Nearer to home, my father was sailing close to the wind with his own export businesses. It wasn't 'all over'. Stonehouse didn't submit a resignation until after he was convicted of theft, fraud and deception and jailed for seven years. Express. Stonehouses daughter, Julia, dismissed the spy claims in her own book, John Stonehouse, My Father, published in 2021. What he did was very carefully planned, it required a clear head', Hayes said. She is known as the wife of John Stonehouse and served in Prime Minister Harold Wilson's cabinet as a member of the British Labour and co-operative Parties. When he was a parliamentarian, Sheila forged a partnership with him. The series starred Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes and was directed by Jon S. Baird from a script by John Preston . A brainstorm, as he described it, brought on by the demands of his profession, was what inspired him to his weird escapade. Stonehouse was released from prison in 1979 and two years later married his mistress, Sheila Buckley, who gave birth to their son the following year. Stonehouse was a controlling person, Townley added. Back in Melbourne on December 11, there was more crazy banking for my father to do. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. After her education could be finished, she started her serious job. The drama portrays a honeytrap, but in fact they psychologically groomed him over a period of time. According to the series, Stonehouse, a high-ranking official in Harold Wilsons administration, faked his death by swimming into the sea after disappearing from the beach of a lavish resort in Florida circa November 1974. He knew what he was doing., Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning, Hayes said he pored over detailed files in Czech archives while researching his biography. He seemed very confused as to who he was, she said. Once tipped as a future prime minister, he rose to become minister of aviation, the final postmaster general and a privy counsellor advising the Queen. In early July 1974, my father phoned a hospital in his constituency of Walsall, telling them he had money to distribute to young widows and asking if they could give him the names of men who had recently died. He was found guilty of various counts of theft, fraud and deception in August 1976, and was sentenced to seven years in prison, serving three. I just really wanted to give equal weight to all those things.". 's newsletter, you acknowledge that you have read and accepted hellomagazine.com's privacy policy, the cookies policy, and the website terms of use, and that you consent to hellomagazine.com using your data according to the established laws. he lamented. As the Czech defector had also not provided any evidence to back up his claim, he said, they should let the matter rest. Unsurprisingly, this erratic activity aroused suspicion. This three-part series . All rights reserved. Hayes also noted Russia and China creeping into the political affairs of Western nations, and politicians playing into the hands of big business. My father said nothing. A Czech agent befriended him and worked on him over lunches and dinners. Hayes, who has clear childhood memories of Stonehouse and the impact of his disappearance in 1974 on the family, said little of the dramatised version was strictly factual. 23:37 GMT 30 Jul 2021. According to the book Stonehouse: Cabinet Minister, Fraudster and Spy by Johns great nephew Julian Hayes, neither Sheila nor Barbara wanted to let go of the MP despite his misdeeds. He left a pile of clothes on a hotel beach in Miami to fake his own death in 1974. Sheila lived in Abbey Wood. Although never proved, the accusations threw a dark cloak of suspicion round him. He now had seven accounts at four banks. Sheila Buckley now: What happened to John Stonehouse's second wife portrayed by Emer Heatley in ITV drama,Stonehouse was once seen as one the the party's most promising prospects, but his career ended in bizarre fashion when he faked his own death in 1974 My father booked into an expensive hotel and that afternoon and the following day made several visits to two banks, withdrawing and depositing large sums of money using the names of both Markham and Mildoon. She now works as a chartered accountant and. He remembered that in Frederick Forsyth's book The Day Of The Jackal, another identity could be obtained by presenting a birth certificate to the Passport Office. The courts agreed. Five weeks later, he was arrested in Australia, where he had been joined by his lover. He knew that his wife and children would believe he was dead. Stonehouse died of a heart attack aged 62 on April 14, 1988, in Southampton. 