Alfred William Golightly (21 October 1857 – 18 March 1948) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

trade unionist and co-operative activist. Born in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

, Golightly grew up in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, and attended the Great Northern Railway Company's British School. He completed an engineering apprenticeship on the railways, and became a fitter in Sheffield, joining the

Amalgamated Society of Engineers The Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was a major British trade union, representing factory workers and mechanics. History The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the Journeymen Steam Engine, Machine Makers' and Mi ...

(ASE) in 1878.H. F. Bing, "Golightly, Alfred William", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.I, pp.131–132 Golightly net moved to Manchester, and in 1892, he was elected to the ASE's national council, representing Division 3, and relocating to London. He joined the Stratford Co-operative Society, becoming its president in 1897. He was elected to the

Leyton Urban District Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Rive ...

Council in 1898, serving for 21 years in total, including a period as chair. In 1903, he was elected as chairman of the council of the ASE, but he lost his seat later in the year, because he had opposed proposed strike action on

Clydeside Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area (or conurbation). It does not relate to municipal government ...

. The following year, he was president of the

Co-operative Congress The Co-operative Congress is the national conference of the UK Co-operative Movement. The first of the modern congresses took place in 1869 following a series of meetings called the "Owenite Congress" in the 1830s. Members of Co-operatives UK (p ...

, and from 1915, he served on the board of the

Co-operative Wholesale Society A co-operative wholesale society, or CWS, is a form of co-operative federation (that is, a co-operative in which all the members are co-operatives), in this case, the members are usually consumer cooperatives. According to co-operative economi ...

, while working in the company's engineering department. He retired from work and trade unionism in 1929, but remained active in local politics, serving on

Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the London U ...

Council from 1938.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golightly, Alfred 1857 births 1948 deaths Councillors in Essex Councillors in Greater London English trade unionists People from Lincoln, England Presidents of Co-operative Congress