Ernest Marples

The Right Honourable The Lord Marples PC
Minister of Transport
In office 14 October 1959 – 16 October 1964
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Preceded by	Harold Watkinson
Succeeded by	Tom Fraser
Postmaster General
In office 17 January 1957 – 14 October 1959
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	Charles Hill
Succeeded by	Reginald Bevins
Member of Parliament for Wallasey
In office 26 July 1945 – 8 February 1974
Preceded by	George Reakes
Succeeded by	Lynda Chalker
Personal details
Born	Alfred Ernest Marples (1907-12-09)9 December 1907 Levenshulme, Manchester, Lancashire
Died	6 July 1978(1978-07-06) (aged 70) The Princess Grace Hospital Centre, Monaco
Resting place	Southern Cemetery, Manchester
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Edna Florence Harwood (1937–1945) (dissolved) Ruth Alianore Dobson (1956–1978) (his death)[1]

Alfred Ernest Marples, Baron Marples, PC (9 December 1907 – 6 July 1978) was a British Conservative politician who served as Postmaster General (1957–1959) and Minister of Transport (1959–1964).

As Postmaster General, he oversaw the introduction of the Premium Bond scheme and of postcodes. His period as Minister of Transport was controversial. He both oversaw significant road construction (he opened the first section of the M1 motorway) and the closure of a considerable portion of the national railway network with the Beeching cuts. His involvement in the road construction business Marples Ridgway, of which he had been managing director, led to concerns regarding possible conflict of interest. In later life, Marples was elevated to the peerage before fleeing to Monaco at very short notice to avoid prosecution for tax fraud.