter used by stenographers for shorthand use. In order to pass the United States Registered Professional Reporter test, ...

ers who were reporting the debates. When Ashley visited the BBC's

Ceefax Ceefax () was the world's first teletext information service and a forerunner to the current BBC Red Button service. Ceefax was started by the BBC in 1974 and ended, after 38 years of broadcasting, at 23:32:19 BST (11:32 PM BST) on 23 October ...

department around 1975, this ability gave one of the staff the idea of commissioning a

Southampton University The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities in the United K ...

doctoral student to develop a computer programme that would convert stenographic output to normal printed text as subtitles to television programmes. Later, Ashley also used the technique to follow parliamentary debates on a small monitor . Ashley received an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

in 1979. In 1986, Ashley and his wife founded the charity Defeating Deafness, now known as

Deafness Research UK Deafness Research UK (The Hearing Research Trust) was one of the leading national British medical research charity working in the field of deafness. Its main activities are medical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also k ...

. He retired from the House of Commons at the 1992 general election and 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Ashley of Stoke, ''of

in the County of Cheshire'' on 10 July 1992. He received a

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted Neuroprosthetics, neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for imp ...

in 1993 which restored much of his hearing. In 1996, he founded the Graham Fraser foundation in memory of

Graham Fraser Graham Fraser (born 1946) is a Canadian former journalist and writer who served as Canada's sixth Commissioner of Official Languages. He is the author of several books, both in English and French. Early life and education Fraser is the son o ...

, the procedure's pioneer in the United Kingdom, in order to fund hearing loss research. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in October 1974 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...

while playing badminton in the back garden of his home in Epsom.

Personal life

Ashley married Pauline Kay Crispin (1932–2003) in 1951; she died aged 70 in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. They had three daughters, including journalist Jackie Ashley. His son-in-law was television presenter

Andrew Marr Andrew William Stevenson Marr (born 31 July 1959) is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and presenter. Beginning his career as a political commentator at ''The Scotsman,'' he subsequently edited ''The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to ...

through Marr's marriage to Jackie."First deaf MP Lord Ashley dies"
''Belfast Telegraph'', 21 April 2012 Ashley contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, and died at

Epsom Hospital Epsom Hospital is a teaching hospital in Epsom, Surrey, England. The hospital is situated on Dorking Road south east of the centre of Epsom. It is managed by the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust along with the nearby St Helier ...

in Surrey on 20 April 2012, at the age of 89."Obituary: Lord Ashley"
BBC News, 21 April 2012

Notes

References

External links

*
Obituary at bbc.co.ukBiography
from

*
Short biography
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley, Jack 1922 births 2012 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Alumni of Ruskin College BBC television producers British Army personnel of World War II Councillors in Cheshire Deaf politicians Deaf royalty and nobility British royalty and nobility with disabilities British deaf people GMB (trade union)-sponsored MPs Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Ashley of Stoke Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People from Widnes British politicians with disabilities Presidents of the Cambridge Union UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 Deaths from pneumonia in the United Kingdom English deaf people British Army soldiers Military personnel from Cheshire Life peers created by Elizabeth II