Des Wilson(born 5 March 1941)[1]is a New Zealand-born British campaigner, political activist, businessman, sports administrator, author andpokerplayer. He was one of the founders of the British homelessness charityShelterand was for a while an activist in, and President of, the BritishLiberal Party.
Background
editFrom a working-class family in New Zealand, Wilson attendedWaitaki Boys' High School,leaving at 15 to become a reporter on the local newspaper. After periods working for theOtago Daily Timesand theEvening StarinDunedin,and theMelbourne Star[citation needed]inMelbourne, Australia,Wilson moved to the United Kingdom in 1960 at the age of 19.
Over the next few years he took a range of jobs before becoming a journalist.[2]He became the founding director of the housing charityShelterin 1966,[3]and then became a columnist forThe Observernewspaper. He also spent two years as director of public affairs for theRoyal Shakespeare Company.[4]He edited the magazineSocial Work Todayfor theBritish Association of Social Workers.He then returned to campaigning, runningFriends of the Earthand theCampaign for Freedom of Informationand CLEAR, theCampaign for Lead Free Air.
In December 1968, Wilson wasMichael Parkinson's 'castaway' onBBC Radio 4'sDesert Island Discs.[5]
In many ways an anti-establishment radical, he joined theLiberal Partyin order to stand in the1973 Hove by-election.Although unsuccessful, he stayed involved in the Liberal Party and in 1986 he became its President, a position which allowed him to act as its Campaign Director in the1987 General Election.He later wrote a book,The Battle For Power,about the strained relationship between the Liberals and theSocial Democratic Party(SDP) during that campaign, the last general election fought as theSDP–Liberal Alliance.He was an enthusiastic supporter of the merger between the two parties in 1988 and became Campaign Manager for the new party theLiberal DemocratsunderPaddy Ashdownin the1992 General Election.[6]
Somewhat disillusioned with party politics after that campaign, Wilson then moved on to become Director of Corporate and Public Affairs forBAA plc.He became chairman of theEngland and Wales Cricket Board's corporate affairs and marketing committee in 2003,[7]but resigned in 2004 over the controversy related to England touring Zimbabwe.[8]
Bibliography
edit- Wilson, Des (1983).The Lead Scandal.Ashgate.ISBN0-435-83946-2.
- Wilson, Des (1984).Secrets File: The Case for Freedom of Information in Britain Today.Heinemann Educ.ISBN0-435-83939-X.
- Wilson, Des (1984).The Environmental Crisis: A Handbook for All Friends of the Earth.Ashgate.ISBN0-435-83944-6.
- Wilson, Des; Andrews, Leighton (1994).Campaigning: The A to Z of Public Advocacy.Thorogood.ISBN1-85418-036-3.
- Wilson, Des (2006).Swimming with the Devilfish... Under the Surface of Professional Poker.Macmillan.ISBN1-4050-8952-0.
- Wilson, Des (2007).Ghosts at the Table: The amazing story of Poker... the world's most popular game.Mainstream Publishing.ISBN9781845962081.
- Wilson, Des (3 March 2011).Memoirs of a Minor Public Figure(Hardcover ed.). Quartet Books.ISBN978-0704372054.
References
edit- ^"Birthdays",The Guardian,p. 39, 2014
- ^prelims2.qxd
- ^Smith, Andreas Whittam (2 September 1996)."When she needed Shelter, you were there".The Independent.London.Retrieved18 August2010.
- ^"Pan Macmillan biography".Archived fromthe originalon 16 October 2006.Retrieved12 June2006.
- ^Presenter:Roy Plomley(9 December 1968)."Des Wilson".Desert Island Discs.BBC Radio 4.Retrieved23 September2016.
- ^Holden, Anthony (11 June 2006)."Straight-up guys".The Observer.London.Retrieved11 August2008.
- ^Stern, John (February 2004)."Des Wilson – Power broker".ESPNcrickinfo.ESPN Sports Media Ltd.Retrieved22 January2015.
- ^"Tour row claims ECB scalp".BBC Sport.28 April 2004.Retrieved22 January2015.
Sources
editExternal links
edit- Official website
- Poker:The Guardian5 November 2007
- Poker:The Guardian15 October 2007
- [1]
- [2]