Sir Patrick Duffy has died (Image: PA)
A former Labour MP, believed to have been the longest-living ex Member of Parliament in the country, has died, a family friend has confirmed. Former Defence Minister Sir Patrick Duffy died aged 105 following a short illness on January 2, family friend Kevin Meagher said.
Paying tribute to the former Labour minister, Mr Meagher said Sir Patrick was “kind of a living historical jukebox” where you can “push the buttons and say, what was it like to meet, you know, (former prime minister) Clement Attlee?” Sir Patrick was born in Wigan in 1920 and his earliest memory was of the 1926 general strike, Mr Meagher said, where Britain’s miners walked out over attempts by pit owners to increase their working hours but reduce their wages.
The family friend, who helped write Sir Patrick’s second book, published when he was 103, described the former MP as “pre-internet” and “pre-computer”, saying he used a typewriter or pen to write up From Wigan To Westminster: Hot Wars, Cold Wars And The Carrier Strike Group – which reflected on his political career and modern-day issues.
Mr Meagher told the Press Association Sir Patrick, described as a committed Catholic, remained forward looking and continued to follow the news closely.
Sir Patrick, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and received a papal knighthood from Pope John Paul II, was concerned about Russia’s war in Ukraine and possible escalation, he added.
During World War 2, he survived a plane crash in the Orkney Islands while serving in the Fleet Air Arm.
Mr Meagher said: “He lay in the fuselage of his aircraft for 24 hours on a Scottish mountainside literally freezing to death, until he was discovered and he took the last rites by a priest because they didn’t think he’d make it. When they found him the medics couldn’t inject him with morphine because his arm had literally frozen – they had to stab the needle into his arm to be able to get the morphine in. And he just mentioned this as an aside, this was extraordinary tale, but again, it’s that stoicism.”
Sir Patrick Duffy died on January 2 (Image: PA)
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Despite undergoing plastic surgery for his injuries he flew again.
Sir Patrick first ran for Parliament in 1950 and was elected MP for the first time in 1963 after winning the Colne Valley by-election, before holding a seat in Sheffield Attercliffe from 1970 to his retirement in 1992.
The war veteran served as parliamentary under-secretary for the Royal Navy for James Callaghan’s Labour government in the late 1970s.
A statement written by Mr Meagher, and approved by Sir Patrick’s family, described him as: “An extraordinary man with a lifetime of accomplishments, Patrick leaves behind him family and friends – across all age groups – who will miss his kindness, humour and incredible acuity in recalling personalities and events from a century ago.
“Patrick’s was a life well-lived, brimming with achievement, the admiration of colleagues and the love and affection of his many family and friends.
“He will be greatly missed.”
