David Walder
British politician (1928-1978)
Alan David Walder (13 November 1928 – 26 October 1978) was a British Conservative Party politician, author and barrister who was the Member of Parliament for High Peak from 1961 to 1966, and for Clitheroe from 1970 until his death.
Background
Born in St Pancras, London, Walder was educated at Latymer School and Christ Church, Oxford. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1948. In 1953 he transferred to the 4th Hussars (Army Emergency Reserve) and was promoted lieutenant. He was promoted captain in 1956, and later promoted Major. He became a barrister, called to the bar by Inner Temple in 1956.
Career
He unsuccessfully contested the Leicester South West constituency at the 1959 general election.
He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for High Peak at a 1961 by-election, but lost the seat at the 1966 general election, to Labour's Peter Jackson.
He was returned to the House of Commons at the 1970 general election as MP for Clitheroe, which he held until his death. Walder was an assistant government whip from 1973 to 1974.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “David Walder” is british politician (1928-1978). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through David, Walder and British, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “british politician (1928-1978)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5240774. VIAF identifies the subject as 92823370. The Library of Congress control number is n50020094. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1928, 1978, 1961 and 1966.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “David Walder”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow David Walder primary sources, David Walder archive and David research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “David Walder”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “David Walder” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.