{{Short description|Royal Navy officer and political activist (1904–1986)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{multiple issues| {{Confusing|date=October 2009}} {{More citations needed|date=February 2008}} }} {{Infobox military person | name = Bill Boaks | honorific_suffix = DSC | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = Boaks on his bike | birth_date = {{Birth date|1904|5|25|df=yes}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|1986|4|4|1904|5|25|df=yes}} | birth_place = Walthamstow, London | death_place = Tooting, London | allegiance = United Kingdom | branch = Royal Navy | service_years = 1920–1949 | rank = Lieutenant commander | service_number = | unit = {{HMS|Basilisk|H11|6}}<br />{{HMS|Rodney|29|6}} | commands = | battles = World War II<br />{{*}} Dunkirk evacuation<br />{{*}} Last battle of the ''Bismarck'' | awards = Distinguished Service Cross | relations = | other_work = Campaigner for Road Safety }}
Lieutenant Commander '''William George Boaks''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|DSC}} (25 May 1904 – 4 April 1986) was a British Royal Navy officer who became a political campaigner for road safety. A pioneer of British eccentric political campaigning, he jointly held the record for the fewest votes recorded for a candidate in a British parliamentary election, taking five at a by-election in 1982.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7498330.stm |title=A record-breaking by-election? |work=BBC News |date=11 July 2008 |publisher=BBC |location=London |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref>
==Early life== Boaks was born in Walthamstow, into a naval family.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.johnbarber.com/lt-com-william-boaks/|title=Lt Com William 'Bill' Boaks stood for Parliament but was never elected|last=Barber|first=John|work=John Barber, Author|access-date=22 June 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref> His father, William, was a sales clerk for a fruit merchant.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.walthamstowmemories.net/pdfs/Bill%20Bayliss%20-%20Bill%20Boaks.pdf|title=Lieutenant-Commander Bill Boaks: An Utter Nutter or a Walthamstow Eccentric?|last=Bayliss|first=Bill|date=October 2014|website=|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite ODNB|last=Ingham|first=Robert|title=Boaks, William George (1904–1986), road safety campaigner and parliamentary candidate |year=2004|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-60794|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/60794|isbn=978-0-19-861412-8}}</ref> He was educated at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.<ref name=":0" />
Boaks entered the Royal Navy in 1920, aged 16, as a boy seaman, and was promoted from acting sub-lieutenant to sub-lieutenant on 1 December 1928.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=10 December 1929 |issue=33559 |page=8024 |nolink=yes}}</ref> He was granted a temporary commission as a flying officer while on attachment to the Royal Air Force between 2 October 1930<ref>{{London Gazette |date=24 October 1930 |issue=33655 |page=6479 |nolink=yes}}</ref> and 7 May 1931,<ref>{{London Gazette |date=12 May 1931 |issue=33715 |page=3072 |nolink=yes}}</ref> and was promoted to lieutenant on 1 December 1931,<ref>{{London Gazette |date=23 February 1932 |issue=33801 |page=1212 |nolink=yes}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |date=1 April 1932 |issue=33813 |page=2141 |nolink=yes}}</ref> and to lieutenant commander on 1 December 1939.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=15 December 1939 |issue=34754 |page=8328 |nolink=yes}}</ref>
Boaks was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his part in the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940,<ref>{{London Gazette |date=25 October 1940 |supp=y |issue=34979 |page=6227 |nolink=yes}}</ref> during which his ship {{HMS|Basilisk|H11|6}} was sunk, and also took part in the sinking of the {{Ship|German battleship|Bismarck||2}} while serving as a gunnery officer on board {{HMS|Rodney|29|6}} in May 1941.<ref name=":1" />
He served in the Navy for nearly thirty years, becoming a qualified submarine officer and deep-sea diver.{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}} He was amongst the first Allied officers at Nagasaki and Hiroshima.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|url=https://everything2.com/title/Bill+Boaks|title=Bill Boaks - Everything2.com|date=2 July 2008|website=everything2.com|language=en|access-date=23 June 2018}}</ref>{{Better source|date=June 2018}} Boaks retired from the Navy in May 1949.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=17 June 1949 |issue=38642 |page=2996 |nolink=yes}}</ref> He moved to Streatham<ref name=":12" /> and worked as an executive officer of the Building Apprenticeship Training Council.<ref name=":1" /> Boaks applied for the vacant position of Chief Constable of Berkshire in 1958 but was not offered an interview.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aXOeBAAAQBAJ&q=Bill+boaks+road+safety&pg=PT237|title = The Mammoth Book of Losers|isbn = 9781780338316|last1 = Shaw|first1 = Karl|date = 5 June 2014| publisher=Little, Brown Book }}</ref>
