# Bill Boaks

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{{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](/source/Distinguished_Service_Cross_(United_Kingdom))
| 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](/source/Walthamstow), London
| death_place      = [Tooting](/source/Tooting), London
| allegiance       = United Kingdom
| branch           = [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy)
| service_years    = 1920–1949
| rank             = [Lieutenant commander](/source/Lieutenant_commander)
| service_number   = 
| unit             = {{HMS|Basilisk|H11|6}}<br />{{HMS|Rodney|29|6}}
| commands         = 
| battles          = [World War II](/source/World_War_II)<br />{{*}} [Dunkirk evacuation](/source/Dunkirk_evacuation)<br />{{*}} [Last battle of the ''Bismarck''](/source/Last_battle_of_the_battleship_Bismarck)
| awards           = [Distinguished Service Cross](/source/Distinguished_Service_Cross_(United_Kingdom))
| relations        = 
| other_work       = Campaigner for Road Safety
}}

[Lieutenant Commander](/source/Lieutenant_Commander) '''William George Boaks''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|DSC}} (25 May 1904 – 4 April 1986) was a British [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) officer who became a political campaigner for [road safety](/source/road_safety). A pioneer of British [eccentric](/source/Eccentricity_(behavior)) 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](/source/BBC_News) |date=11 July 2008 |publisher=[BBC](/source/British_Broadcasting_Corporation) |location=[London](/source/London%2C_England) |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref>

==Early life==
Boaks was born in [Walthamstow](/source/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](/source/Royal_Naval_College%2C_Greenwich), [Greenwich](/source/Greenwich).<ref name=":0" />

Boaks entered the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) in 1920, aged 16, as a [boy seaman](/source/boy_seaman), and was promoted from acting [sub-lieutenant](/source/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](/source/flying_officer) while on attachment to the [Royal Air Force](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Distinguished_Service_Cross_(United_Kingdom)) for his part in the [Dunkirk evacuation](/source/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](/source/submarine) officer and [deep-sea diver](/source/professional_diving).{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}} He was amongst the first Allied officers at [Nagasaki](/source/Nagasaki) and [Hiroshima](/source/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](/source/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](/source/1951_United_Kingdom_general_election). Boaks contested [Walthamstow East](/source/Walthamstow_East_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) 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](/source/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom), [Clement Attlee](/source/Clement_Attlee), but stood for the wrong seat (Attlee's [constituency](/source/constituency) was [Walthamstow West](/source/Walthamstow_West_(UK_Parliament_constituency))).<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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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 prosecution](/source/private_prosecution)s of public figures who had been involved in road accidents.<ref name=":6" /> These included [Lady Attlee](/source/Violet_Attlee), [Prince Philip](/source/Prince_Philip%2C_Duke_of_Edinburgh), [Princess Anne](/source/Anne%2C_Princess_Royal) and [R.A. Butler](/source/Rab_Butler).<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":6" /> Boaks accused Butler, who was then [Home Secretary](/source/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](/source/Parliament_Square). In light of this, Boaks was not interviewed when he applied to be [Chief Constable of Berkshire](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Cambridge_Circus%2C_London), 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](/source/Strand%2C_London), and was convicted again of obstructing the highway, and incarcerated for a week in [Brixton Prison](/source/HM_Prison_Brixton).<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](/source/House_of_Lords) refused his petition to hear his appeal.<ref name=":12" />