'But who was screaming was it Stonehouse or was it Markham? Buckley has rarely spoken about that relationship but did talk briefly about his declining health in 1978 after the politician experienced a series of heart attacks while in prison. A drama series depicting the curious story of MP John Stonehouse faking his own death begins on ITV tonight (Jan 2). Stonehouse was 49 at the time, and was mired in debt and addicted to prescription drugs. According to the Daily Mail, she lives alone in an isolated 700,000 property in the English county Romsey on the chalk stream, River Test. Two days after arriving in Denmark, Sheila flew back to London and my father set off for Australia again. He was first elected as Labour Co-operative Member of Parliament (MP) for Wednesbury in Staffordshire in a 1957 . [28] After release [ edit] At a party for After Dark in 1987 In fact, he was going to start to a new life in Australia with his secretary and mistress Sheila Buckley. On July 22, my father opened a deposit account at a branch of the Midland Bank near Parliament in the name of Markham, giving a false address. 'When Julia got wind of the book, there were then a number of quite, how shall we put it, terse emails,' Hayes said. 2021 Associated Newspapers Limited. He knew pilots, airport staff and airline executives. Read More on. 'The fact of the matter is nobody's learned anything from history', Hayes said, drawing parallels to the current political landscape. MORE:Stonehouse star Matthew Macfadyen reveals concerns ahead of working with wife Keeley Hawes. Emer Heatley is an English actress. Being Mr Markham or Mr Mildoon was a safety valve, a release, a life-saver. She fell in love with a married boss who faked his death. It was no secret that my then 49-year-old father had been under intense emotional pressure in the years before his dramatic disappearance. Stonehouse and Buckley stayed together following his arrest and sentencing, and Buckley would regularly visit him in prison. Jane is said to have written in her diary how John had flipped his lid given his mistress Sheila was 28 while she was 25 and Julia was about to turn 24 at the time. 'Don't worry,' said one of them, 'it's all over.'. Stonehouse vanished after leaving a pile of clothes at the water's edge in Miami in an extraordinary bid to fake his own death or suicide in 1974. She stood by Stonehouse during his incarceration and stayed with him till his passing. Their son James was born a year later and still visits her regularly at her 1980s red-brick home, running errands and bringing her shopping. John tragically died in 1988 at 62 after having a heart attack after suffering multiple heart attacks throughout his life. They had him drop his pants to check for a recognizable Lord Lucans characteristic scar along his upper thigh put an end to this confusion, to which the congressman obliged to avoid public attention. Sheila Buckley, in Australia. She didn't know anything about it. Nobody had any inkling of his dependence on these drugs. Inspired by Frederick Forsyths thriller The Day of the Jackal, he had stolen the identity of a dead constituent, Joseph Markham, to get a passport in his name and intended to begin a new life in Melbourne. Stonehouse died of a heart attack aged 62 on April 14, 1988, in Southampton. The policeman had been wrong. Facing charges of alleging fraud, forgery and conspiracy involving 170,000, he was refused bail and remanded in custody. It seemed as if luck was on Mr Markham's side. Sheila Buckley. Julia has also slammed the ITV drama, branding it disgusting and saying she and her mother - who now goes by Barbara Flexney-Briscoe - were furious. I indulge in all things creative. His problems were compounded by worsening financial troubles and an affair with his secretary, Sheila Buckley. After he was caught, Stonehouse phoned his wife to tell her that he was in fact, not dead. Stonehouse writer John Preston has revealed the real-life Barbara and Sheila's reaction to the ITV drama, Stonehouse star Matthew Macfadyen reveals concerns ahead of working with wife Keeley Hawes, Stonehouse viewers saying same thing about Matthew Macfadyen drama, Everything you need to know about Keeley Hawes and Matthew Macfadyen's relationship. The ITV show stars the real-life married couple Matthew Macfadyen as Stonehouse and Keeley Hawes as Barbara, who was married to the disgraced Labour MP and former cabinet minister at the time of his disappearance. 