Ernest Marples

The Lord Marples
Minister of Transport
In office
14 October 1959 – 16 October 1964
Prime MinisterHarold Macmillan
Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Preceded byHarold Watkinson
Succeeded byTom Fraser
Postmaster General
In office
17 January 1957 – 14 October 1959
Prime MinisterHarold Macmillan
Preceded byCharles Hill
Succeeded byReginald Bevins
Member of Parliament
for Wallasey
In office
26 July 1945 – 8 February 1974
Preceded byGeorge Reakes
Succeeded byLynda Chalker
Personal details
Born
Alfred Ernest Marples

(1907-12-09)9 December 1907
Levenshulme, Manchester, Lancashire
Died6 July 1978(1978-07-06) (aged 70)
The Princess Grace Hospital Centre, Monaco
Resting placeSouthern Cemetery, Manchester
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Edna Florence Harwood
(1937–1945) (dissolved)
Ruth Alianore Dobson
(1956–1978) (his death)[1]

Alfred Ernest Marples, Baron Marples, PC (9 December 1907 – 6 July 1978) was a British Conservative politician who served as Postmaster General (1957–1959) and Minister of Transport (1959–1964).

As Postmaster General, he oversaw the introduction of the Premium Bond scheme and of postcodes. His period as Minister of Transport was controversial. He both oversaw significant road construction (he opened the first section of the M1 motorway) and the closure of a considerable portion of the national railway network with the Beeching cuts. His involvement in the road construction business Marples Ridgway, of which he had been managing director, led to concerns regarding possible conflict of interest. In later life, Marples was elevated to the peerage before fleeing to Monaco at very short notice to avoid prosecution for tax fraud.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dutton was invoked but never defined (see the help page).