Lieutenant Commander William George Boaks (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.
Early life
Boaks was born in Walthamstow, into a naval family. His father, William, was a sales clerk for a fruit merchant. He was educated at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. He was granted a temporary commission as a flying officer while on attachment to the Royal Air Force between 2 October 1930 and 7 May 1931, and was promoted to lieutenant on 1 December 1931, and to lieutenant commander on 1 December 1939.
Boaks was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his part in the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940, during which his ship was sunk, and also took part in the sinking of the while serving as a gunnery officer on board in May 1941. Boaks retired from the Navy in May 1949. He moved to Streatham
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". He had intended to stand against the Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, but stood for the wrong seat (Attlee's constituency was Walthamstow West).
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. The bike was eventually hijacked and taken to Aberystwyth; Boaks was unable to afford the £20 to have it repaired.
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.
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.
1960s
In February 1961, Boaks unsuccessfully applied for planning permission to build a heliport in his garden. Boaks subsequently submitted further applications to Lambeth London Borough Council, including a proposal to build an underground hangar for eight civil defence helicopters.
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. 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".
He would campaign intermittently by cycling around the target constituency, wearing a large cardboard box daubed with his slogans. 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".
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. He also stood in the by-election for the ward of St. Leonard's on 27 June 1968.
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.
1970s and 1980s
At some point in the early 1970s, a compulsory purchase order was issued on Boaks' home by Lambeth Council. 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". He also stood in the Merton Park ward by-election in 1980 as "Public Safety, Democratic Monarchist, White Resident".
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. The feat was remarkable, given that it meant fewer people voted for him than gave their names for his nomination as a candidate.
In November 1982, Boaks received head injuries in a road accident, dissuading him from further pursuing his electoral career.
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.
Anti-establishment
Boaks' political views tended towards an increasing distrust of the establishment, fuelled by his frequent court appearances. He was against Communism and homosexuality in the civil service.
|Clapham
|Independent
|80
|0.2%
|5th of 5
|-
| rowspan="2" |February 1974 general election
|Streatham
|Independent
|45
|0.1%
|5th of 5
|-
|Wimbledon
|Independent
|240
|0.4%
|4th of 4
|-
|1976 by-election
|Carshalton
|Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident
|115
|0.3%
|6th of 6
|-
|1976 by-election
|City of London and Westminster South
|Air, Road, Public Safety, White Resident
|61
|0.3%
|8th of 10
|-
|1977 by-election
|Ilford North
|Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident
|38
|0.1%
|8th of 8
|-
|1978 by-election
|Liverpool Edge Hill
|Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident
|32
|0.2%
|7th of 7
|-
| rowspan="2" |1979 general election
|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
|Manchester Central
|Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident
|12
|0.1%
|6th of 6
|-
|1980 by-election
Death and legacy
In 1984, Boaks was injured in a second minor road traffic incident while getting off a bus. 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.
- , 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.