Jack Ainslie
Encyclopedia
John Bernard Ainslie OBE
(2 August 1921 – 5 January 2007), known as Jack Ainslie, was a Wiltshire
farmer and Liberal
politician, Chairman of Wiltshire County Council from 1986 to 1990.
, Middlesex
, on 2 August 1921, the son of Charles Bernard Ainslie MC
(1879–1937) and his wife Eileen Holloway (d. 1962), Ainslie was educated at Harrow
and Trinity College, Oxford
, where he matriculated in 1947. His arrival at Oxford was delayed by his service in the British Army
during the Second World War, and he was commissioned into the Royal Berkshire Regiment
as a second lieutenant
on 9 July 1942.
Ainslie's father was one of the ten children of William George Ainslie
MP
JP
(1832–1893), himself one of the five children of Montague Ainslie JP DL
(1792–1884), of Bengal
in India
and of Grizedale
, Lancashire
. William George Ainslie had been member of parliament
(Conservative
) for North Lonsdale
in Lancashire
from 1885 to 1892.
Ainslie's main career was as an arable
, dairy
and sheep
farmer at Home Farm, Mildenhall
, Wiltshire. In politics he was a socialist when he left school, and commented in 1985 "I voted Labour in 1945 and got disillusioned with the party by the end of the 1940s". In the 1950s he became a radical
Liberal
of the age inspired by Jo Grimond, and he was passionate about European unity, state education, and world development.
In 1962, with the support of others, Ainslie re-formed the moribund Devizes Constituency
Liberal Association and established the Thrifty Orange, in Marlborough, an early charity shop
, to raise funds for it.
In 1964, he was first elected to Wiltshire County Council
, and he continued to represent his rural area at that level for nearly thirty years, until 1993. Although during those years the county was predominantly Conservative
, while Ainslie was an outspoken Liberal, he served as chairman of the county's Education Committee from 1973 until 1977.
He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in Devizes at the 1974
and 1979
, and when in 1982 the SDP-Liberal Alliance
agreed a division of UK constituencies between its two parties, it was a blow that he had to surrender Devizes to the SDP
. Ainslie was a member of the local Alliance negotiating committee for Gloucestershire
and Wiltshire, and he gave up his own position in Devizes to allow a younger Liberal to contest Stroud
. However, he remained a strong supporter of the Alliance and later of the new Liberal Democrat Party.
In 1979, he contested the first direct elections to the European Parliament
as a Liberal and in 1984 fought a strong SDP-Liberal Alliance
campaign for the Wiltshire Euro-constituency
, gaining over 60,000 votes. This campaign helped the Alliance to succeed at the county elections of 1985, when its members found themselves forming the largest group and Ainslie became Chairman of the County Council, a post he held until 1989. During the same period, he was simultaneously chairman of the county council's Policy (later Policy and Resources) Committee, which made him the de facto Leader of the council, as well.
In 1990, Ainslie became the chairman of 'Action for the River Kennet
' (ARK), a group which campaigned against pollution
and excessive water abstraction.
After he died at Mildenhall
on 5 January 2007, Sara Morrison, a former vice-chairman of the Conservative Party
, said that it was "the end of an era... when we took our public duties and responsibilities very seriously", and the Labour
peer
Lord Faulkner of Worcester described him as "...a representative of the old school of parliamentary candidates in country areas; urbane, intelligent, knowledgeable on rural matters, a gentleman". Roger de Vere, Ainslie's successor as chairman of ARK, said "He was a great leader and a great man."
In June 2007, former Liberal Democrat party leader Charles Kennedy
MP
proposed the establishment of an annual countryside lecture as part of Ainslie's legacy.
Their son, Andrew Ainslie, took over the family farm.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(2 August 1921 – 5 January 2007), known as Jack Ainslie, was a Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
farmer and Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician, Chairman of Wiltshire County Council from 1986 to 1990.
Early life
Born at StanmoreStanmore
Stanmore is a suburban area of the London Borough of Harrow, in northwest London. It is situated northwest of Charing Cross. The area is home to Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, high.-Toponymy:...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, on 2 August 1921, the son of Charles Bernard Ainslie MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(1879–1937) and his wife Eileen Holloway (d. 1962), Ainslie was educated at Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, where he matriculated in 1947. His arrival at Oxford was delayed by his service in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
during the Second World War, and he was commissioned into the Royal Berkshire Regiment
Royal Berkshire Regiment
The Royal Berkshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 49th Regiment of Foot and the 66th Regiment of Foot.The regiment was originally formed as The Princess Charlotte of Wales's , taking the...
as a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
on 9 July 1942.
