Charles Williamson Crook (4 March 1862 – 29 March 1926) was an English teacher, trade union official and a

Conservative and Unionist Party The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the Two-party system, two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. ...

politician. He was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for East Ham North twice, from 1922 to 1923 and from 1924 to 1926. Crook was born in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

on 4 March 1862, the son of William Crook, he was educated at St. James National School in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

, Alston College, and St. Johns College, Battersea. He became a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1886 and a BA in 1892 at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

. Crook held various appointments as a teacher and for 14 years was member of the executive of the

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...

, becoming president for a year in 1916. In the 1922 General Election he was elected a Member of Parliament for East Ham North for the

. He lost the seat the following year in the 1923 General Election to the labour candidate

Susan Lawrence Arabella Susan Lawrence (12 August 1871 – 24 October 1947) was a British Labour Party politician, one of the earliest female Labour MPs. Early life Lawrence was the youngest daughter of Nathaniel Tertius Lawrence, a wealthy solicitor, and ...

. Crook regained the seat in 1924 General Election and held it until his death.

Family life

In 1900 he married Grace Madeline Swinfen and they had a son and a daughter. Crook died aged 64 on 29 March 1926 at his home in

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. Before ...

, Kent after a three-month illness.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crook, Charles Williamson UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1924–1929 1862 births 1926 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Politicians from Preston, Lancashire Schoolteachers from Preston, Lancashire Trade unionists from Preston, Lancashire Alumni of the University of London Presidents of the National Union of Teachers