Arthur Lummis Gibson (10 March 1899 – 17 February 1959) 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, ...

politician and trade unionist, who served as

Lord Mayor of Birmingham This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of Birmingham in the West Midlands of England. Birmingham has had a mayor (and elected council) since 1838. The office was raised to the dignity of lord mayor when Queen Victoria issued letters pat ...

. Born in

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

, in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, Gibson was educated at Cheetham Secondary School and the Manchester High School of Commerce. He began working at the age of fourteen, initially for a silk wholesaler, but then as a clerk and typist for the

Friendly Society of Ironfounders The Friendly Society of Iron Founders of England, Ireland and Wales (FSIF) was an early trade union representing foundry workers in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1809 in Bolton as the Friendly Iron Moulders' Society. Unlike ...

.Margaret 'Espinasse and David E. Martin, "Gibson, Arthur Lummis", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', Vol.III, pp.84–86 In 1929, Gibson moved to work for the

National Union of Clerks and Administrative Workers The Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff (APEX) was a British trade union which represented clerical and administrative employees. History The Clerks Union was formed in 1890 and later was renamed as the National ...

(NUCAW), initially as its organiser for the Midlands. Under his leadership, membership in the region grew steadily, and by the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was supported by two members of staff. He represented the union at 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) on several occasions, and served as Auditor of the TUC. Gibson was elected as a Labour Party member of

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom (e ...

in 1945, representing Northfield. He was defeated in 1949, but won a seat in All Saints the following year, and in 1954 was made an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

. He was regarded as being on the right wing of the party. From 1953 to 1955, he chaired the council's finance committee, and then in 1955–56, he served as Lord Mayor of Birmingham. During his time as Lord Mayor, he led a delegation to Sverdlovsk in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, and then entertained

Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and Premier of the Soviet Union, chairm ...

and Bulganin in Birmingham. Gibson had a heart attack in late 1956, and took two years off work. He returned, but had a second heart attack in February 1959, and died soon after, aged 59.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Arthur Lummis 1899 births 1959 deaths British trade unionists Labour Party (UK) councillors Lord Mayors of Birmingham, West Midlands People from Northwich