Terence George Boston, Baron Boston of Faversham, (21 March 1930 – 23 July 2011) was a British Labour Party politician.

Early life

Boston was born on 21 March 1930, the son of George Boston and his wife Kate Boston (née Bellati). He was educated at

Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys (founded 1912) is a secondary school for boys located in the Thamesmead area of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, England. History The founding of Woolwich Polytechnic Woolwich Polytechnic School for ...

located in the

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. On 4 October 1951, as part of

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

, he was commissioned into 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 ...

as a

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

. He was given the

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 ...

2501206. He then began studying at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

where he joined the

University Air Squadron University Air Squadrons are training units under the command of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF of the Royal Air Force and their main role is to attract students into careers as RAF officers. Primarily its goal is achieved through offering b ...

, and transferred to the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

, on 3 October 1952. He was promoted to flying officer on 6 April 1954. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(LLB) in 1954. He was called to the bar at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1960. He was promoted to

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

on 6 April 1960.

Political career

He was elected as

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 ...

(MP) for

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British t ...

at a by-election on 14 May 1964, following the death of the Labour MP

Percy Wells Percy Lawrence Wells, JP (8 June 1891 – 3 April 1964) was a British trade union official and Labour Party politician. Wells was born in Kent and went to Stone Church of England school in Greenhithe. At the age of 16 he enlisted in the Royal N ...

. He was re-elected at the general election in October 1964 and again in

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 ...

, but was defeated at the 1970 general election by 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 ...

Roger Moate Sir Roger Denis Moate (12 May 1938 – 15 April 2019) was a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom. Biography Moate was educated at Latymer Upper School, Hammersmith and was an insurance broker. He first stood for Parliament for the Fa ...

. Announced in the

1976 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours The 1976 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were announced on 27 May 1976 to mark the resignation of the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. The list of resignation honours became known satirically as the "Lavender List". Controversy The list cau ...

, Boston 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 Boston of Faversham, ''of

in the

County of Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

'' on 1 July 1976. He served as a deputy speaker of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

1991–2008 and twice served as Chairman of Committees, 1994–1997 and 1997–2000.

Personal life

In 1963, Boston married Margaret Head. They did not have any children. He was a patron of the

African Prisons Project Justice Defenders (formerly African Prisons Project, or APP) is a registered UK charity and U.S. nonprofit working in prison communities across Africa. Through legal education, training, and practice, Justice Defenders equips prisoners and prison o ...

, an international

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

with a mission improve the welfare of prisoners through education, health and justice. From 1980 to 1990, Boston was chairman of TVS, the ITV franchise holder for South and South-East England from 1982 until 1992.

Arms

References

Sources

External links

* 1930 births 2011 deaths Alumni of King's College London British barristers English King's Counsel Boston of Faversham Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies 20th-century King's Counsel UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs who were granted peerages Royal Air Force officers 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{Life-peer-stub