Boaks stood again in the [1956 by-election](/source/1956_Walthamstow_West_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](/source/Marble_Arch) in [London](/source/London) to the [Arc de Triomphe](/source/Arc_de_Triomphe) in [Paris](/source/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](/source/Lambeth_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](/source/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](/source/London_Evening_News)'' for libel after it falsely claimed he was living on [National Assistance](/source/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](/source/Court_of_Appeal_(England_and_Wales)) 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](/source/Trains_and_Boats_and_Planes)" candidate – the title of [a contemporary popular song](/source/Trains_and_Boats_and_Planes).<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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Lambeth_London_Borough_Council) in [1964](/source/1964_Lambeth_London_Borough_Council_election), [1968](/source/1968_Lambeth_London_Borough_Council_election) and [1971](/source/1971_Lambeth_London_Borough_Council_election), standing for the ward of Town Hall in the first election and for that of [Streatham Wells](/source/Streatham_Wells_(ward)) 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](/source/St_Leonard's_(ward)) 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](/source/Greater_London_Council) in [Lambeth](/source/Lambeth_(electoral_division)) in 1964 and 1970, at the [Greenwich by-election](/source/1967_Greenwich_by-election) in 1967, [Lambeth Central](/source/Lambeth_Central_(electoral_division)) in 1977 and [Streatham](/source/Streatham_(electoral_division)) 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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Clapham_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) constituency at the [1970 general election](/source/1970_United_Kingdom_general_election), receiving 80 votes.<ref name=":15" /> He had intended to contest the [Liverpool Scotland](/source/Liverpool_Scotland_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) [by-election of 1971](/source/1971_Liverpool_Scotland_by-election), 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](/source/Streatham_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) and [Wimbledon](/source/Wimbledon_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) at the [February 1974 general election](/source/February_1974_United_Kingdom_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](/source/South_Wimbledon) for [Merton London Borough Council](/source/Merton_London_Borough_Council) in the [1974 local election](/source/1974_Merton_London_Borough_Council_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](/source/Merton_London_Borough_Council_elections) 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](/source/Merton_Park) ward [by-election in 1980](/source/Merton_London_Borough_Council_elections) 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](/source/1976_Carshalton_by-election) in [Carshalton](/source/Carshalton_(UK_Parliament_constituency)), which marked the beginning of 18 parliamentary by-elections he would contest in the [47th](/source/47th_Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom) and [48th](/source/48th_parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom) 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](/source/1982_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](/source/2005_United_Kingdom_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](/source/1983_Bermondsey_by-election) as counting agent for [Screaming Lord Sutch](/source/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](/source/Official_Monster_Raving_Loony_Party)'s candidate for the [1983 general election](/source/1983_United_Kingdom_general_election), standing in [Streatham](/source/Streatham_(UK_Parliament_constituency)); 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](/source/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 crossing](/source/zebra_crossing)s, 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](/source/deckchair) in the overtaking lane of the [Westway](/source/Westway_(London)) in [North Kensington](/source/North_Kensington), reading ''[The Daily Telegraph](/source/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](/source/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](/source/1981_Croydon_North_West_by-election) in 1981, he said that he would never fight in [Croydon](/source/Croydon) as he believed that the "[Communist](/source/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](/source/homosexuality) 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](/source/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](/source/British_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](/source/John_Bean_(politician))'s [British National Party](/source/British_National_Party_(1960)), [Colin Jordan](/source/Colin_Jordan)'s [White Defence League](/source/White_Defence_League) and [Oswald Mosley](/source/Oswald_Mosley)'s [Union Movement](/source/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](/source/1951_United_Kingdom_general_election)<ref name=":3" />
|[Walthamstow East](/source/Walthamstow_East_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Independent
|174
|0.4%
|4th of 4
|-
|[1956 by-election](/source/1956_Walthamstow_West_by-election)<ref name=":4" />
|[Walthamstow West](/source/Walthamstow_West_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Independent
|89
|0.4%
|4th of 4
|-
