# Bill Field

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For the American politician from the state of New Hampshire, see [Bill Field (American politician)](/source/Bill_Field_(American_politician)).

**William James Field** (22 May 1909 – 11 October 2002) was a British politician whose career was ended by a conviction for "importuning for immoral purposes" in 1953.[1][2] He was [Labour](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Paddington North](/source/Paddington_North) from 1946 to 1953.

## Early life

Source:[3]

Field was the son of a solicitor and grew up in south-west London. He was educated at Richmond County School, then attended the [University of London](/source/University_of_London) where he took an active part in student politics, opposing [appeasement](/source/Appeasement) of [Germany](/source/Germany).

On the outbreak of [World War II](/source/World_War_II), he enlisted in the [Royal Army Service Corps](/source/Royal_Army_Service_Corps) and later served in the [Intelligence Corps](/source/Intelligence_Corps_(United_Kingdom)).

At the end of the war, Field was demobilised swiftly as he had been selected as Labour Party candidate for [Hampstead](/source/Hampstead_(UK_Parliament_constituency)); in the Labour landslide [election of 1945](/source/1945_United_Kingdom_general_election), Field reduced a Conservative majority of over 20,000 to 1,638.

## Political career

Later that year Field was elected to [Hammersmith Borough Council](/source/Metropolitan_Borough_of_Hammersmith). He swiftly became the dominant figure and was made council leader the following year. He was also selected to follow Sir [Noel Mason-Macfarlane](/source/Noel_Mason-Macfarlane) as Labour candidate for Paddington North following Mason-Macfarlane's resignation for ill-health reasons, and retained the seat. He improved his majority against the national trend in the [1950 general election](/source/1950_United_Kingdom_general_election), and was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to [Michael Stewart](/source/Michael_Stewart,_Baron_Stewart_of_Fulham) and [John Strachey](/source/John_St_Loe_Strachey).

In opposition after October 1951, Field was highly regarded[4] and thought[by whom?] likely to be appointed as a Minister if a Labour government were formed.

## Downfall

In 1953, Field was spotted by a policeman acting suspiciously in public lavatories in the West End of London. The officer arrested him for "importuning for immoral purposes", an offence which meant [seeking out homosexual partners](/source/Cottaging#Legal_status). Field gave his occupation as biochemist and pleaded guilty, but when the press discovered his real job and reported the case, he changed his plea to not guilty.[5]

Field was convicted on one charge and fined £15. He immediately appealed, with his defence led by the [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) MP [John Maude](/source/John_Maude) who was reported to have given his services free. Maude was a spirited advocate for his cause, accusing the policeman involved of having committed [perjury](/source/Perjury). However, Maude could not persuade the Appeal Court and the conviction was upheld. Field then resigned his seat and moved from London. He declined to give his new address to *[Who's Who](/source/Who's_Who_(UK))*.[citation needed]

## Later life

Field moved to [Fontmell Magna](/source/Fontmell_Magna) in [Dorset](/source/Dorset).[when?] He followed his academic interest in [Egyptology](/source/Egyptology); he was a lecturer at the [University of the Third Age](/source/University_of_the_Third_Age) until his death in 2002 aged 93.[citation needed]

## References

1. Robinson, Shirleene (2008), [*Homophobia: An Australian History*](https://books.google.com/books?id=lWHOI2s9JqQC), Federation Press, p. 118, ISBN 978-1-86287-703-0

1. Parris, Matthew; Prosser, David; Pierce, Andrew (1995), [*Great parliamentary scandals: four centuries of calumny, smear and innuendo*](https://books.google.com/books?id=mUlnAAAAMAAJ), Robson Books, p. 107, ISBN 978-0-86051-957-7

1. Field, Frank (2023). [*Politics, Poverty and Belief: A Political Memoir*](https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9781399408424). 1 ed. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. [doi:10.5040/9781399408424](https://doi.org/10.5040/9781399408424). ISBN 978-1-3994-0842-4.

1. ["William Field"](https://www.thetimes.com/article/d1e7eb45-6965-4212-a24f-a52b0cb357d4). *www.thetimes.com*. 2002-10-15. Retrieved 2024-12-19.

1. *West London Observer*. 30 January 1953

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