==Political career==
=== Political campaigning ===
==== 1950s ==== Boaks' first candidacy for election was at the 1951 general election. Boaks contested Walthamstow East as an independent candidate for Admiral, or the "Association of Democratic Monarchists Representing All Women".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jqZTDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Association+of+Democratic+Monarchists+Representing+All+Women%22&pg=PT260|title=The Oxford Handbook of Modern British Political History, 1800-2000|last1=Brown|first1=David|last2=Crowcroft|first2=Robert|last3=Pentland|first3=Gordon|date=29 March 2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780191024276|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/04/from-king-arthur-to-lord-toby-jug-in-praise-of-the-eccentric-independent/|title=From King Arthur to Lord Toby Jug: in praise of the eccentric independent {{!}} The Spectator|last=Stanley|first=Tim|date=11 April 2015|work=The Spectator|access-date=22 June 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> He had intended to stand against the Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, but stood for the wrong seat (Attlee's constituency was Walthamstow West).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/from-katie-prices-free-breast-implants-to-the-pirate-partys-tax-free-rum-britains-most-famous-9980671.html|title=It's not just Al Murray... remember when Katie Price stood for election|work=The Independent|access-date=22 June 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Boaks' campaign advocated equal pay for women, subsidised apprenticeships and the sale of council houses.<ref name=":12" /> Boaks received 174 votes, finishing in last place with 0.4% of the vote.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge51/i20.htm|title=UK General Election results: October 1951 [Archive]|website=www.politicsresources.net|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701203930/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge51/i20.htm|archive-date=1 July 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Following his candidacy at Walthamstow East, Boaks continued a career as an eccentric campaigner. To publicise his campaigns, Boaks initially used his Vauxhall 12 car, which he named Josephine and painted as a zebra crossing, complete with loudspeakers and placards.<ref name=":12" /> In later campaigns, owing to a lack of money, Boaks used a 140lb armoured bicycle which concealed an iron bedstead.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":12" /> The armoured bicycle included a camera for taking photographs of motorists breaking the law<ref name=":12" /> and featured an eight-foot flagpole with sloganeering banners.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/04/21/oakley.blog.daytwelve/index.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711053832/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/04/21/oakley.blog.daytwelve/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 July 2012|title=Mavericks who bring election alive|last=Oakley|first=Robin|date=21 April 2005|website=CNN|access-date=23 June 2018}}</ref> The bike was eventually hijacked and taken to Aberystwyth; Boaks was unable to afford the £20 to have it repaired.<ref name=":12" />{{Better source|date=June 2018}} In September 1952, Boaks was fined twenty shillings at Bow Street Court for using a motor vehicle for advertising. He was fined a further twenty shillings a year later at Mansion House Magistrates Court on the same charge.<ref name=":12" />{{Better source|date=June 2018}}
In 1953 he was a Liberal candidate for Streatham Hill ward in the Wandsworth Metropolitan Borough Council elections.<ref>Twentieth Century Local Election Results Volume 2</ref>
In the 1950s, Boaks became involved in a series of legal cases in which he launched private prosecutions of public figures who had been involved in road accidents.<ref name=":6" /> These included Lady Attlee, Prince Philip, Princess Anne and R.A. Butler.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":6" /> Boaks accused Butler, who was then Home Secretary, of being an accomplice to a policeman who drove Butler to the House of Commons and had committed six traffic offences in Parliament Square. In light of this, Boaks was not interviewed when he applied to be Chief Constable of Berkshire in 1958.<ref name=":6" />
On 2 April 1955, before the start of an England-Scotland football match at Wembley Stadium, Boaks stopped his van outside and refused to move until all the spectators had crossed the road in front of it.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":6" /> Two hours later, he stopped his car at a roundabout on Cambridge Circus, again refusing to move until pedestrians crossed. He was subsequently convicted of two counts of obstructing the highway and fined £5.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":13" /> On 1 October 1955, Boaks stopped his car at the Strand, and was convicted again of obstructing the highway, and incarcerated for a week in Brixton Prison.<ref name=":12" /> Boaks sued for wrongful imprisonment and sought £10,000 in damages; his case was dismissed in June 1956, as was his appeal in November 1956, and the House of Lords refused his petition to hear his appeal.<ref name=":12" />