'We thought we might have a big, international criminal on our hands,' said one senior officer later. The crook attempted to escape a British courtroom by seeking refuge in Sweden and Mauritius, however, Scotland Yard police, much like Sherlock Holmes, ultimately brought him back to London. Neither Mrs Stonehouse nor Ms Buckley were prepared to give up on him, and Barbara stayed married for several more years. 'At one stage, we thought it might have been Lord Lucan.'. Its side effects include depression, anxiety, paranoia, mental confusion, poor decision-making and an increased risk of suicide. The immigration officer stamped his passport with a big round print saying 'Permitted to Enter', and said: 'You are one of us, now.'. But why is everyone so enthusiastic about this series, and who was Sheila Buckley? Just over a month after his disappearance, Stonehouse was arrested in Australia by police who initially mistook him for Lord Lucan, the aristocrat who had gone missing 12 days before Stonehouse did. Dorothy Atkinson ( All Creatures Great and Small) - Plays Betty Boothroyd. , updated According to the Daily Mail, Buckley lives in a 700,000 detached home in the small town and is known to be a keen gardener and is understood to have worked as an accountant or book-keeper to support herself and her son following Stonehouses death. He told her he wanted to see her. 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'From the newspaper accounts it was evident that some people and certain sections of the press themselves were not only dancing on the grave of the missing man, they were trying to dig up the corpse to tear it limb from limb,' he would later write. "What happened to John Stonehouse is the stuff of legend," said Macfadyen, who takes on the lead role. Its a classic case of truth being stranger than fiction.. 'Stonehouse must definitely die.'. In exchange for political inside information, he would eventually be paid a tidy 5,000 (76,000 in today's money), in cash and untraceable. He also had a son with his mistress and second. Ms Buckley worked as Stonehouses parliamentary secretary while he was an MP. 'Why won't they let him die?' Stonehouses actions were the result of meticulous planning of the most premeditated nature fake identities, false bank accounts and credit cards, taking money out of his businesses, said Hayes. He was travelling with Jim Charlton, the deputy chairman of his trade and export company, Global Imex. Before her marriage to John, Sheila was married but the relationship broke down amid accusations of her spouses infidelity. Stonehouse used a new alias after faking his own death, but his ruse only lasted a. Hayes, a lawyer, saw a preview of the first episode of the three-part drama and read the scripts as part of a consultation. She thought it would be dangerous to go against his wishes because of the chance he might attempt suicide. Stonehouse is streaming ITVX now and The Real Stonehouse will be airing on ITV1 tonight at 9pm. Many of the intimate details of Buckleys relationship with Stonehouse were disclosed by Metropolitan Police superintendent David Townley in the docuseriesThe Real Stonehouse. The disgraced politician was foiled after the police caught him in 1974, believing he was missing aristocrat Lord Lucan. NOT both! 'I could see it all clearly,' he later wrote. After Johns ruse was discovered, he asked both Shiela and Barbara to come to Australia ad bring his children. Sharp-eyed officials had spotted him coming and going and made a note that he should be treated with extreme caution. The couple were married for over 30 years and shared three children until John decided to fake his death and start a new life with his secretary Sheila Buckley in Australia. Julia wrote: He might have lived to the age of 83, when he could have used newly released files from the Czech secret service to prove that he was, in fact, innocent of the allegations of treason that never quite went away.. He asked her to come to Melbourne, and to bring Sheila with her. In fact, he was going to start to a new life in Australia with his secretary and mistress Sheila Buckley. It says its based on a true story, and thats really as far as it goes. Shoppers say this new no-needle 'instant filler' is a game changer for lines and wrinkles, This 'curated ear design' brand is a go-to for fashion influencers - and we have a discount, 6 of our favourite bags from the luxe new accessories label to know. Sheila said the calls were difficult to follow because he was speaking about himself in the third person, telling her that 'John' had to get away from the pressures in England. But only later did Stonehouse's alleged spying activities for Czechoslovakia at the height of the Cold War come to light. Stonehouse was a controlling person. More