Tom Williamson, Baron Williamson

Thomas Williamson, Baron Williamson, CBE, JP (2 September 1897 – 27 February 1983) was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician.^[1]

Williamson was born in St. Helens, Lancashire. His father was a glassblower, and Tom began his career working in the office of his father's union, the National Amalgamated Union of Labour.^[1]^[2] He became a full-time union delegate, and in 1924, when it became part of the National Union of General and Municipal Workers (NUGMW), he was appointed as a district secretary. He became interested in politics at age 9, when his father took him to see Tom Mann speak. During the First World War, he served with the Royal Engineers.^[1]

He first foray into politics was serving on the Liverpool City Council from 1929 to 1935. At the 1945 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Brigg constituency in Lincolnshire. He resigned his seat in 1948, and the resulting by-election was won by Labour's Lance Mallalieu.^[1]

In 1937, he became the industrial officer of NUGMW, and served as its General Secretary from 1946 to 1961. He was also President of the Trades Union Congress from 1957 to 1958. He was a founding member of the British Productivity Council.^[1]

Williamson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1950,^[3] and was knighted in 1956.^[4]

Williamson was created a life peer on 15 May 1962, with the title Baron Williamson, of Eccleston in the Borough of St. Helens in the County Palatine of Lancaster.^[5]

He died in a Cheshire nursing home in 1983, aged 85. He was survived by his wife, Hilda Hartley, whom he married in 1925. They had one daughter.^[1]

Coat of arms of Lord Williamson
Crest Out of a mural crown sable masoned argent a pelican proper supporting a caduceus^[6] Escutcheon Per saltire gules and sable three arms conjoined at the shoulder and flexed in a triangle each hand proper grasping a hammer or, over all a sun in splendour gold Supporters On either side a secretary bird proper in their beaks a square buckle gules Motto Quantum sufficit ("A sufficient quantity")

References edit

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Obituary: Lord Williamson". The Times. 1 March 1983. p. 14.
^ Clegg, H. A. (1954). General Union. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. pp. 304–306.
^ "No. 38929". The London Gazette. 8 June 1950. p. 2786.
^ "No. 40829". The London Gazette. 13 July 1956. pp. 4075–4076.
^ "No. 42675". The London Gazette. 15 May 1962. p. 3943.
^ Surrey Coats of Arms. Surrey Heritage. Retrieved 2 September 2017.

Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by David Quibell	Member of Parliament for Brigg 1945–1948	Succeeded by Lance Mallalieu
Trade union offices
Preceded by Mark Hewitson	President of the International Federation of Unions of Employees in Public and Civil Services 1939–1956	Succeeded by Adolph Kummernuss
Preceded by Charles Dukes	General Secretary of the National Union of General and Municipal Workers 1946–1961	Succeeded by Jack Cooper
Preceded by Herbert Bullock and William Harold Hutchinson	Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour 1949 With: Lincoln Evans	Succeeded by Florence Hancock and Will Lawther
Preceded by Wilfred Beard	President of the Trades Union Congress 1957–1958	Succeeded by Tom Yates

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