John Stonehouse’s kids included three with his wife Sheila Buckley and one with a mistress.
John Thomson Stonehouse (1925 – 1988) was a British politician and a member of the Labour and Co-operative Party.
He served as a minister and attended the cabinet of Harold Wilson.
John is widely remembered for his unsuccessful attempt at faking his death in 1974.
Over 20 after his death, it was revealed that John had been an agent for the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic military intelligence.
John’s life has been covered by several popular media, including ITV’s Drama series Stonehouse, where Matthew Macfadyen plays the former MP.
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Where Are John Stonehouse Kids And Wife Sheila Buckley?
John Stonehouse married Barbara Joan Smith in 1948. The couple had three kids: daughters Jane and Julia and son Mathew.
Things did not work out and the pair divorced after three decades of marriage in 1978.
John married his mistress, Sheila Elizabeth Buckley, in Hampshire on January 31, 1981. He had a son named James William John with Sheila in December 1982.
John is widely remembered for his unsuccessful attempt at faking his death in 1974, leaving a pile of clothes in Miami Beach to make it appear he had drowned or been eaten by a shark.
He was assumed dead, and obituaries were made even though no corpse had been found. In reality, he was on the way to Australia, hoping to start a new life with his mistress and secretary, Sheila Buckley.
John’s daughter, Julia Stonehouse, published an account of her Father’s life John Stonehouse, My Father: The True Story of the Runaway MP, in 2021.
It was released almost simultaneously with Stonehouse: Cabinet Minister, Fraudster, Spy, a book by criminal defense solicitor Julian Hayes, John’s great nephew through his Father, Michael Hayes.
Julia has an eponymous website where she questions the integrity of books and broadcasts about her dad.
John Stonehouse Family Background In Detail
John Thomson Stonehouse was born in Southampton, England, United Kingdom, on July 28, 1925.
John was the second son and youngest child of William Mitchell Stonehouse and Rosina Marie (née Taylor).
His Father, William, was a Post Office engineer and later a dockyard engine fitter. He was also the local secretary of his trade union.
Likewise, his mother, Rosina, was a former scullery maid. She was also in politics and became the sixth female mayor of Southampton and a councilor on Southampton City Council (1936 to 1970).
John attended Taunton’s School (now Richard Taunton Sixth Form College), and the London School of Economics (LSE), where he studied BSc(Econ.) after the war.
During his time at LSE, he was chairman of the Labour society and the chess club. John joined the Labour Party at 16.
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John Stonehouse Net Worth Before Death
There is no mention of John Stonehouse’s net worth online. Since he passed away over three decades ago, the information is inaccessible.
On March 25, 1988, John collapsed on set during an edition of Central Weekend while filming a program about missing people.
People at the studio gave him emergency medical treatment and called an ambulance. John was diagnosed with a minor heart attack and was kept in the city’s general hospital overnight.
Around three weeks later, on April 14, John suffered a massive heart attack at his home in Totton, Hampshire.
This time the former MP could not be saved, and he died in the hospital at 2:30 am.
John was cremated in Bassett Green, Southampton, on April 22, 1988. Another former MP, Bruce Douglas-Mann, paid tribute.
His fourth novel was published posthumously in 1989. John left under £70,000 per his will, posted on August 17, 1988.
