Geoffrey Bing
Geoffrey Bing | |
---|---|
2nd Attorney General of Ghana | |
In office 1957–1961 | |
Prime Minister | Kwame Nkrumah (president from 1960 onwards) |
Preceded by | G. M. Paterson |
Succeeded by | George Mills-Odoi |
Member of Parliament for Hornchurch | |
In office 5 July 1945 – 26 May 1955 | |
Preceded by | New constituency |
Succeeded by | Godfrey Lagden |
Personal details | |
Born | Geoffrey Henry Cecil Bing 24 July 1909 Craigavad, County Down, Ireland |
Died | 24 April 1977 St Pancras, London, England | (aged 67)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Labour |
Spouses | |
Children | 3, including Inigo Bing |
Alma mater | Lincoln College, Oxford Princeton University |
Geoffrey Henry Cecil Bing
.Education and career
Born at
Always a
During World War II, he served in the Royal Signals, attaining the rank of major. A 1943 experiment with parachutes at the GSO2 Airborne Forces Development Centre left him disfigured and he bore the scars for many years.
At the 1945 general election, Bing stood for Labour in Hornchurch, winning the seat.[5] He was re-elected in 1950 and 1951, serving until 1955.[6][7] He served briefly as a junior whip in 1945-46 but this was widely thought to have been the unintended result of confusion on the part of Clement Attlee, who confused him for another Labour MP of a similar name[who?].[7]
Backbencher
On the backbenches, Bing was, according to his Times obituary, "the unrestrained leader of a small group of radicals, never fully trusted by their colleagues and known as 'Bing Boys'".[3]
He took a particular interest in the cases of
He was also a lawyer, building up a practice in West Africa. He became close to Kwame Nkrumah, the first post-colonial president of Ghana and was appointed Ghana's attorney-general, a post he held until 1961.[3] When Nkrumah was ousted in 1966, Bing was arrested and ill-treated, before being sent home some months later. His memoir of Nkrumah's Ghana, Reap the Whirlwind, was published in 1968.[2][8]
Personal life
In 1940, he married Christian Frances Blois, former wife of radio producer Edward Archibald Fraser Harding and daughter of Sir Ralph Barrett Macnaghten Blois, 9th Baronet. They had two sons, Inigo Bing and Richard Bing, before divorcing in 1955.[9]
In 1956, he married, secondly, Eileen Mary Cullen. They adopted a son, Patrick Adotey Bing.
References
- ^ a b Lunney, Linde. "Bing, Geoffrey Henry Cecil". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ a b Newmann, Kate. "Geoffrey Henry Cecil Bing". Dictionary of Ulster Biography. Ulster History Circle. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ a b c "Obituary: Geoffrey Bing – Former Attorney-General of Ghana". The Times. 25 April 1977. p. 18.
- ^ Law Lists 1935-1977.
- ISBN 0-900178-01-9.
- ^ The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1950.
- ^ a b The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.
- ^ Bing, geoffrey (1960). Reap The Whirlwind An Account of Kwame Nkrumahs Ghana.
- ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.