|[1970 general election](/source/1970_United_Kingdom_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](/source/Clapham_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Independent
|80
|0.2%
|5th of 5
|-
| rowspan="2" |[February 1974 general election](/source/February_1974_United_Kingdom_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](/source/Streatham_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Independent
|45
|0.1%
|5th of 5
|-
|[Wimbledon](/source/Wimbledon_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Independent
|240
|0.4%
|4th of 4
|-
|[1976 by-election](/source/1976_Carshalton_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](/source/Carshalton_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident
|115
|0.3%
|6th of 6
|-
|[1976 by-election](/source/1976_Walsall_North_by-election)<ref name=":8" />
|[Walsall North](/source/Walsall_North_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident
|30
|0.1%
|9th of 9
|-
|[1977 by-election](/source/1977_City_of_London_and_Westminster_South_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](/source/City_of_London_and_Westminster_South)
|Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident
|61
|0.3%
|8th of 10
|-
|[1977 by-election](/source/1977_Birmingham_Ladywood_by-election)<ref name=":9" />
|[Birmingham Ladywood](/source/Birmingham_Ladywood_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Air Road Public Safety
|46
|0.3%
|10th of 10
|-
|[1977 by-election](/source/1977_Bournemouth_East_by-election)<ref name=":9" />
|[Bournemouth East](/source/Bournemouth_East_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident
|42
|0.2%
|7th of 7
|-
|[1978 by-election](/source/1978_Ilford_North_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](/source/Ilford_North_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident
|38
|0.1%
|8th of 8
|-
|[1978 by-election](/source/1978_Lambeth_Central_by-election)<ref name=":10" />
|[Lambeth Central](/source/Lambeth_Central_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist
|27
|0.1%
|11th of 11
|-
|[1979 by-election](/source/1979_Liverpool_Edge_Hill_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](/source/Liverpool_Edge_Hill_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident
|32
|0.2%
|7th of 7
|-
| rowspan="2" |[1979 general election](/source/1979_United_Kingdom_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](/source/Newham_North_East_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist Public Safety White Resident
|118
|0.3%
|7th of 7
|-
|[North Devon](/source/North_Devon_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist Public Safety White Resident
|20
|0.0%
|9th of 9
|-
|[1979 by-election](/source/1979_Manchester_Central_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](/source/Manchester_Central_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident
|12
|0.1%
|6th of 6
|-
|[1980 by-election](/source/1980_Southend_East_by-election)<ref name=":11" />
|[Southend East](/source/Southend_East_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident
|23
|0.0%
|7th of 7
|-
|[1981 by-election](/source/1981_Warrington_by-election)<ref name=":11" />
|[Warrington](/source/Warrington_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist
|14
|0.1%
|9th of 11
|-
|[1981 by-election](/source/1981_Croydon_North_West_by-election)<ref name=":11" />
|[Croydon North West](/source/Croydon_North_West_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident
|51
|0.2%
|9th of 12
|-
|[1981 by-election](/source/1981_Crosby_by-election)<ref name=":11" />
|[Crosby](/source/Crosby_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident
|36
|0.1%
|7th of 9
|-
|[1982 by-election](/source/1982_Glasgow_Hillhead_by-election)<ref name=":11" />
|[Glasgow Hillhead](/source/Glasgow_Hillhead_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist Public Safety White Resident
|5
|0.0%
|8th of 8
|-
|[1982 by-election](/source/1982_Beaconsfield_by-election)<ref name=":11" />
|[Beaconsfield](/source/Beaconsfield_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident
|99
|0.3%
|5th of 6
|-
|[1982 by-election](/source/1982_Mitcham_and_Morden_by-election)<ref name=":11" />
|[Mitcham and Morden](/source/Mitcham_and_Morden_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist
|66
|0.2%
|7th of 9
|-
|[1982 by-election](/source/1982_Peckham_by-election)<ref name=":11" />
|[Peckham](/source/Peckham_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident
|102
|0.5%
|5th of 5
|-
|[1982 by-election](/source/1982_Birmingham_Northfield_by-election)<ref name=":11" />
|[Birmingham Northfield](/source/Birmingham_Northfield_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|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](/source/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](/source/St_George's_Hospital) in [Tooting](/source/Tooting) on 4 April 1986.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":6" />

Boaks' funeral was attended by the Minister of Transport, [Peter Bottomley](/source/Peter_Bottomley). He was buried at sea with full honours in the naval graveyard outside [Portsmouth Harbour](/source/Portsmouth_Harbour).<ref name=":12" />

Boaks's legacies include:
* Pedestrianisation of London's [Carnaby Street](/source/Carnaby_Street), which he took an active part in campaigning for, along with [Screaming Lord Sutch](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Hansard)'', [House of Lords](/source/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

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bill Boaks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Boaks) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Boaks?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.