info. ", MORE:Stonehouse viewers saying same thing about Matthew Macfadyen drama, MORE:Everything you need to know about Keeley Hawes and Matthew Macfadyen's relationship. After all he suffered, he is at peace. After her bosses had to rotin the prisons the night, Buckley appeared at Bow Street Judges Courthouse. John Stonehouse's (Matthew Macfadyen) head bobs above the water. By now, it had been revealed that Stonehouse, a serial philanderer, was in a long-term affair with his secretary, Sheila Buckley, who was 21 years younger. . On November 25, Mr Markham set out on his biggest challenge getting to Australia and having his migrant status accepted. The talented artist has worked on stage dramas and treaters for a long while and is now stepping her foot into on-screen acting projects. Plainly, I respected that. He simply wasn't thinking straight. But they would cast aspersions on his integrity for the rest of his life. "My understanding was that they didn't want to have any involvement in it. Free UK delivery on orders over 20. ( 2023-01-04) Stonehouse is a British television series dramatising the life and times of disgraced British government minister John Stonehouse, first broadcast from 2 to 4 January 2023. 'So it's not surprising that by the time I've finished she's already written this book.'. ', Sheila told my mother she'd been his mistress for a long time, that he loved her and that he waited on her hand and foot. On telling a story about the lives of real people, he said: "I never wanted to judge Stonehouse or hold him up to ridicule or anything like that. Speaking about the show at a press event for the series, John revealed that the two women didn't want "any involvement" in the drama. The series concluded on January 4, but this isnt the end of the story with ITV1 airing a companion documentary The Real Stonehouse yesterday (January 5) at 9pm on ITV1. Well soon learn how the young woman was involved in all of this, but in the meanwhile, if youd like to see it as a drama, dont miss Stonehouse, about which additional details will be posted on our website. Just over a month after his disappearance, Stonehouse was arrested in Australia by police who initially mistook him for Lord Lucan, the aristocrat who had gone missing 12 days before Stonehouse. She is seen as a lovely, compassionate person who was swayed by Stonehouse, she got herself drawn into doing something she should never have done. What she hadn't told my mother was that she knew my father was alive, and that he knew she thought she was pregnant because she'd just spent the weekend with him in Copenhagen. Born in 1925, John Stonehouse was active in the co-operative movement and a longtime anti-colonial campaigner who was elected as a Labour MP in 1957. All About The Stonehouse Scandal Revealed. We can only attribute it to madness, one symptom of which is that the person does mad things. Hayes was nine years old when Stonehouse faked his death. John Stonehouse served in Prime Minister Harold Wilson's office as a member of the British Labor and Co-usable parties. Hayes is also one of the contributors featured in the ITV documentary The Real Stonehouse, alongside many others including Edwina Currie and Harold Wilsons Private Secretary Robin Butler. Who Was Sheila Buckley And How She Connected To The Stonehouse Scandal? By the middle of 1974, he had decided he had had enough. They arrived at the vast and magnificent Fairmont, high on a hill overlooking the city. In the next few weeks he set up a large number of additional accounts, including one with the Bank of New South Wales in the City of London, telling them he was considering emigrating to Australia, and another in Zurich. "What happened to John Stonehouse is the stuff of legend. The following evening, John Stonehouse, Labour MP and privy counsellor, walked from his hotel to the beach in Miami, left his clothes with the beach cabana attendant and effectively vanished off the face of the Earth. Sheila Buckley, the secretary and mistress, later wife of John Stonehouse, circa 1980 Credit: Keystone His reappearance was to prove a mixed blessing for Harold Wilson. He asked for a single room, but they didn't have one so accommodated him for the same price in their best suite, the largest my father had ever seen. Assuming he'd drowned or been attacked by a shark, the great and the good paid tribute to him in fulsome obituaries published in London. Its side effects include depression, anxiety, paranoia, mental confusion, poor decision-making and an increased risk of suicide. But what happened to Stonehouses second wife, and where is she now? The former parliamentary