Leo Blair

This article is about Tony Blair's father. For Tony Blair's son, seeTony Blair § Family.

Leo Blair
Photograph of Blair inA Journey
Born	Charles Leonard Augustus Parsons (1923-08-04)4 August 1923 Filey,Yorkshire, England
Died	16 November 2012(2012-11-16)(aged 89) Shrewsbury,Shropshire, England
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh
Occupations	Barrister law lecturer
Political party	Communist(1938–1941) Labour(1941–1945; from 1994) Conservative(1946–1994)
Spouses	Hazel Corscadden McLay ​ ​ (m.1948; died 1975)​ Olwen Guy ​ ​ (m.1980; died2012)​
Children	3, includingWilliamandTony
Relatives	Euan Blair(grandson)
Military career
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1942–1947
Rank	Major
Unit	Royal Corps of Signals
Battles/wars	Second World War

Leo Charles Lynton Blair(bornCharles Leonard Augustus Parsons;4 August 1923 – 16 November 2012) was a Britishbarristerand law lecturer atDurham University.He was the author of the bookThe Commonwealth Public Service.He was the father ofSir Tony Blair,the formerprime minister of the United Kingdom,and ofSir William Blair,aHigh Court judge.

Early life

Born Charles Leonard Augustus Parsons inFiley,East Riding of Yorkshire, England, he was the illegitimateson of two middle class travelling entertainers. His father, Charles Parsons (1887–1970), had the stage name Jimmy Lynton while his mother, Mary Augusta Ridgway Bridson (1886–1969), was known as Celia Ridgway and was a daughter of Augustus William Bridson (1849–1933) and Maria Emily Montford (1864–1944).The couple met on tour in England. Their hectic lifestyles prompted them to give up baby Leo, who wasfosteredout to (and later adopted by) a working-class couple, aGlasgowshipyard worker named James Blair and his wife Mary, taking their surname. On 2 June 1927, his biological parents married and tried to reclaim him, but Mary Blair refused to return him and later prevented him from contacting his birth parents. (Leo later had a reunion with his half-sister, Pauline Harding,néeTordiffe.)

Blair grew up in atenementin Golspie Street,Govan, Glasgow,and attendedGovan High School.When he left school, he worked as acopy boyon theCommunist PartynewspaperThe Daily Worker.He was secretary of the Scottish Young Communist League from 1938 to 1941.

Blair next worked briefly in the Glasgow City Public Assistance Department before enlisting in theRoyal Corps of Signalsfor service in theSecond World Warin 1942; he was demobilised with the acting rank of major in 1947.

He studied law at theUniversity of Edinburgh,becoming a barrister and later, a university law lecturer.

Marriage and children

Blair married Hazel Elizabeth Rosaleen Corscadden from aProtestantfamily inCounty Donegal,Ireland. They were married by the future Moderator, RevWilliam Roy Sanderson,atBarony Churchin Glasgow.They had two sons, both of whom attendedFettes College(an independent school in Edinburgh), and a daughter.Their first son,Sir William Blair,a banking and finance law specialist, became aHigh Court judge.Their second son, Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (Tony Blair), was born in 1953 and also became a barrister before becoming a politician and, in 1997,Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.At the end of 1954, the family moved toAdelaide, Australia,for3+1⁄2years, where Blair lectured in law at theUniversity of Adelaide.

Blair and his family later returned to England, living inDurham,where Blair lectured in law atDurham University Law School.He was a member ofSt Cuthbert's Society,one of the university's collegiate bodies. In 1959, he was awarded a PhD from the University of Edinburgh for a thesis entitled "The legal status of the governmental employee".Despite having been acommunistin his youth, Leo became active in theConservative Party.He had ambitions to stand forParliamentin Durham, hoping to become a candidate in the1964 general election,which were thwarted when he suffered a stroke in 1963 at the age of 40. Following Blair's stroke, he had to rely heavily on his wife Hazel to look after him.

Later life

Blair joined theLabour Partywhen his son became its leader in 1994, citing pride at his son's achievements, his dissatisfaction with the Conservatives underJohn Majorand his objection torailway privatisation.He had previously been "a huge supporter" of Conservative prime ministerMargaret Thatcher.

Blair's first wife, Hazel (12 June 1923 – 28 June 1975), died ofthyroid cancer.He remarried and lived inShrewsbury, Shropshire,with his second wife, Olwen, until her death on 15 March 2012. Cherie and Tony Blair named their youngest son Leo after him.

Blair was a "militant atheist", according to his son Tony.

Blair died inShrewsburyaged 89 on 16 November 2012.

Academic work

Blair's bookThe Commonwealth Public Service(1958) was described by the journalCanadian Public Administrationas "an excellent primer on the Australian Federal Public Service".