Alfred Gould (23 May 1856 – 30 May 1927) 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 A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

and politician. Born in

Kingston-upon-Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east o ...

, Gould became a carpenter, initially working aboard a ship but, by 1881, onshore in Hull. He joined the

Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners The Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners (ASC&J) was a New Model Trade Union in the 1860s in the United Kingdom, representing carpenters and joiners. History The formation of the Society was spurred by the Stonemason's strike, 1859, ...

(ASC&J), and developed a keen interest in the labour movement. Convinced that there was a need for independent political representation for the movement, he was a founder member of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

(ILP), and was a leading supporter of

Tom McCarthy Thomas McCarthy (also Tom and Tommy) may refer to: Academia *Thomas A. McCarthy (born 1940), American professor of philosophy *Thomas J. McCarthy (born 1956), American professor of polymer chemistry at the University of Massachusetts *J. Thomas Mc ...

's unsuccessful campaign in Kingston upon Hull West at the

1895 United Kingdom general election The 1895 United Kingdom general election was held from 13 July to 7 August 1895. William Gladstone had retired as Prime Minister the previous year, and Queen Victoria, disregarding Gladstone's advice to name Lord Spencer as his successor, ap ...

.Yann Beliard, "Gould, Alfred", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.XIV, pp.138–145 Hull Trades Council opposed the ILP and undertook little activity in the late 1890s, but Gould consistently raised the party's causes there, and in 1897 he won election to the council's executive committee. By 1905, he was the leading figure on the council, which was dominated by supporters of the new Labour Representation Committee. He won election to

Hull City Council (Kingston upon) Hull City Council is the governing body for the unitary authority and city of Kingston upon Hull. It was created in 1972 as the successor to the Corporation of (Kingston upon) Hull, which was also known as Hull Corporation and fou ...

, and though he lost his seat in 1911, he regained it two years later, and was adopted as the party's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hull West. During 1913, Gould was a leading opponent of the deportation of nine South African trade unionists to Britain, but the following year, he joined

Havelock Wilson Joseph Havelock Wilson (16 August 1859 – 16 April 1929), commonly known as Havelock Wilson or J. Havelock Wilson, was a British trade union leader, Liberal Party politician, and campaigner for the rights of merchant seamen. Early life He w ...

's campaign to exclude non-white sailors from British ships. He supported

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and spoke against

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

s, and stood down from his Hull West candidacy on the outbreak of war. Gould continued his trade union activity, winning election to the executive of the ASC&J, and from 1917 as the first chair of its National Executive Committee. In 1918, he was also appointed as the first chair of the

National Federation of Building Trades Operatives The National Federation of Building Trades Operatives (NFBTO) was a trade union federation in the United Kingdom, consisting of unions with members in construction and related industries. History In 1914, a group of workers attempted to form the Bu ...

, serving for two years. At the

1918 United Kingdom general election The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sent ...

Gould stood for the Labour Party in the new seat of Kingston upon Hull South West, taking 19.3% of the vote and third place. This disappointment led him to focus on the trade union movement, and when the ASC&J merged into the new

Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers The Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers (ASW) was a British trade union representing carpenters, joiners and allied trades. The ASW was formed in 1921 by the amalgamation of two smaller unions. It was itself merged into the Union of Constructio ...

, he was one of its most prominent figures. However, the new union adopted a rule requiring members of the executive to retire at the age of 63. Already over this limit, Gould retired in 1925 and began suffering from poor health. In May 1927, he committed suicide by hanging himself in his home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, Alfred 1856 births 1927 deaths Councillors in the East Riding of Yorkshire Independent Labour Party politicians Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates British trade union leaders Trade unionists from Kingston upon Hull Suicides by hanging in England