Arthur James Waugh (1909 – 1995) was an
English
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politician, and the son of a railwayman.
Born in
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
,
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 Lancash ...
, his left wing political beliefs were forged early in his life when, as an apprentice fitter in Rugby, he was sacked during the
1926 General Strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British governme ...
at 17 years of age. That experience was never forgotten and was the basis for the many years of Trade Union membership and Union activist.
He married Edith Muriel Collins (Lila) in 1935 and fathered two daughters and five sons. He left the railways in 1940 and moved to
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
only to see the family home and all possessions destroyed in the wartime bombing within months of settling. His Union activities and membership of the local
Labour Party was to propel him to being elected to the
Coventry City Council in 1945.
Within 15 years he was appointed Deputy Leader of the Labour Group and leading the various committees responsible for the redevelopment of the war torn City, regarded by many as one of the chief architects of the Coventry's reconstruction.
Elected
Lord Mayor of Coventry in 1962, he presided at the Consecration of the
Coventry Cathedral and made an Honorary Freeman of the City in later years, retiring from active politics in 1990 after 45 years as a Councillor. A man of great political skills whose motto was "The rent of life is service."
Waugh died in 1995 less than a year after losing his wife.
1909 births
1995 deaths
People from Warrington
English trade unionists
Labour Party (UK) councillors
Mayors of Coventry
20th-century British businesspeople
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