Boaks stood again in the 1956 by-election in Walthamstow West, finishing in last place, with 89 votes.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://by-elections.co.uk/56.html|title=1956 By Elections|date=10 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010071845/http://by-elections.co.uk/56.html|archive-date=2012-10-10|url-status=dead|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref>
On 13 July 1959, Boaks entered the Bleriot Race to travel from Marble Arch in London to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris by any form of transport. Boaks opted to enter the race by rollerskate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1959/1959%20-%201869.PDF|title=The Bleriot Race: Wings, Wheels, Water and Fleet Street in a Memorable Contest|date=21 August 1959|website=Flight Global|access-date=23 June 2018}}</ref>
==== 1960s ==== In February 1961, Boaks unsuccessfully applied for planning permission to build a heliport in his garden.<ref name=":14">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aXOeBAAAQBAJ&q=%22British+National+Airways+National+Heliport+Network+and+Central+London+Airport+and+Aerodrome+Association%22&pg=PT237|title=The Mammoth Book of Losers|last=Shaw|first=Karl|date=5 June 2014|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=9781780338316|language=en|access-date=23 June 2018}}</ref> Boaks subsequently submitted further applications to Lambeth London Borough Council, including a proposal to build an underground hangar for eight civil defence helicopters.<ref name=":12" />{{Better source|date=June 2018}} Boaks hoped that people would give up their cars and travel by bus or helicopter instead. To this end he proposed that landing pads should be installed in every city.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/great-british-eccentrics-7-of-the-most-peculiar-people-in-history/|title=Great British eccentrics: 7 of the most peculiar people in history}}</ref>
In June 1963, Boaks attempted to prosecute Ernest Robert Wilkin for dangerous driving. Boaks had allowed two girls to cross the road at a green light, which had led Wilkin to run over one of them. The court dismissed the case and awarded Wilkin fifty guineas.<ref name=":12" />{{Better source|date=June 2018}}
Boaks sued the ''South London Press'' for libel after it described him as "nutty" on 27 March 1962.<ref name=":12" />{{Better source|date=June 2018}} He also sued the ''London Evening News'' for libel after it falsely claimed he was living on National Assistance on 18 March 1966.<ref name=":12" />{{Better source|date=June 2018}} In the latter case, he won notional damages of £1, and later complained to the Court of Appeal that the judge had misdirected the jury; he lost the appeal.<ref name=":12" />{{Better source|date=June 2018}}
Over the years, Boaks's political label changed. In one election, he stood as the "Trains & Boats & Planes" candidate – the title of a contemporary popular song.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IZNKVA1JcWwC&q=%22Association+of+Democratic+Monarchists+Representing+All+Women%22&pg=PA103|title=Curing Hiccups with Small Fires: A Delightful Miscellany of Great British Eccentrics|last=Shaw|first=Karl|date=2009|publisher=Boxtree|isbn=9780752227030|pages=103, 104|language=en}}</ref> After revisions to electoral law allowed candidates to have a six-word description of their candidature on the ballot paper, he eventually settled on "Public Safety Democratic Monarchist White Resident".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jan/14/al-murray-the-pub-landlord-nigel-farage|title = Al Murray the Pub Landlord joins hustings humorists by taking on Nigel Farage|website = TheGuardian.com|date = 14 January 2015}}</ref>
He would campaign intermittently by cycling around the target constituency, wearing a large cardboard box daubed with his slogans.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IZNKVA1JcWwC&q=Bill+boaks+road+safety&pg=PA103|title = Curing Hiccups with Small Fires: A Delightful Miscellany of Great British Eccentrics|isbn = 9780752227030|last1 = Shaw|first1 = Karl|year = 2009| publisher=Boxtree }}</ref> He was limited to six words of description on the ballot paper, and usually described himself as "Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident" or "Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident".{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}}
