James Allason

Lt. Col. James Harry Allason OBE (born 6 September 1912) is a British Conservative Party politician, sportsman, and former military planner who worked with Mountbatten and Churchill.

Military career

The son of Brig-General Walter Allason DSO, James Allason was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He served as an officer in the British Army for 24 years from 1930-54, including in India, Ceylon and Burma, rising to the rank of Lt-Colonel. He joined the Royal Artillery in 1932 transferring to the 3rd Carabiniers in 1937. A gifted mathematician, he addressed the problem of using magnetic compasses with tanks: the Allason Sun compass was adopted for use throughout the Asian theatre.

Allason worked with the Supreme Allied Commander, Lord Louis Mountbatten, as joint planning staff officer in South East Asia Command and was wounded while commanding tanks during the Burma campaign. He was later decorated. He subsequently occupied a similar post as senior military planner at the War Office in London, answering Churchill's queries and providing briefings in the Cabinet War Rooms. His last planning task was to advise on the logistics of withdrawing from Palestine. From 1950-54 he served at the War Office in charge of Army discipline.

Political career

After leaving the Army Alason worked as a Lloyd's of London insurance broker. He was elected a councillor on Kensington Borough Council in 1956.

Allason contested Hackney Central in 1955. He was Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead from 1959 to 1974, when, following boundary changes, he narrowly lost the seat in the October election of that year to Labour's Robin Corbett.

In government he was acknowledged for his expertise not only on defence but in the arcane but key subject of pensions. As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for War he had a ringside seat as the Profumo affair unfolded, refraining from publishing his inside account until after the death of Jack Profumo in March 2006. ["The Mail on Sunday", 12th March 2006]

When the Conservatives were in opposition Allason was front bench spokesman on Housing for six years, and is credited with development of the policy of enabling council house tenants to purchase their own properties: this was taken up by Margaret Thatcher and adopted by subsequent Conservative governments, contributing to their electoral victories. After leaving Parliament he continued to exercise a rational influence on environmental policy from positions on the executive of the Town and Country Planning Association and the Environment Council’s Transport Committee.

Personal interests

As a sportsman he raced Bentleys at Brooklands, played polo with maharajahs in India, skied and sailed in international competition, and represented the House of Commons in five sports. He continued skiing until his 87th year, and still plays Contract Bridge and attends the Opera, on which he has written.

He married Nuala McAreavey from Dublin in 1946, by whom he has two sons, one of whom, the Intelligence historian Rupert Allason, followed him into Parliament as Member for Torbay. The marriage was dissolved in 1974.

Notes

References

*"Times Guide to the House of Commons", 1950, 1966 and October 1974
*rayment
*"Ringside Seat, by James Allason, Timewell Press, London 2007