Carey Hargreaves (died 11 October 1954) 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 unionist 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 (s ...

. Born in

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

, Hargreaves grew up in

Barrowford Barrowford () is a large village and civil parish in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England. It is situated to the north of Nelson on the other side of the M65 motorway, and forms part of the Nelson conurbation. It also comprises the area ...

. He worked as a cotton weaver and became active in the

Nelson Weavers' Association The Nelson Weavers' Association (NWA) was a trade union representing cotton weavers in the area of Nelson, Lancashire. As the main industry in the town, the union has been influential in its history, and some of its leaders became significant n ...

(NWA), serving on its committee for a few years before becoming its assistant general secretary in 1912.Alan and Lesley Fowler, ''The History of the Nelson Weavers' Association'', p.114 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 ...

, Hargreaves served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, but he returned to Nelson and his trade union activities after the war, and was elected as general secretary of the NWA in 1928. Immediately after his election, the union was involved in a major dispute over fines and the sacking of its vice-president by his employer. Although the union gained little from the dispute, Hargreaves was considered to have handled it well. Unlike most of the NWA's leadership, Hargreaves was not politically active, and he was sometimes accused of holding back information from his committee. Hargreaves was elected to the central committee of the Amalgamated Weavers' Association in 1930, and then as its president in 1947. He retired in May 1949,Edwin Hopwood, ''A History of the Lancashire Cotton Industry and the Amalgamated Weavers' Association'', p.177 and devoted his remaining years to the Nelson Excelsior Glee Committee, where he indulged his love of music.

References

Year of birth missing 1954 deaths Presidents of the Amalgamated Weavers' Association People from Burnley Military personnel from Lancashire British Army personnel of World War I British Army soldiers {{UK-trade-unionist-bio-stub