Lieutenant Commander William George Boaks (25 May 1904 – 4 April 1986) was a British Royal Navy officer who became a political campaigner for road safety. A pioneer of British eccentric political campaigning, he jointly held the record for the fewest votes recorded for a candidate in a British parliamentary election, taking five at a by-election in 1982. Early life Boaks was born in Walthamstow, into a naval family. His father, William, was a sales clerk for a fruit merchant. He was educated at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. Boaks entered the Royal Navy in 1920, aged 16, as a boy seaman, and was promoted from acting sub-lieutenant to sub-lieutenant on 1 December 1928. He was granted a temporary commission as a flying officer while on attachment to the Royal Air Force between 2 October 1930 and 7 May 1931, and was promoted to lieutenant on 1 December 1931, and to lieutenant-commander on 1 December 1939. Boaks was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his part in the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940, during which his ship was sunk, and also took part in the sinking of the while serving as a gunnery officer on board in May 1941. He served in the Navy for nearly thirty years, becoming a qualified submarine officer and deep-sea diver. He was amongst the first Allied officers at Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Boaks retired from the Navy in May 1949. He moved to Streatham and worked as an executive officer of the Building Apprenticeship Training Council. Boaks applied for the vacant position of Chief Constable of Berkshire in 1958 but was not offered an interview. Political career Political campaigning 1950s Boaks' first candidacy for election was at the 1951 general election. Boaks contested Walthamstow East as an independent candidate for Admiral, or the "Association of Democratic Monarchists Representing All Women". He had intended to stand against the Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, but stood for the wrong seat (Attlee's constituency was Walthamstow West). Boaks' campaign advocated equal pay for women, subsidised apprenticeships and the sale of council houses. Boaks received 174 votes, finishing in last place with 0.4% of the vote. Following his candidacy at Walthamstow East, Boaks continued a career as an eccentric campaigner. To publicise his campaigns, Boaks initially used his Vauxhall 12 car, which he named Josephine and painted as a zebra crossing, complete with loudspeakers and placards. In later campaigns, owing to