Boaks stood for election to Lambeth London Borough Council in 1964, 1968 and 1971, standing for the ward of Town Hall in the first election and for that of Streatham Wells in the last two.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Lambeth-1964-2010.pdf|title=London Borough of Lambeth Election Results|last1=Rallings|first1=Colin|last2=Thrasher|first2=Michael|website=|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> He also stood in the by-election for the ward of St. Leonard's on 27 June 1968.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/LBCE_1971-5-13.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150124012200/https://londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/LBCE_1971-5-13.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 January 2015|title=London Borough Council Elections 13 May 1971|publisher=Greater London Council|year=1971|pages=8|access-date=24 June 2018}}</ref>
He stood for election to the Greater London Council in Lambeth in 1964 and 1970, at the Greenwich by-election in 1967, Lambeth Central in 1977 and Streatham in 1973 and 1981.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Boothroyd |first1=David |title=Greater London Council Election results: Lambeth |url=http://www.election.demon.co.uk/glc/glclm.html |website=United Kingdom Election Results |access-date=8 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016161523/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/glc/glclm.html |archive-date=16 October 2020}}</ref>
==== 1970s and 1980s ==== At some point in the early 1970s, a compulsory purchase order was issued on Boaks' home by Lambeth Council.<ref name=":12" />{{Better source|date=June 2018}} Boaks moved to Kingston Road in Wimbledon Chase as a result.<ref name=":12" />
In the 1970s and 1980s, Boaks's political career moved from his motorised public campaigning and subsequent court cases to standing as an eccentric campaigner in parliamentary elections and by-elections. Boaks contested the Clapham constituency at the 1970 general election, receiving 80 votes.<ref name=":15" /> He had intended to contest the Liverpool Scotland by-election of 1971, but failed to place his £150 deposit on time.<ref name=":12" />{{Better source|date=June 2018}} He stood for his home constituencies of Streatham and Wimbledon at the February 1974 general election; in the latter, he received 240 votes, which was his highest ever number of votes.<ref name=":16" />
Boaks contested the ward of Wimbledon South for Merton London Borough Council in the 1974 local election.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/LBCE_1974-5-2.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226024342/https://londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/LBCE_1974-5-2.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 February 2015|title=London Borough Council Elections 2 May 1974|publisher=Greater London Council|year=1974|pages=54|access-date=24 June 2018}}</ref> Boaks subsequently stood in all of the local by-elections for Merton London Borough Council between 1974 and 1978 as "Air Road Public Safety White Resident".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/LBCE_1978-5-4.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402091850/https://londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/LBCE_1978-5-4.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 April 2015|title=London Borough Council Elections 4 May 1978|publisher=Greater London Council|year=1978|pages=11–12|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> He also stood in the Merton Park ward by-election in 1980 as "Public Safety, Democratic Monarchist, White Resident".<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/LBCE_1982-5-6.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402114315/https://londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/LBCE_1982-5-6.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 April 2015|title=London Borough Council Elections 6 May 1982|year=1982|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref>
Boaks contested the 1976 by-election in Carshalton, which marked the beginning of 18 parliamentary by-elections he would contest in the 47th and 48th Parliaments of the United Kingdom.<ref name=":8" /> Boaks would visit a constituency to secure the ten names required to be nominated as a candidate, and would not campaign in the constituency.<ref name=":12" />
At the Glasgow Hillhead by-election in March 1982, he received just five votes, a new record low for a candidate in any British parliamentary election.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://flashbak.com/vote-bill-boaks-your-local-public-safety-democratic-monarchist-white-resident-31864/|title=Vote Bill Boaks: Your Local Public Safety Democratic Monarchist White Resident - Flashbak|last=Sorene|first=Paul|date=8 March 2015|work=Flashbak|access-date=22 June 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> The feat was remarkable, given that it meant fewer people voted for him than gave their names for his nomination as a candidate.<ref name=":14" /> Boaks' record stood until the 2005 general election.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news|url=https://news.sky.com/story/is-this-the-worst-election-candidate-ever-10365720|title=Is This The Worst Election Candidate Ever?|last=Tidy|first=Joe|date=29 March 2015|work=Sky News|access-date=22 June 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":17">{{Cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/general-election-2015-10-best-5364612|title=10 best fringe election candidates through the ages|last=Bloom|first=Dan|date=16 April 2015|work=The Mirror|access-date=23 June 2018}}</ref>
