Arthur George Gourd (born 1870) was a British

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 Clapham, in London, Gourd joined the Independent Labour Party. He found work in the dockyards, and joined the Government Labourers' Union, a small union based around dock workers in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. He was blacklisted for a time, due to his trade union activity, but was permitted to work in the yard again from 1904, and by 1914 was the union's secretary. He renamed the union as the National Union of Government Employees, and by 1920, it had grown to around 7,000 members. Gourd arranged for it to merge into the

Workers' Union The Workers' Union was a general union based in the United Kingdom, but with some branches in other countries. During the 1910s, it was the largest general union in the UK, but it entered a rapid decline in the 1920s, and eventually became part ...

, becoming a full-time divisional organiser for the union. He also served as secretary of Portsmouth

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

. Gourd's increased prominence led him to serve as secretary of the Admiralty Industrial Council, and then of the Miscellaneous Trades Joint Council. He also served on the WO Industrial Committee, and the Government Co-ordinating Committee. He spent some time as a Labour Party member of Portsmouth Borough Council, representing

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. At the

1922 United Kingdom general election The 1922 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 15 November 1922. It was won by the Conservative Party, led by Bonar Law, which gained an overall majority over the Labour Party, led by J. R. Clynes, and a divided Liberal Party. ...

, the union sponsored him as a candidate in Portsmouth Central; he took 21.4% of the vote, but only fourth place. In 1929, the Workers' Union merged into the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

, for which Gourd continued working.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gourd, Arthur 1870 births Year of death missing Councillors in Hampshire General secretaries of British trade unions Independent Labour Party politicians Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Clapham