David J. Buckle (1924 – 21 January 2017) 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 and politician. Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Buckle was given up for adoption and grew up in an unofficial children's home, first in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

, and then in

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

. He was thrown out at the age of 12, when his father stopped paying for his keep. He was permitted to stay in a local church, acting as a caretaker without pay, before in 1941 finding work as a farm labourer.''The Times House of Commons'' (1955) In 1943, Buckle joined the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

, and was present at the capture of

Karl Doenitz Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austri ...

. He was a sergeant by 1946, when he left the service. He began working as a welder in Cowley, and joined the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

(TGWU). He largely overcame a stammer, and studied English and politics at an adult education centre. Buckle joined the Labour Party, and in 1951 was elected to

Radley Radley is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about northeast of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of B ...

Parish Council. At the

1955 UK general election The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election in 1951. It was a snap election: after Winston Churchill retired in April 1955, Anthony Eden took over and immediately ca ...

, he stood in Bournemouth East and Christchurch, taking 23.4% of the vote and second place. He stood in

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

at the 1959 UK general election, where he took 37.8%.''The Times House of Commons'' (1959) At work, Buckle led a lengthy campaign to replace

piecework Piece work (or piecework) is any type of employment in which a worker is paid a fixed piece rate for each unit produced or action performed, regardless of time. Context When paying a worker, employers can use various methods and combinations of ...

with a set wage. In 1964, he was appointed as the TGWU's Oxford District secretary, in which he was an opponent of

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

s in the union. He served in the post until his retirement in 1988, when he was made a

Member of 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 o ...

. The following year, he was elected to

Oxfordshire County Council Oxfordshire County Council is the county council (upper-tier local authority) for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire in the South East of England. It is an elected body responsible for some local government services in the county, includ ...

, and he became its chair in 1996/97. He stood down in 2001, then served on the UK Older People Advisory Group until 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckle, David 1924 births 2017 deaths English trade unionists Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from London Royal Marines personnel of World War II Royal Marines ranks