Charles Leatherland, Baron Leatherland
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Charles Edward Leatherland, Baron Leatherland
OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
MSM DL (18 April 1898 – 18 December 1992) was a British journalist and Labour Party politician.


Early life

Charles Edward Leatherland was born in
Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...
, Birmingham on 18 April 1898. He was the eldest son of John Edward Leatherland, an Army bandmaster. His mother Elizabeth Leatherland (née Abbis), a blacksmith's daughter, died when he was 9 years old. He attended Harborne School, Birmingham and left school at the age of 14. In 1914 at the start of the
First World War 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 ...
he joined the 16th Battalion of the
Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...
. In 1916 he was transferred to Xth Corps headquarters where he remained for the rest of the war. He became an Acting Sergeant Major and served in France,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and Germany. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. In 1919 he returned to Birmingham and worked for Birmingham Corporation. He was a founder member and Midlands Organiser of the
National Union of Ex-Service Men The National Union of Ex-Servicemen (NUX) was a socialist ex-servicemen's organisation founded in London in early 1919 with close links with the Labour Party. Many of its members were formerly supporters of the National Federation of Discharged an ...
. In 1921 he moved to
Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...
and became Chief Reporter and Sub-Editor on a local newspaper, the Macclesfield Courier. In 1923 and 1924 he won gold medals in an international essay writing competition organised by the London Chamber of Commerce.


Labour Party Press and Publicity Department

In 1924 he moved to London to work as Parliamentary Correspondent in the Labour Party Press and Publicity Department. He became second in command to the Labour Press Officer, William Henderson. In 1925 he wrote eleven chapters of ''The Book of the Labour Party'', the first major history of the Labour Party and the Labour movement. In 1926 he played a significant behind the scenes role in the
General Strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
writing much of the contents of the ''
British Worker The ''British Worker'' was a newspaper produced by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress for the duration of the 1926 United Kingdom General Strike. The first of eleven issues was printed on 5 May and publication stopped on 17 May after ...
'', the TUC strike newspaper, including the TUC's "Message to All Workers" which appeared on the front cover of every issue.


Daily Herald

In 1929 Leatherland became a political sub-editor on the ''
Daily Herald Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
''. In 1938 he became assistant news editor. By 1941 he had been appointed news editor. In the 1950s he acted as night editor and then assistant editor, which he combined with the duties of political editor. He retired from the ''Daily Herald'' in 1963. Leatherland was also a freelance journalist. He wrote a weekly political gossip column for the ''
Sunday Dispatch The ''Sunday Dispatch'' was a prominent British newspaper, published between 27 September 1801 and 18 June 1961. It was ultimately discontinued due to its merger with the ''Sunday Express''. History The newspaper was first published as the ''Wee ...
'' and weekly articles in the magazines ''John Bull'' and ''The Passing Show'', both published by the ''Daily Herald'' owners Odhams Press. During the 1950s and 1960s he wrote a weekly column in the local government periodical the ''Municipal Journal''. In the 1960s he wrote a series of articles on local government themes for the
National and Local Government Officers' Association The National and Local Government Officers' Association was a British trade union representing mostly local government "white collar" workers. It was formed in 1905 as the National Association of Local Government Officers, and changed its full ...
(NALGO), the local government trade union. These articles were widely used by schools and colleges in the teaching of civics.


Essex County Council

Leatherland moved to the Old Rectory in
Dunton Wayletts Dunton Wayletts is a hamlet in the unparished area of Basildon, on the western outskirts of Laindon, in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It is located between the Southend Arterial Road (A127 road) and the London, Tilbury and Southend lin ...
, Essex in 1934. He came to play a prominent role in Essex politics. He was Chairman of the Dunton Parish Invasion Committee and made radio broadcasts for the BBC during the Second World War. After spells as a district councillor in Laindon and Billericay, he became 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 ...
on Essex County Council in 1946. He served as a Labour member of Essex County Council for 22 years. For 15 years he was Leader of the Labour group. He chaired the Finance Committee for several years, was vice-chairman for six years, and was County Council chairman in 1960–61. He also spent 15 years as Chairman of the Eastern Regional Council of the Labour Party. In 1951 he was awarded the
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(OBE) for political and public service. He lived latterly at Buckhurst Hill.


University of Essex

Whilst on Essex County Council, Leatherland campaigned for Essex to be the location of a new university. He played a leading role in the foundation of the University of Essex and became its first Treasurer serving in this role until 1972. In 1973 the University awarded him an
honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
. He also served as a
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
for 26 years and became Deputy Chairman of the magistrates bench in
Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...
, Essex. He played a prominent part in the establishment of Basildon as a New Town and served as a member of Basildon Development Corporation. He also served on the Essex Territorial Army Association for many years. He was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Essex in 1963.


Life Peerage

On 16 December 1964 he was created a Labour
Life Peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
as Baron Leatherland, of Dunton in the County of Essex. He attended the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
for twenty-five years and was a frequent speaker in debates. Charles Leatherland died in Epping, Essex at the age of 94 on 18 December 1992.


Personal life

Charles Leatherland married Mary Elizabeth ('Mollie') Morgan in Macclesfield in 1922. They had a daughter Irene Mary and a son John Charles. Irene Leatherland worked at Labour Party head office at
Transport House Transport House was the headquarters of the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G), and also originally of the Labour Party, the Trades Union Congress, and the Workers' Travel Association. The term "Transport House" was once a metonym for ...
from 1947 to 1962 becoming the Party's Conference Officer. John Leatherland served in the Army and then worked in advertising. Mollie Leatherland died in 1987 at the age of 87.


Arms


References


Publications

Could Revolution Win? in 'The Nineteenth Century and After' (1921) Part-author ''The Book of the Labour Party'' ed. Herbert Treacy (1925) Village Invasion Committee Plans in Bulletins from Britain. British Information Services (1942) A Day in the Life of a news editor in ''The Inky Way Annual 1947–48''. World's Press News Publishing Ltd (1948)


External links

Obituary in The Independent, December 1992 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-lord-leatherland-1564837.html Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Lord Leatherland http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/search/leatherland Biographical website by Lord Leatherland's grandson David Richard
www.charlesleatherland.info
Laindon and District Community Archive http://www.laindonhistory.org.uk/page_id__12_path__0p49p21p.aspx {{DEFAULTSORT:Leatherland, Charles Edward 1898 births 1992 deaths Labour Party (UK) life peers British male journalists Deputy Lieutenants of Essex Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom) Members of Essex County Council British newspaper editors Life peers created by Elizabeth II