Roland Boyes (12 February 1937 – 16 June 2006) was a British Labour Party politician, amateur photographer and, in retirement, a fundraiser for research into

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

Early years

Boyes was born in

Holmfirth Holmfirth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, on the A635 and A6024 in the Holme Valley, at the confluence of the River Holme and Ribble, south of Huddersfield and west of Barnsley. It mostly consist ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, the son of a lorry driver, and educated at Wooldale Infant and Junior School. A bout of spinal

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

caused him to miss the

11-plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a Test (assessment), standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools ...

and he attended a year at a

secondary modern school A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usually ...

before moving to

Penistone Grammar School Penistone Grammar School (PGS) is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Penistone, South Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1392, it is the 45th oldest extant school in England with its most notable alumnus being Nicholas ...

. He attended the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

to study

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

, but left after one year.

Teaching and marriage

He then attended Coventry Teachers Training College, where he met his future wife, and taught

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

s for 13 years. Meanwhile, he took a part-time

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

at the University of Bradford, and married Patricia James (with whom he had two sons) in 1962. He was assistant director of

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

at Durham County Council from 1975 to 1979.

Political life

Boyes began his political career by joining the Labour Party at age 20. He served as a local councillor on Easington District Council from 1973 and then Peterlee Town Council. He was elected as

MEP MEP may refer to: Organisations and politics * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a political party in Sri Lanka * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), a former political alliance in Sri Lanka * Maison européenne de la photographie, a photography centre ...

for Durham from 1979 to 1984. In the 1983 general election, he was sponsored by the

General, Municipal and Boilermakers' Union The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 460,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National Health Service (N ...

, and succeeded

Houghton-le-Spring Houghton-le-Spring ( ) is a town in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, North East England which has its recorded origins in Norman times. Historically in County Durham, it is now administered as part of the Tyne and Wear county. It is s ...

MP Tom Urwin as Member of Parliament for the new Houghton and Washington constituency. An outspoken left-winger, he was a member of

CND The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucle ...

and supported the protestors against

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...

s at Greenham Common. In Parliament, he joined the Tribune group and the Campaign group, and was noted for loud interjections in a broad Yorkshire accent from his seat. Nevertheless, he soon became a frontbench spokesman under Neil Kinnock, on environment from 1985 to 1988 and on defence from 1988 to 1992. He lost his front-bench position when

John Smith John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...

became leader of the Labour Party, but then served on

Select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues *Select or special committee (United States Congress) *Select ...

s, on Environment from 1992 to 1994 and on National Heritage from 1994 to 1997. A keen photographer, he produced a book in 1990, ''People in Parliament'', containing black-and-white photographs of MPs. He was also a member of the board of directors at Hartlepool United.

Alzheimer's Research Trust

Following a rapid deterioration in his mental abilities from 1993, Boyes was diagnosed with

in 1995 (in which year he turned only 58), and subsequently retired at the 1997 general election, reportedly never knowing that Labour won the election. He set up the Alzheimer's Research Trust to raise funding for research into Alzheimer's. The Trust raised much of the funding for a suite at Newcastle General Hospital that opened in 2001 and was named in his honour. He died in 2006 in Peterlee, County Durham, aged 69.

References

Obituary
'' The Independent'', 21 June 2006
Obituary
'' The Times'', 22 June 2006
Obituary
'' The Daily Telegraph'', 23 June 2006
Obituary
'' The Guardian'', 27 June 2006

External links

*
Alzheimer's Research Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyes, Roland 1937 births 2006 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Deaths from dementia in England Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 People from Holmfirth People from Peterlee Alumni of the University of Leicester Alumni of the University of Bradford Councillors in County Durham Labour Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1979–1984 People educated at Penistone Grammar School