Ainslie's father was one of the ten children of William George Ainslie
William George Ainslie
William George Ainslie MP JP was a British Conservative politician, magistrate, ironmaster and stockbroker.-Early life:...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
(1832–1893), himself one of the five children of Montague Ainslie JP DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(1792–1884), of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and of Grizedale
Grizedale
Grizedale is a hamlet in the Lake District of England, in the middle of the Grizedale Forest, located north of Satterthwaite and south of Hawkshead...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. William George Ainslie had been member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
) for North Lonsdale
North Lonsdale (UK Parliament constituency)
North Lonsdale was a parliamentary constituency in north Lancashire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
from 1885 to 1892.
Career
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
, dairy
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
and sheep
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
farmer at Home Farm, Mildenhall
Mildenhall, Wiltshire
Mildenhall is a village and civil parish in the Kennet Valley in Wiltshire about east of the market town of Marlborough.-History:The toponym is derived from the Old English but the site has been occupied since the Roman occupation of Britain, when the fortress town of Cunetio stood at an...
, Wiltshire. In politics he was a socialist when he left school, and commented in 1985 "I voted Labour in 1945 and got disillusioned with the party by the end of the 1940s". In the 1950s he became a radical
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
of the age inspired by Jo Grimond, and he was passionate about European unity, state education, and world development.
In 1962, with the support of others, Ainslie re-formed the moribund Devizes Constituency
Devizes (UK Parliament constituency)
Devizes is a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire, England, which is now represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 in the House of Commons of England....
Liberal Association and established the Thrifty Orange, in Marlborough, an early charity shop
Charity shop
A charity shop, thrift shop, thrift store, hospice shop , resale shop or op shop is a retail establishment run by a charitable organization to raise money.Charity shops are a type of social enterprise...
, to raise funds for it.
In 1964, he was first elected to Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county....
, and he continued to represent his rural area at that level for nearly thirty years, until 1993. Although during those years the county was predominantly Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, while Ainslie was an outspoken Liberal, he served as chairman of the county's Education Committee from 1973 until 1977.
He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in Devizes at the 1974
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
and 1979
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
, and when in 1982 the SDP-Liberal Alliance
SDP-Liberal Alliance
The SDP–Liberal Alliance was an electoral pact formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom which was in existence from 1981 to 1988, when the bulk of the two parties merged to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, later referred to as simply the Liberal...
agreed a division of UK constituencies between its two parties, it was a blow that he had to surrender Devizes to the SDP
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
. Ainslie was a member of the local Alliance negotiating committee for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
and Wiltshire, and he gave up his own position in Devizes to allow a younger Liberal to contest Stroud
Stroud (UK Parliament constituency)
Stroud is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
. However, he remained a strong supporter of the Alliance and later of the new Liberal Democrat Party.
In 1979, he contested the first direct elections to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
as a Liberal and in 1984 fought a strong SDP-Liberal Alliance
SDP-Liberal Alliance
The SDP–Liberal Alliance was an electoral pact formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom which was in existence from 1981 to 1988, when the bulk of the two parties merged to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, later referred to as simply the Liberal...
campaign for the Wiltshire Euro-constituency
Wiltshire (European Parliament constituency)
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales. The European Parliament constituencies used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had...
, gaining over 60,000 votes. This campaign helped the Alliance to succeed at the county elections of 1985, when its members found themselves forming the largest group and Ainslie became Chairman of the County Council, a post he held until 1989. During the same period, he was simultaneously chairman of the county council's Policy (later Policy and Resources) Committee, which made him the de facto Leader of the council, as well.
In 1990, Ainslie became the chairman of 'Action for the River Kennet
River Kennet
The Kennet is a river in the south of England, and a tributary of the River Thames. The lower reaches of the river are navigable to river craft and are known as the Kennet Navigation, which, together with the Avon Navigation, the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Thames, links the cities of Bristol...
' (ARK), a group which campaigned against pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
and excessive water abstraction.
After he died at Mildenhall
Mildenhall, Wiltshire
Mildenhall is a village and civil parish in the Kennet Valley in Wiltshire about east of the market town of Marlborough.-History:The toponym is derived from the Old English but the site has been occupied since the Roman occupation of Britain, when the fortress town of Cunetio stood at an...
on 5 January 2007, Sara Morrison, a former vice-chairman of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, said that it was "the end of an era... when we took our public duties and responsibilities very seriously", and the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
peer
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
Lord Faulkner of Worcester described him as "...a representative of the old school of parliamentary candidates in country areas; urbane, intelligent, knowledgeable on rural matters, a gentleman". Roger de Vere, Ainslie's successor as chairman of ARK, said "He was a great leader and a great man."
In June 2007, former Liberal Democrat party leader Charles Kennedy
Charles Kennedy
Charles Peter Kennedy is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who led the Liberal Democrats from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006 and is currently a Member of Parliament for the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency....
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
proposed the establishment of an annual countryside lecture as part of Ainslie's legacy.
Family
On 21 April 1951, Ainslie married Shelagh Lilian Forbes, and they had one son and three daughters. Their children were Andrew John, Sarah, Serena and Teresa.Their son, Andrew Ainslie, took over the family farm.