Roland Boyes

Roland Boyes MP (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.

Early years

Boyes was born in Holmfirth, Yorkshire, the son of a lorry driver, and educated at Wooldale Infant and Junior School. A bout of spinal meningitis caused him to miss the 11-plus and he attended a year at a secondary modern school before moving to Penistone Grammar School. He attended the University of Leicester to study chemistry, but left after one year.

Teaching and marriage

He then attended Coventry Teachers Training College, where he met his future wife, and taught mathematics in secondary schools for 13 years. Meanwhile, he took a part-time Master's degree in Economics at the University of Bradford, and married Patricia James (with whom he had two sons) in 1962. He was assistant director of social services 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 for Durham from 1979 to 1984. In the 1983 general election, he was sponsored by the General, Municipal and Boilermakers' Union, and succeeded Houghton-le-Spring MP Tom Urwin as Member of Parliament for the new Houghton and Washington constituency. An outspoken left-winger, he was a member of CND and supported the protestors against cruise missiles at Greenham Common. He died in 2006 in Peterlee, County Durham, aged 69.