Terry Major-Ball (2 July 193213 March 2007) was a British columnist, banker and media personality who was the elder brother of the former British prime minister John Major. During his brother's six-year premiership, he had a brief career as a television and radio personality and newspaper columnist. Despite the media attention, he always remained loyal and discreet.
Early life
Terry Major-Ball was born in 1932, and grew up in Worcester Park, Surrey. His father, Tom Major-Ball (real name Abraham Thomas Ball), was a music hall performer and circus artiste under the name Tom Major, and combined the two surnames when he started a garden ornament business. His mother, Gwen, Tom's second wife, was a dancer. Unlike his elder sister Pat and younger brother John, Major-Ball failed his 11 plus exam and went to Stoneleigh East Secondary Modern School.
After being demobilised, Major-Ball tried, without success, to save his ailing father's business, Major's Garden Ornaments, which was finally taken over by a competitor in 1962. The family's reduced circumstances forced them to move into rented rooms in Coldharbour Lane in Brixton.
Brother's premiership
Terry Major-Ball first came to the spotlight in November 1990, when his brother John became Prime Minister after the Conservative leadership election. During Major's premiership his brother became a media favourite. In 1994 he published his autobiography Major Major: Memories of an Older Brother, which was ghost-written by the journalist James Hughes-Onslow. It received good reviews and Major-Ball became a regular at book launches.