In November 1982, Boaks received head injuries in a road accident, dissuading him from further pursuing his electoral career.<ref name=":12" /> He nevertheless attended the count at the Bermondsey by-election as counting agent for Screaming Lord Sutch in 1983.<ref name=":12" /> But there was also the simple matter that his money was running out.{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}} Boaks had planned to be the Official Monster Raving Loony Party's candidate for the 1983 general election, standing in Streatham; however, this plan never came to pass.<ref name=":18">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KOggCwAAQBAJ&q=%22wembley%22+%22boaks%22&pg=PT58|title=Great British Eccentrics|last=Tucker|first=S. D.|date=15 September 2015|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|isbn=9781445647715|language=en|access-date=23 June 2018}}</ref>
Boaks never received a vote share exceeding 0.5%, meaning that he lost all his £150 deposits. In all Boaks' political career, he lost over £4,200 in deposits.<ref name=":7" />
=== Political views ===
==== Road safety ==== Boaks's main concern was public safety on the roads.<ref name=":2" /> He was a major advocate of pedestrian and non-motor vehicle traffic rights, and a need for additional care in road safety.{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}} He advocated transporting freight by rail and using helicopters to alleviate traffic congestion.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":18" /> Under the guise of the British National Airways National Heliport Network and Central London Airport and Aerodrome Association, he proposed to close inland airports, including Heathrow Airport, and replace them with a series of coastal airports.<ref name=":12" />{{Better source|date=June 2018}} He also noted and highlighted the problems caused by pollution and the damage caused to properties beside roads favoured by heavy goods vehicles.<ref name=":1" /> Boaks wanted the inversion of the law concerning zebra crossings, so that all roadways would be treated as if they were zebra crossings except those parts painted as such, thus giving pedestrians the right of way at all times.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":18" />
To reinforce his point, Boaks would sometimes deliberately hold up traffic at crossings. He later took to pushing a trolley or pram full of bricks back and forth repeatedly at zebra crossings.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":17" /> He would sit in a deckchair in the overtaking lane of the Westway in North Kensington, reading ''The Daily Telegraph''.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":19">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pp5E4RC1KBoC&q=%22boaks%22+%22carnaby+street%22&pg=PT173|title=In Search of the English Eccentric|last=Hemming|first=Henry|date=2 April 2009|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|isbn=9781848541542|language=en|access-date=23 June 2018}}</ref>
==== Anti-establishment ==== Boaks' political views tended towards an increasing distrust of the establishment, fuelled by his frequent court appearances{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}}. He was against Communism and homosexuality in the civil service.<ref name=":18" /> Journalists, some of whom seem to have been scared of him, often expressed confusion over his claims,{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}} as they never quite knew whether he was being serious or simply having fun at their expense. For example, when deciding not to fight the Croydon North West by-election in 1981, he said that he would never fight in Croydon as he believed that the "Communist menace" was never a threat there.{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}} He also said on at least one occasion that he believed that homosexuals should be debarred from the Civil Service, as he thought they were more vulnerable to blackmail by foreign powers.{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}}
==== Attitudes to race relations ==== Boaks's "White Resident" label led to him being labelled as racist by the Anti-Nazi League,{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}} but Boaks chose this mostly as a means of provoking left-wingers, whom he disliked (despite having a number of rather left-wing views of his own, particularly on the Health Service),{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}} and partly as he hoped to undercut votes for the National Front (NF) and similar parties.{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}} Boaks was contemptuous of the NF, having stood against a number of its members in the 1950s and 1960s when they belonged to more openly neo-Nazi groups, such as John Bean's British National Party, Colin Jordan's White Defence League and Oswald Mosley's Union Movement.{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}} The "White Resident" tag was also a means of more easily attracting media attention during the heated debate over immigration in the 1970s in the UK, in order to push his "Public Safety" agenda.{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}}
