Robert Geoffrey Ellis was Tory MP for Wakefield (1922-23 and 1924-29) and Sheffield Ecclesall (1935-45). In between, he was MP for Winchester (1931-35). His Labour opponent was Dr R A Lyster, who qualified at London University in 1890 and was later appointed as medical officer for Hampshire. In 1913, Lyster noted that clogs had “been adopted in place of boots in many parts of Hampshire with satisfactory results”.
Lyster resigned his post in 1929 to fight the constituency and contested Preston in 1935; he was selected for the Isle of Wight in anticipation of the 1940 general election. In 1943, he protested that Bournemouth council was removing tram rails for the war effort when there was other metal “just lying around”.
This article appears in the 07 Oct 2015 issue of the New Statesman, Putin vs Isis