secretary is now in her eighties and currently lives in Romsey, Hampshire. A look at what happened to the real John Stonehouse after his life was explored in new ITV smash-hit show. John married his mistress, Sheila Elizabeth Buckley, in Hampshire on January 31, 1981. What really happened when West Midlands MP John Stonehouse faked his own death A new drama is currently being shown on ITV about the former Wednesbury MP who faked his own death amid the assertion that he was a Czechoslovak spy - here are 11 photos of the real John Stonehouse By Joe Forte 4th Jan 2023, 12:43pm Ms Buckley. He was once seen as one the the partys most promising prospects, but his career ended in bizarre fashion when he faked his own death in 1974. See also. 4 January 2023. My mother drove Sheila to an Underground station and, when they pulled over, Sheila said: 'You may as well know it all. He compared former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who had his own Sheila Buckley - his aide Gina Coladangelo - and was forced to resign for violating his own Covid protocols in an extramarital affair. Stonehouse collapsed in Birmingham while appearing on Central Live to talk about missing people on March 25, 1988. My mother hoped Jim's presence would help her husband maintain his emotional equilibrium. After three days on the phone trying to track her down, my mother finally caught up with Sheila and they arranged to meet. This wasn't the behaviour of an arch criminal. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. ITV drama Stonehouse wrapped up yesterday (January 4) with the finale of the three-parter hitting screens. It transpired that they had met up. His problems had begun in 1969, when he was accused by a defector from the Czech secret service of being a spy, because of his constituency and ministerial links with the country. ITVs latest three-part drama Stonehouse tells the true story of Labour MP John Stonehouse, played by Successions Matthew Macfayden, who faked his death to set up a new life in Australia with his secretary Sheila Buckley (Emer Heatley). He left behind a tidy mound of garments. READ MORE:The true story behind ITV's Stonehouse and MP who faked his own death. At a meeting with the producers, he expressed certain views about the drama. Streaming Guide. Retired Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector David Townley, who was featured in the documentary The Real Stonehouse, said: I thought [Sheila] was polite a kind, gentle person whod been mesmerised by Stonehouse and dragged into something she shouldnt have got involved in., Stonehouse airs on ITV1 tonight at 9pm and the entire series is streaming on ITVX now. Sheila is now in her 80s and is said to leave a sedate life gardening and helping clients with their tax returns, The Daily Mail reported in 2021. He underwent open heart surgery on 7 November 1978 which lasted for six hours. How To Watch Stonehouse Episodes? She was an attractive brunette who gave in to John Stonehouse, who she knew wasa married party member. Igor Grabuzov - Plays Alexander Marek. He imagined himself escaping the world of John Stonehouse and becoming someone else someone without all these difficulties. She was wrong. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. My father was a very kind man. Once on board, he was approached by three policemen, who ushered him off it and into the deserted booking hall. "What happened to John Stonehouse is the stuff of . Six days later, on November 19, my father flew to Miami. A British politician fakes his own death. He was then extradited to Britain, all the while continuing to serve as one of Parliament's most colourful members. ITVs Stonehouse drama showcased the pair in the midst of a high-profile scandal. Sheila Buckley. What happened to John Stonehouse's children? 'Are you Mr Markham?' 00:03:09. My handsome, generous and brilliant father had seemed in good spirits that night, and my mother was relieved. His lovercumsecretary, Sheila Buckley, was the only person with whom he maintained contact. In the wake of faking his death, he went to Australia to make another living with his beautiful wife and former secretary Sheila. Benim Adm Farah Episode 1: Release Date, Preview & Where To Watch. He had a son named James William John with Sheila in December 1982. Emer Heatley is 29 years old Sheila Buckley in the new ITV series Stonehouse. Again, the rumours were utterly unfounded. Stonehouse recounted the outrageously true story of high-flying Labour MP John Stonehouse (played by Matthew Macfadyen), who attempted to make a fresh start after seemingly drowning off a beach in Miami back in 1974.