Boaks's stance led to his becoming the first promoter of ethnic minority candidates in United Kingdom elections.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}} His usual set-piece response when confronted over his label by anyone non-white was to say: "Why 'White Resident'? Because that's what I am!" He would then grab the questioner's hand, slap a pound note into it and say: "Now find 149 more of those [the deposit then being £150] and stand as a 'Black Immigrant' candidate for what YOU believe in. If you don't, who will?"<ref name=":5" /> Boaks reckoned that he had given away a couple of hundred pounds in this manner.{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}}
=== Summary of parliamentary election results === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Parliamentary election !Constituency !Description !Votes !% !Result |- |1951 general election<ref name=":3" /> |Walthamstow East |Independent |174 |0.4% |4th of 4 |- |1956 by-election<ref name=":4" /> |Walthamstow West |Independent |89 |0.4% |4th of 4 |- |1970 general election<ref name=":15">{{Cite web|url=http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge70/i20.htm|title=UK General Election results 1970 [Archive]|website=www.politicsresources.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616093601/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge70/i20.htm|archive-date=16 June 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> |Clapham |Independent |80 |0.2% |5th of 5 |- | rowspan="2" |February 1974 general election<ref name=":16">{{Cite journal|last1=Payne|first1=C.|last2=Butler|first2=D.|title=British General Election Results, October 1974 and May 1979|year=1981|url=https://discover.ukdataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/?sn=1601|doi=10.5255/UKDA-SN-1601-1|via=UK Data Service}}</ref> |Streatham |Independent |45 |0.1% |5th of 5 |- |Wimbledon |Independent |240 |0.4% |4th of 4 |- |1976 by-election<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|url=http://by-elections.co.uk/76.html|title=1975 -76 By Elections|date=14 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034528/http://by-elections.co.uk/76.html|archive-date=2012-03-14|url-status=dead|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> |Carshalton |Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident |115 |0.3% |6th of 6 |- |1976 by-election<ref name=":8" /> |Walsall North |Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident |30 |0.1% |9th of 9 |- |1977 by-election<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=http://by-elections.co.uk/77.html|title=1977 By Elections|date=12 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012020902/http://by-elections.co.uk/77.html|archive-date=2013-10-12|url-status=dead|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> |City of London and Westminster South |Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident |61 |0.3% |8th of 10 |- |1977 by-election<ref name=":9" /> |Birmingham Ladywood |Air Road Public Safety |46 |0.3% |10th of 10 |- |1977 by-election<ref name=":9" /> |Bournemouth East |Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident |42 |0.2% |7th of 7 |- |1978 by-election<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|url=http://by-elections.co.uk/78.html|title=1978 By Elections|date=14 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034520/http://by-elections.co.uk/78.html|archive-date=2012-03-14|url-status=dead|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> |Ilford North |Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident |38 |0.1% |8th of 8 |- |1978 by-election<ref name=":10" /> |Lambeth Central |Democratic Monarchist |27 |0.1% |11th of 11 |- |1979 by-election<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://by-elections.co.uk/79.html|title=1979 By Elections|date=14 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034509/http://by-elections.co.uk/79.html|archive-date=2012-03-14|url-status=dead|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> |Liverpool Edge Hill |Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident |32 |0.2% |7th of 7 |- | rowspan="2" |1979 general election<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge79/i07.htm|title=UK General Election results: May 1979 [Archive]|website=www.politicsresources.