OLDEST LIVING FORMER MP PUBLISHES BOOK AT 103
Britain’s oldest living former Member of Parliament has published his second book at the age of 103.
Sir Patrick Duffy was Labour MP for Colne Valley, then later Sheffield Attercliffe, and served as a defence minister and later as opposition defence spokesperson.
His second autobiography covers his Parliamentary career and his presidency of the NATO Assembly in the 1980s.
Born in Wigan, Sir Patrick was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and also received a Papal knighthood from Pope John Paul II. He stood down from Parliament in 1992.
His book, From Wigan to Westminster, was launched at the Danum Gallery in Doncaster
Sir Patrick said: “We had to leave Wigan when the pit where my dad worked blew up and all the afternoon shift were wiped out.
"Somehow he survived and we arrived in Rossington in time for the General Strike in 1926, which made a deep impression on me."
He said he had been "strengthened" by the coalfield where his father worked.
“The men were good at parading and singing but it was the women who fought for the cause.
"I was so proud of those Rossington women and I took the same deep pride in the people of Doncaster at the outbreak of World War II.”
Sir Patrick enlisted in the Royal Navy at the start of World War II and became an officer in the Fleet Air Arm.
But while on a flying exercise, he crashed on a Scottish mountain and spent a night in the wreckage until help arrived.
He was given the Last Rites and spent several months on his back in a military hospital but returned to operational flying.
He still receives treatment to his head and facial scars at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.
Sir Patrick was one of the first people to have plastic surgery, still in its infancy, by the pioneering Sir Harold Gillies.
“Sir Harold made a lasting impression on me," Sir Patrick said.
"He patched me up in war time and for many years afterwards he came up north to treat me.”
He won Colne Valley for Labour at a by-election in 1964, but lost the seat at the 1966 General Election.
He returned to the Commons as MP for Sheffield Attercliffe in 1970.
He served as a Minister of the Navy in the 1970s and was president of the NATO Assembly between 1988 and 1990 at a time when the Cold War was coming to an end.
After retiring from Parliament, he spent his 80s walking and undertook several pilgrimages including the famous El Camino Santiago de Compostela, a 35-day walk of 15.5 miles (25km) each day, which he completed annually for six years.
He puts his longevity down to his walking.
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2024-04-17T05:06:37Z dg43tfdfdgfd