Russell Whiston Kerr (1 February 1921 – 15 November 1983), was an Australian-born British Labour Party politician.

Early life

Kerr was born in Sydney, and was educated at the

Shore School , motto_translation = , established = , type = Independent school, Independent Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary sc ...

, the Sydney

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Grammar School, and

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

. He served with the

Pathfinder Force The Pathfinders were target-marking squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing. The Pathfinders were norma ...

of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during

World War II 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 ...

, and moved to England in 1948. He became a director of the

Town and Country Planning Association The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is an independent research and campaigning charity founded and based in the United Kingdom. It works to enable homes, places and communities in which everyone can thrive. Through its research, tr ...

and an air charter executive. In 1950, he became a member of the British Labour Party, having previously been a member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

from 1938. He was a national executive member of the

Association of Supervisory Staff, Executives and Technicians The Association of Supervisory Staffs, Executives and Technicians (ASSET), was a British trade union, chiefly representing supervisors in the metal working and transport industries. It was formed from the National Foremen's Association, found ...

from 1964.

Parliamentary career

Kerr contested

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

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 ...

, Merton and Morden in

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

and Preston North 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

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Feltham Feltham () is a town in West London, England, from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party MPs ...

from

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

to 1974, and for

Feltham and Heston Feltham and Heston is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency created in 1974 represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Its MP si ...

from

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

. He lost his seat in that year's landslide defeat for Labour, to the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Patrick Ground. He was a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...

and was named chairman of the

Tribune Group ''Tribune'' is a democratic socialist political magazine founded in 1937 and published in London, initially as a newspaper, then converting to a magazine in 2001. While it is independent, it has usually supported the Labour Party from the left. ...

in 1969.

Personal life and death

In 1946, Kerr married Shirley Huie in Australia; they had two children and later divorced. He was married to Anne Kerr from 1960 to her death 1973. She was a Labour MP

Rochester and Chatham Rochester and Chatham was a parliamentary constituency in Kent which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election. It larg ...

from 1964 to 1970. On 15 November 1983, after a period of declining health, Kerr died in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

, at the wheel of his car. He was 62.

External links

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', 1966 & 1983 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Russell 1921 births 1983 deaths Australian emigrants to England Australian expatriates in England English socialists English trade unionists European democratic socialists Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Politicians from Sydney Royal Air Force personnel of World War II UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 University of Sydney alumni