Martin Attlee, 2nd Earl Attlee

The Right Honourable The Earl Attlee

Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 8 October 1967 – 27 July 1991 Hereditary Peerage
Preceded by	The 1st Earl Attlee
Succeeded by	The 3rd Earl Attlee

Personal details
Born	(1927-08-10)10 August 1927 West Ham, Essex, England
Died	27 July 1991(1991-07-27) (aged 63) Southampton, Hampshire, England
Political party	Anne Henderson (m. 1955; div. 1988) Margaret Gouriet (m. 1988)
Children	2
Parents	Clement Attlee (father) Violet Millar (mother)
Alma mater	University College, Southampton

Martin Richard Attlee, 2nd Earl Attlee (10 August 1927 – 27 July 1991) was a British politician and a founding member of the Social Democratic Party.^[1] He was the only son of former British Prime Minister Clement Attlee.

Early life

Attlee suffered badly from dyslexia, and was a poor student as a child. His father chose to tackle this issue by having his son educated at Millfield School, which under its founding headmaster, the educationalist Jack Meyer, was noted for its progressive approach to reading problems.^[2]^[3] Attlee did well enough to study at the School of Navigation at University College, Southampton (now the University of Southampton), and served from 1945 to 1950 in the Merchant Navy. After a spell working for Iberian Airways, among other companies, he eventually joined British Rail's Southern Region, working for a long time in its public relations department; it was this experience that prompted him to write his book Bluff Your Way in PR (1971).

Parliamentary career

Attlee inherited the earldom,^[4] which carried with it a seat in the House of Lords, on his father's death in 1967. For some fourteen years he sat on the Labour Party benches, as his father had done, but in 1981 he joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP).^[5] After the SDP opted for merger with the Liberal Party, Attlee was one of the minority who chose to remain in the 'continuing' SDP led by David Owen, standing for that party in the Hampshire Central European Parliament by-election in December 1988, where he received 5,952 votes (7.7%). At the time, he commented that "Some people say that my father must be turning in his grave. But if so, it would only be because of the sight of the present so-called Labour Party."^[6]

Personal life

Attlee married Anne Henderson on 16 February 1955.^[4] They had a son and a daughter before divorcing in 1988.^[1] Attlee married Margaret Gouriet the same year.^[7]

Death

Attlee died at Southampton General Hospital on 27 July 1991 at the age of 63 following a stroke.^[1] His peerage was inherited by his son John, who takes the Conservative whip.

Arms

Coat of arms of Martin Attlee, 2nd Earl Attlee
	Coronet A Coronet of an Earl Crest On a Mount Vert two Lions addorsed Or Escutcheon Argent on a Chevron Or between three Hearts of the Last winged Argent as many Lions rampant Sable Supporters On either side a Welsh Terrier sejant Proper Motto Labor vincit omnia (Labour conquers all)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Earl Attlee, 63, Dies; Founded British Party". The New York Times. Associated Press. 28 July 1991. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
^ Francis Beckett, Clem Attlee: Labour's Great Reformer (London: Haus Publishing, 2015), p. 126.
^ "Our History". Millfield School. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b Martin Richard Attlee, 2nd Earl Attlee at thepeerage.com.
^ "Attlee". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 2018 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ 'Earl Attlee obituary', Times, 29 July 1991, p. 16.
^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 12 September 2020.