Poulson affair
| John Poulson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
John Garlick Llewellyn Poulson 14 April 1910 Pontefract, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died |
31 January 1993 (aged 82) Leeds, West Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation | Architect (unregistered) |
| Spouse(s) | Cynthia Sykes (m. 1939–31 January 1993 (his death)); 2 daughters |
John Garlick Llewellyn Poulson (14 April 1910 – 31 January 1993) was a British architect and businessman who caused a major political scandal when his use of bribery was disclosed in 1972. The highest-ranking figure to be forced out was Conservative Home Secretary Reginald Maudling. Poulson served a prison sentence, but continued to protest his innocence, claiming that he was "a man more sinned against than sinning".
Poulson came from a strict Methodist family and inherited a strong faith which stressed the importance of self-help. He did badly at school and at Leeds College of Art but nevertheless was articled to a Pontefract firm of architects, Garside and Pennington. He left to start his own architecture practice with financial backing from his father. He never registered with the ARCUK (Architects' Registration Council of the United Kingdom), later claiming "I was too busy to complete my examinations". Poulson soon began to cultivate contacts in the local borough council and officials at the larger West Riding county authority. Work soon began to arrive and Poulson told friends that he was "on his way". Poulson also became politically involved with the National Liberals, although he never let political differences stop him from making friends who were in charge of commissioning public buildings. He was a Freemason.
Poulson obtained a medical exemption from wartime service in 1939. The same year he married Cynthia Sykes whose sister Lorna was married to John King, Baron King of Wartnaby. He was thus well placed to expand his business throughout the wartime years. He was a workaholic and demanded the same commitment from his staff, dismissing staff who would not work his way. He had his own firm build him a house called 'Manasseh' at a cost of £60,000, helped by building contractors donating services for free in the hope of getting contracts in the future. The house won the 'Ideal Homes' House of the Year competition in 1958. When Poulson's problems caught up with him in later life, he sold the house to a young couple for just over half the build cost.
...
Wikipedia