Age, Biography and Wiki

David James (British MP) (David Pelham James) was born on 25 December, 1919, is a British politician. Discover David James (British MP)'s Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 66 years old?

Popular As David Pelham James
Occupation Politician, author, adventurer
Age 66 years old
Zodiac Sign Capricorn
Born 25 December 1919
Birthday 25 December
Birthplace N/A
Date of death 15 December, 1986
Died Place N/A
Nationality

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 25 December. He is a member of famous politician with the age 66 years old group.

David James (British MP) Height, Weight & Measurements

At 66 years old, David James (British MP) height not available right now. We will update David James (British MP)'s Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
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Who Is David James (British MP)'s Wife?

His wife is Jaquetta Digby (1950-1986; his death)

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Jaquetta Digby (1950-1986; his death)
Sibling Not Available
Children 6

David James (British MP) Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is David James (British MP) worth at the age of 66 years old? David James (British MP)’s income source is mostly from being a successful politician. He is from . We have estimated David James (British MP)'s net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income politician

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Timeline

1919

David Pelham Guthrie-James, MBE, DSC (25 December 1919 – 15 December 1986) was a British Conservative Party politician, author and adventurer.

James was born in 1919, the oldest son of Sir Archibald James and Bridget James Miller (née Guthrie).

He went first to Summer Fields School in Oxford and then Eton.

He left Eton at the age of 17, sailing round the world "before the mast" in the 4-masted barque Viking as a trainee officer.

He then joined his father on a trip to Spain where he observed the ongoing Spanish Civil War.

1938

In 1938 he went up to Balliol College, Oxford, to read geography, but left after four terms to join the RNVR, having been awarded an honorary wartime degree.

1940

In June 1940, James became a midshipman on HMS Drake.

Later on he served on an armed merchant cruiser patrolling the Denmark Strait.

1941

In December 1941, he became the second in command of Motor Gun Boat No.63 operating out of Felixstowe.

1943

In the early hours of Sunday 28 February 1943, his then vessel MGB 79, was sunk in action off the Hook of Holland.

James and three of his crew were rescued from the water by a German trawler and were taken prisoner, later earned the DSC for this action.

He was sent to Marlag O, the naval prisoner-of-war camp near Westertimke.

He attempted to escape in December 1943, slipping out of the shower block on a foggy morning, then crossed Germany wearing his full British naval uniform, but with forged papers identifying him as "I. Bagerov" of the Bulgarian Navy.

This name was chosen as a joke, so that when asked who he was he would reply “Bugger off”.

James made it as far as the port of Lübeck and had made contact with the crew of a Swedish ship willing to smuggle him out of the country before he was arrested, and returned to the camp.

1944

His second escape in late 1944 used the same method, relying on the corrupt shower-block guards not to report their own short head-count.

James again headed for the Baltic coast, posing as a merchant seaman, and this time made it to Sweden.

His successful escape earned him an Order of the British Empire and a spot at the Naval Intelligence Division where he lectured his colleagues on escape methods.

Believing that his experience would be of no use in the Middle East where he was to be transferred he joined Operation Tabarin in 1944, wintering in Graham Land until January 1946.

In consequence, the James Nunatak was named after him by the British Antarctic Survey.

1946

A self-penned account of his 11 months in (and out of) the camp was published in the UK as A Prisoner's Progress in Blackwood's Magazine (1946–7), then in book form by Blackwoods in 1947, with a second edition in 1954 and in the U.S. under the title Escaper's Progress.

A review at the time described the work as "one of the better escape books".

1948

James was then chosen to act as Polar Adviser to director Charles Frend for the 1948 film production of Scott of the Antarctic, during which he appeared as John Mills' "body double" in a number of long shots in the snow.

1949

Never one to miss a book opportunity, James wrote Scott of the Antarctic: The Film and Its Production which was published by Lon Convoy, followed a year later, in 1949, by That Frozen Land: The Story of a Year in the Antarctic.

Being the only near contemporary account of Operation Tabarin That Frozen Land avoided referring to its geopolitical objectives.

1950

James was asked by George G. Harrap and Co. to co-edit, with James Lennox Kerr, a book of wartime stories and experiences of RNVR members entitled Wavy Navy - By Some Who Served. (1950), and was then chosen by the daughter of Lord Roberts of Kandahar to write her father's biography, published by Hollis & Carter under the title Lord Roberts (1954).

On 20 May 1950, James married Jaquetta Mary Theresa (née Digby) (28 October 1928 – 22 February 2019), youngest daughter of Edward Digby, 11th Baron Digby, and sister of Pamela Harriman and Edward Digby, 12th Baron Digby.

1951

They had six children, four sons and two daughters, born between 1951 and 1962.

1957

In 1957 James wrote a book entitled Outward Bound, with a foreword by the Duke of Edinburgh, about the Outward Bound organisation, and in 1960 co-edited, with The Field editor Wilson Stephens, In Praise of Fox Hunting, a series of essays by contributors such as Dick Francis, Jimmy Edwards and BBC show jumping commentator Dorian Williams.

1959

He was Member of Parliament for Brighton Kemptown from 1959 to 1964, when he lost, after a record seven recounts, by just 7 votes to Labour's Dennis Hobden (the first Labour MP for a Sussex constituency).

1962

In 1962, weeks before the birth of his youngest son, he featured on This Is Your Life, having been ambushed at Victoria Station by Eamonn Andrews and his red book, getting off the train from his home town of Haywards Heath.

Although born into a Church of England family, he was a director of Catholic publishing house Burns & Oates, having been received into the church whilst a POW.

Interested in the existence of the Loch Ness Monster, he co-founded the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau with naturalist Sir Peter Scott in 1962.

1964

In the 1964 election when he lost his Brighton seat, his view was that his campaign was sabotaged by extreme left wing infiltrators, in revenge for the assistance he had given to the exposure of ballot rigging in the Electrical Trades Union.

1970

James was subsequently elected as MP for North Dorset in 1970 and he served as member for that seat until his retirement in 1979, when he was succeeded by Sir Nicholas Baker.

1978

In 1978, when the book was re-published in the UK in paperback as Escaper's Progress (Corgi), his original account of the escape, as prepared for Naval Intelligence Division was included as an appendix, having become de-classified.

This has again been republished by Pen & Sword Ltd.

1979

In 1979 he changed his name to David Guthrie-James To mark the connection between Clan Guthrie and his family home Torosay Castle on the Isle of Mull.

1998

His friend John Robson wrote his biography which was published under the title One Man in His Time (Spellmount Ltd. 1998).