Sir Andrew Naesmith (24 July 1888 – 23 October 1961) 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 union 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 benefits ( ...

leader. Born in

Bonnyrigg Bonnyrigg ( sco, Bonnyrigg) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, eight miles (13 kilometres) southeast of Edinburgh city centre. The town had a population of 14,663 in the 2001 census which rose to 15,677 in the 2011 census, both figures based ...

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

, Naesmith grew up in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, where he worked in a cotton mill,"Obituary: Sir Andrew Naesmith", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 24 October 1961 initially as a half-timer."Obituary: Sir A. Naesmith", ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 24 October 1961 He served with the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

during

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 ...

as a

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

. Naesmith joined his local weavers' union at the age of fifteen, and rose rapidly to become general secretary of the Amalgamated Weavers' Association in 1927. He was also elected to the General Council of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

(TUC), and served as the TUC's representative to the American Federation of Labour in 1935. As a result of his position in the trade union movement, Naesmith was appointed to the Cotton Board, then in 1947 to the government's Economic Planning Board. He resigned in 1949 due to work pressures, but instead accepted appointment as a Governor of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

. Staff of the Bank objected to his appointment, holding that a trade union post among the governors should be held by someone from one of their own unions, but he was nonetheless reappointed in 1953, when he was also appointed to the Iron and Steel Board, and stood down from his union posts. Naesmith was awarded the

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1942 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1942 were appointments by King George VI to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 5 ...

, then was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the 1953 Coronation Honours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naesmith, Andrew 1888 births 1961 deaths Black Watch soldiers Governors of the Bank of England General Secretaries of the Amalgamated Weavers' Association Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People from Midlothian Presidents of the General Federation of Trade Unions (UK) Knights Bachelor 20th-century English businesspeople