Stanley Rundle

Anthony Stanley Richard Rundle OBE (September 1913 – 17 September 1978) was a British politician and philologist.

Rundle was born in Wales, and grew up bilingual in Welsh and English. He was educated at the Northampton School for Boys, the Northampton Institute, the University of Milan and the University of London. He claimed that, while in Milan, he had played the violin in an orchestra at La Scala. he personally claimed to have a working knowledge of thirty-three, although this was on the basis of an approach he promoted, regarding European languages as dialects of English and learning just one hundred facts of each.

Rundle published Language as a Social and Political Factor in 1946. In 1948, he wrote to the Cambridge University Press to suggest that it update its Italian dictionary; the press took the project on, and Rundle assisted with the compilation of the new Cambridge Italian Dictionary.

Rundle joined the Liberal Party and was elected to the council of the Municipal Borough of Richmond. In 1964, this was replaced by Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council, and the party was wiped out. Rundle instead stood as the Liberal candidate for Kingston-upon-Thames at the 1964 United Kingdom general election, taking third place with 17.3% of the vote. At the 1966 United Kingdom general election, he was chosen as the candidate for Ipswich. A replacement for the popular Manuela Sykes only three weeks before the election; as expected, the Liberal vote fell.

Rundle targeted the Kew ward on Richmond Council from 1963, distributing the monthly Kew Comment bulletin. When a by-election occurred in 1966, he won the Liberal's first seat on the council.

At the 1970 United Kingdom general election, Rundle stood in Richmond, taking third place, with 17.0% of the votes cast. He stood in the Richmond seat at the 1973 Greater London Council election and won, forming a new Liberal group on the council with Ruth Shaw. He stated that he believed he would win the Westminster seat in the forthcoming general election, but ultimately came a close second, on 35.6%. Following the election, he became seriously ill, and did not stand in the October 1974 general election. Although never successful on the national stage, he led a revival of the Liberals on Richmond Council; by 1978, they held eighteen seats.

He was appointed OBE in the 1978 New Year Honours.

Rundle visited China, meeting some political leaders, aiming to advance the cause of peace. Early in 1978, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for this work.

Parents. Arthur Stanley Rundle, Ellen Rundle Siblings. Dora Rose Ellen Rundle, m. Hall Adrian, Barbara, Conrad, David, Edmund