Background
Forrester was born in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and was educated at Eastwood (local authority run) School, the City School of Commerce in Stoke-on-Trent, and Alsager teacher training college in Cheshire.
Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom
Forrester was born in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and was educated at Eastwood (local authority run) School, the City School of Commerce in Stoke-on-Trent, and Alsager teacher training college in Cheshire.
He spent three and a half years in the Royal Navy and taught English to the Polish Resettlement Corps before becoming a teacher in the city. Partly as a consequence of his experience in the armed services, Forrester remained a "steadfast Atlanticist all his political life". In 1970, he was appointed as parliamentary private secretary to David Ennals, the then Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Security.
Forrester was a Stoke-on-Trent City Councillor for East Valley (a ward that includes parts of Smallthorne, Sneyd Green, Milton and Baddeley Green) from 1973 to 2000 and served as chairman of the authority"s licensing committee.
He was made Stoke-on-Trent"s 50th honorary Freeman in September 1992. He also served as a Magistrate in the city.
After Forrester"s death, the Secretary of his local Labour Party Branch described his "sense of duty, his commitment, his approachability, his warmth, and his humour".
44th United Kingdom Parliament. 45th United Kingdom Parliament. 46th United Kingdom Parliament.
47th United Kingdom Parliament.
48th United Kingdom Parliament. 49th United Kingdom Parliament]
Having been secretary of the local Constituency Labour Party from 1961, Forrester was Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent North from 1966 to 1987, when was deselected as Labour candidate and replaced by Joan Walley.