Walter Dingley

Alderman Walter Leslie Dingley OBE (12 January 1892 – 1980), was an agricultural merchant, analytical chemist and a British Liberal Party politician.

Background He was born in Handsworth, Staffordshire, the son of Alfred Dingley and Maud Mary Jackson. In 1918 he married Norah Catherine Wheeler. They had two sons. In 1954 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's 1954 Birthday Honours for services to Hospital Boards in Birmingham. He died in 1980 at Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.

Professional career He served in World War One with the Cheshire regiment and in the Royal Flying Corps and reached the rank of captain. He was an agricultural merchant and analytical chemist at Stratford-on-Avon.

Political career In 1927 he was elected as a Councillor to Warwickshire County Council. He was selected Liberal candidate for the Warwick and Leamington division of Warwickshire for the 1929 General Election. This was a Unionist seat where the Liberals were usually the main or only challenger. In 1929 Labour decided to contest the seat which probably removed any hope he had of winning;

In 1931, he complained that the local education curriculum was not practical enough and said a knowledge of binding machines would be useful in rural areas. He was selected Liberal candidate for the Hereford division of Herefordshire for the 1935 General Election. The seat had been won by a Liberal in 1929 but re-gained by a Conservative in 1931. Any hope he had of winning was undermined by the intervention of a Labour party candidate; Election box begin | title=General Election 14 November 1935: Hereford In fact, the Liberals had not contested the seat since 1929. A general election was expected to take place in 1939 but was postponed due to the outbreak of war. He served as Chairman of the County Council. In 1944 he noted that the council’s request for policewomen hadn’t been answered. The clerk replied that the chief constable had “done everything he could to find five but had failed”.