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924121844/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge79/i07.htm|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge79/i15.htm|title=UK General Election results: May 1979 [Archive]|website=www.politicsresources.net|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114449/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge79/i15.htm|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> |Newham North East |Democratic Monarchist Public Safety White Resident |118 |0.3% |7th of 7 |- |North Devon |Democratic Monarchist Public Safety White Resident |20 |0.0% |9th of 9 |- |1979 by-election<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|url=http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1979.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000609021725/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1979.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 June 2000|title=Byelections in the 1979-83 Parliament|website=www.election.demon.co.uk|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> |Manchester Central |Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident |12 |0.1% |6th of 6 |- |1980 by-election<ref name=":11" /> |Southend East |Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident |23 |0.0% |7th of 7 |- |1981 by-election<ref name=":11" /> |Warrington |Democratic Monarchist |14 |0.1% |9th of 11 |- |1981 by-election<ref name=":11" /> |Croydon North West |Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident |51 |0.2% |9th of 12 |- |1981 by-election<ref name=":11" /> |Crosby |Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident |36 |0.1% |7th of 9 |- |1982 by-election<ref name=":11" /> |Glasgow Hillhead |Democratic Monarchist Public Safety White Resident |5 |0.0% |8th of 8 |- |1982 by-election<ref name=":11" /> |Beaconsfield |Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident |99 |0.3% |5th of 6 |- |1982 by-election<ref name=":11" /> |Mitcham and Morden |Democratic Monarchist |66 |0.2% |7th of 9 |- |1982 by-election<ref name=":11" /> |Peckham |Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident |102 |0.5% |5th of 5 |- |1982 by-election<ref name=":11" /> |Birmingham Northfield |Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident |60 |0.1% |7th of 7 |}
==Personal life== Boaks married Ivy June Colier in 1930, with whom he had three children.<ref name=":12" />{{Better source|date=June 2018}}
==Spelling of surname== Bill Boaks' surname is often spelt Boakes in publications. In at least one case both spellings are used in the same article.<ref name = times19790421>Times Newspaper, London, 21 April 1979, page 10</ref>
==Death and legacy== In 1984, Boaks was injured in a second minor road traffic incident while getting off a bus.<ref name=":0" /> Following the incident, he rarely left his home, except for twice-weekly visits to the hospital.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/NewsUK1984UKEnglish/Mar%2001%201984%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2361770%2C%20UK%20%28en%29_djvu.txt|title=No 61,770|date=1 March 1984|work=The Times|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> As a result of complications from the head injuries he sustained, he died of pneumonia and heart failure at St George's Hospital in Tooting on 4 April 1986.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":6" />
Boaks' funeral was attended by the Minister of Transport, Peter Bottomley. He was buried at sea with full honours in the naval graveyard outside Portsmouth Harbour.<ref name=":12" />
Boaks's legacies include: * Pedestrianisation of London's Carnaby Street, which he took an active part in campaigning for, along with Screaming Lord Sutch, and which has set the precedent for pedestrian precincts elsewhere in the UK.<ref name=":19" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/usvsth3m/7-monster-raving-loony-party-5644717|title=7 Monster Raving Loony Party policies which are now part of UK law|last=Edwards|first=Brian|date=6 June 2015|work=Daily Mirror|access-date=23 June 2018}}</ref> * {{HMS|Belfast|C35|6}}, which is moored near Tower Bridge in London as a tourist attraction. It was Boaks' advice as to the depths of the waters of the Thames that persuaded the Royal Navy of the ship's viability as a floating museum rather than scrapping her.<ref name=":19" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * Robert Ingham, "Boaks, William George (1904–1986)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 * [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/vo001010/text/01010-24.htm Description of Boaks' campaigning] (''Hansard'', House of Lords debates, 10 October 2004) * [http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10453078&wwwflag=2&imagepos=1 Photograph of Boaks on his campaign bicycle]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boaks, Bill}} Category:1904 births Category:1986 deaths Category:People from Walthamstow Category:Royal Navy officers Category:Royal Navy officers of World War II Category:Independent British political candidates Category:Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Category:Pedestrian road incident deaths Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Category:Road incident deaths in London