Benjamin Jones (9 September 1847 – 2 March 1942) 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, ...

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

and political activist. Born in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, Jones left school at the age of nine to work for a cabinet maker. While working as an errand boy, he studied at

Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States *Owens Station, Delaware *Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota *Owens, Missouri *Owens, Ohio *Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with the name * Owens Bro ...

and the

Manchester Mechanics' Institute The Mechanics' Institute, 103 Princess Street, Manchester, is notable as the building in which three significant British institutions were founded: the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) and the University of ...

, and managed to gain promotion to become a book-keeper. In 1866 was appointed as assistant book-keeper to the Manchester

Co-operative Wholesale Society A co-operative wholesale society, or CWS, is a form of co-operative federation (that is, a co-operative in which all the members are co-operatives), in this case, the members are usually consumer cooperatives. According to co-operative economi ...

(CWS). In his spare time, he sat on the committee of the Mechanics Institute, and was a Sunday school teacher in

Harpurhey Harpurhey ( ) is an inner-city suburb of Manchester in North West England, three miles north east of the Manchester city centre, city centre. Historically in Lancashire, the population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 17,652. A ...

.Joyce Bellamy, "Jones, Benjamin", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.I, pp.197-199 In 1870 he married Annie White, who was later active in the

Co-operative Women's Guild The Co-operative Women's Guild was an auxiliary organisation of the co-operative movement in the United Kingdom which promoted women in co-operative structures and provided social and other services to its members. History The guild was founded ...

, and died in 1894. Jones was again promoted in 1871, becoming an assistant buyer for the CWS, and in 1874 he was made the founding general manager of the CWS's first London branch, based on

Minories Minories ( ) is the name of a small former administrative unit, and also of a street in central London. Both the street and the former administrative area take their name from the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate. Both are ...

. At the same time, he was made honorary secretary of the

Co-operative Union Co-operatives UK is a British co-operative federation described as "the central membership organisation for co-operative enterprise throughout the UK". It was founded in 1870 as the Co-operative Central Board, changing its name to the Co-oper ...

's southern board. Under his leadership, the shop proved successful, and in 1887 moved to larger premises on

Leman Street Leman Street, once known as Lemon Street, is a street in Tower Hamlets. It was built in the seventeenth century as part of the development of Goodman's Fields. It is named after John Leman who was responsible for this development, which also incl ...

. From a turnover of £130,000 in 1875, business grew to £3.25 million in 1902. Jones remained interested in education, working with

Arthur Dyke Acland Sir Arthur Herbert Dyke Acland, 13th Baronet, PC (13 October 18479 October 1926) was a Liberal politician and political author. He is best remembered for his involvement in education, serving as Vice-President of the Council of Education under ...

to produce ''Working Men Co-operators'', a textbook which remained in print until the 1940s. He was also the first chair of the London branch of the

Co-operative Printing Society The Co-operative Press is a co-operative whose principal activity is the publication of ''Co-op News''. The society's stated mission is to "connect, champion and challenge the global co-operative movement". The co-operative's members are the subs ...

, founder of the Tenant Co-operators' Association, first secretary of the Co-operative Guild, and president of the

Co-operative Congress The Co-operative Congress is the national conference of the UK Co-operative Movement. The first of the modern congresses took place in 1869 following a series of meetings called the "Owenite Congress" in the 1830s. Members of Co-operatives UK (p ...

in 1896, and for one day in 1889. In 1894, Jones stood down from his southern Co-operative Union post. He remained very active in the movement, and in 1896 embarked on a world tour on behalf of the CWS, along with J. Clay and W. Stoker. A supporter of co-operative production, he was a leading figure in the establishment of a CWS flour mill in

Silvertown Silvertown is a district in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, Becontree Hundred, hundred of Becontr ...

, cocoa works in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

and depots around the country. Jones was also interested in the Parliamentary representation of the co-operative movement. He was the first secretary of the parliamentary committee of the Co-operative Union, and was also active in the

Labour Representation League The Labour Representation League (LRL), organised in November 1869, was a forerunner of the British Labour Party. Its original purpose was to register the working class to vote, and get workers into Parliament. It had limited power, described ...

. He stood unsuccessfully as a Liberal-Labour candidate in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

at the

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

and 1895 general elections, with the backing of the

Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society The Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society (RACS) was a large consumer co-operative based in south east London, England. The co-operative took its name from the Royal Arsenal munitions works in Woolwich and its motto was: "Each for all and all for e ...

. At the 1900 general election, he instead stood in

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

, but was again unsuccessful. Jones retired to

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

in 1902, purchasing the Queen Hotel, a bakery and some cafes. He wrote an autobiography, ''Life According to Jones'', which was published in 1918, and various press articles on co-operative matters. He died in

on 2 March 1942 aged 94 and was survived by his four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ben 1847 births 1942 deaths Liberal-Labour (UK) politicians People from Salford Presidents of Co-operative Congress