Les Haylen
| Les Haylen | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Member of the Australian Parliament for Parkes |
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In office 21 August 1943 – 30 November 1963 |
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| Preceded by | Charles Marr |
| Succeeded by | Tom Hughes |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
23 September 1898 Gundaroo, New South Wales |
| Died | 12 September 1977 (aged 78) Lewisham, New South Wales |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Sylvia Myrtle Rogers |
| Occupation | Journalist |
Leslie Clement "Les" Haylen (23 September 1898 – 12 September 1977), also known by the pen-name Sutton Woodfield, was an Australian politician, playwright, novelist and journalist.
Haylen was born on 23 September 1898 at Gundaroo, near Queanbeyan, to Irish maintenance worker Thomas Haylen and Catherine, née Day. He was the youngest of twelve children; the family moved to Sydney in 1908. Haylen was raised as a Catholic, but later lost his faith. Among his childhood influences were his literature-loving grandfather William Henry Day, and family friend Mary Gilmore.
Haylen enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 6 July 1918 and was sent to Europe, but his ship was recalled and he was discharged in January of the following year. Re-enlisting in June 1919, he escorted prisoners of war being repatriated to Germany on the passenger ferry Trás-os-Montes. On his return to Sydney in November, he became a journalist with The Sunday Times. On 30 April 1927 he married shop-assistant Sylvia Myrtle Rogers at Chancery Square.
The couple moved to Wagga Wagga where Haylen became chief sub-editor and leader writer of The Daily Advertiser. His first play, the anti-war Two Minutes' Silence, was first staged in 1930; it received positive reviews and ran in Sydney for twenty-six weeks. A film based on the play was produced in 1933. Returning to Sydney in 1933, Haylen became news editor of The Australian Women's Weekly.
In 1942, he sought Australian Labor Party (ALP) pre-selection for the seat of Parkes in the Australian House of Representatives. As a consequence, his contract with Consolidated Press Ltd was terminated by its owner, Frank Packer, and Haylen then became editor of the official newspaper of the ALP, the Standard. He scored an unexpected victory in the 1943 federal election over the long-standing member Sir Charles Marr, attracting 52.9% of the two-party-preferred vote.
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