George Wigg
PC | |
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 | |
| Paymaster General | |
| In office 19 October 1964 – 12 November 1967 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | John Boyd-Carpenter |
| Succeeded by | Judith Hart |
| Member of Parliament for Dudley | |
| In office 5 July 1945 – 30 November 1967 | |
| Preceded by | Cyril Lloyd |
| Succeeded by | Donald Williams |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George Edward Cecil Wigg 28 November 1900 West Ham, East London, England |
| Died | 11 August 1983 (aged 82) Lambeth, South London, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse |
Florence Veal (m. 1930) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Royal Tank Corps (until 1937) |
George Edward Cecil Wigg, Baron Wigg,
Background and early career
Wigg was the eldest of six children of Edward William Wigg (1870–1934), of Uxbridge Road, Ealing, manager of a dairy business, and his wife Cecilia (née Comber). Whilst Wigg's mother was extremely industrious, delivering milk alongside doing all the household work, his father was "indolent, disgruntled and lacking ambition" despite his wife's encouragement. On the failure of his own dairy business, Edward Wigg worked for that of his elder brother; George Wigg worked there alongside his father from the age of ten. After years of poor fortunes and having suffered from alcoholism, Edward was found dead in Ewhurst Lake in 1934, near to his birthplace; his son observed: "Why he was at the lake and how he got into it remains a mystery. The coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure." Cecilia Wigg subsequently remarried to a soldier.[1][2]
George Wigg was educated at Fairfields Council School and at
According to
In January 1964, Wigg won a High Court action for
Paymaster-General; Peerage
Wigg was already known for passing on gossip to Harold Wilson (who had become Labour leader in 1963 on the death of Hugh Gaitskell). When Labour narrowly won the 1964 election Wilson appointed Wigg to the office of Paymaster General. Wigg's responsibilities were many and varied: among them, he was Wilson's link to the Security Service and the Secret Intelligence Service. In November 1967, he was appointed Chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board (Wigg loved horse racing) and left Parliament. He was created a life peer on 27 November 1967 taking the title Baron Wigg, of the Borough of Dudley.[7] His resignation from parliament resulted in a by-election in the Dudley seat in early 1968, with the Conservatives gaining the seat before Labour reclaimed it at the general election two years later.
Wigg had been made a
Personal life
In 1930, Wigg married Florence, daughter of William Veal. They had three daughters.[8][9]
References
- ^ George Wigg, Lord Wigg, Michael Joseph, 1972, pp. 18, 20, 24, 25, 32
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31830. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 1980, ed. Patrick Montague-Smith, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, p. 209
- ^ Chris Moncrieff, PA (10 March 2006). "Profumo and Fleet Street | Media". London: MediaGuardian. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ISBN 1-904027-19-9
- Birmingham Daily Postdated 16 January 1964, p. 18
- ^ "No. 44462". The London Gazette. 28 November 1967. p. 12991.
- ^ Who's who of British Members of Parliament vol. IV, 1945-1979, Michael Stenton, Harvester Press, 1981, p. 395
- ^ George Wigg, Lord Wigg, Michael Joseph, 1972, p. 82
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by George Wigg
- Catalogue of the Wigg papers at the Archives Division of the London School of Economics.
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