Donald Oliver Soper, Baron Soper (31 January 1903 – 22 December 1998) was a British Methodist minister, socialist and pacifist. He served as President of the Methodist Conference in 1953–54. After May 1965 he was a peer in the House of Lords. Historian Martin Wellings states: Early life Soper was born at 36 Knoll Road, Wandsworth, London, the first of the three children of Ernest Frankham Soper (1871–1962), an average adjuster in marine insurance, the son of a tailor, and his wife, Caroline Amelia, née Pilcher (b. 1877), a headmistress and daughter of a builder. He was educated at Aske's School in south London, at St. Catharine's College and Wesley House in the University of Cambridge, and at the London School of Economics, where he took his PhD. He was an exceptional sportsman who captained his school at football, cricket, and boxing, but he withdrew from cricket after he accidentally killed an opposing batsman with a fast delivery when bowling. Ministry Soper offered as a candidate for the Methodist ministry, and while still a probationary minister (in his first appointment), he sought larger congregations by taking to open air preaching in imitation of the founders of Methodism. From 1926 until well into his nineties, he preached at London's centres for free speech, Tower Hill and (from 1942) Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park; he was often referred to as "Dr Soapbox" in honour of the outdoor preacher's chief piece of apparatus. He was controversial and quick-thinking, and drew large crowds. On 3 August 1929, he married Marie Dean. They had four daughters, the youngest of whom, Caroline, was the first wife of the writer Terence Blacker. Early in his ministry, Soper was radicalised by the inner-city poverty that he witnessed. He became an active member of the Labour Party and much of his preaching was concerned with the political implications of the Christian gospel; late in life, he offended many Conservatives by his fiercely expressed argument that the policies of Margaret Thatcher were inherently incompatible with Christianity. From 1936 until his retirement in 1978, he was the minister of Kingsway Hall, a "Central hall" within the Methodist Church and the home of the West London Methodist Mission which exercised a ministry of practical care for marginalised groups such as the homeless, unmarried mothers and alcoholics. In 1952 he was elected as the President of the Methodist Conference, the governing body of