George Deer, OBE (29 March 1890 – 15 May 1974) was a British

Trade union 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 ...

official and politician.

Early career

Deer went to an elementary school in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...

. He began work at the age of 12 and worked on the railways, at the docks and in engineering shops; he was also a commercial traveller. In 1915, he became a full-time organiser for the

Workers' Union The Workers' Union was a general union based in the United Kingdom, but with some branches in other countries. During the 1910s, it was the largest general union in the UK, but it entered a rapid decline in the 1920s, and eventually became part ...

, covering a new East Midlands district, serving until 1918, when he became an official for the

National Union of Dock, Riverside and General Workers The National Union of Dock Labourers (NUDL) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1889 and 1922. History It was formed in Glasgow in 1889 but moved its headquarters to Liverpool within a few years and was thereafter ...

. Following its merger, he transferred into 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 ...

. At the age of 17, Deer had joined the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

and he was active in the Labour Party. His wife, Olive Stoakes was also active in the party and was an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

and member of the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

. In 1916 he received his Army call up, but became a conscientious objector, for which he was jailed in

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough, ...

Revolutionary politics

Deer opposed 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 ...

and served on the executive committee of the British Socialist Party from 1916 to 1920. During the latter period he was involved with the foundation of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), participating in a Provisional Committee which prepared the Founding Conference, in London on 31 July – 1 August 1920. He was elected onto the Executive Committee of the CPGB, but did not remain on this body for the full year.

Municipal affairs and politics

In 1922 Deer was elected as Labour member of Lincoln City Council where he served for sixteen years and was Mayor in 1933–34. He was a Parliamentary candidate at the

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

and

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

general elections for

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

, and in the 1935 general election he fought in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

where he lost by 2,684 votes.

Parliament

While serving as Sheriff of Lincoln in 1943–44, Deer was made a member of the

Order of 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 ...

in the New Years' Honours list of 1944. He had been reselected as Labour candidate for

, and in the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgarian ...

he was elected. Deer became popular among fellow MPs, and often took up transport issues which he knew about from his trade union work. He did not rebel against the Labour whip. At the 1950 general election, Deer changed constituencies to

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

, which was adjacent to Lincoln and slightly better for Labour. He was re-elected there, and served as an Opposition Whip from 1955 to 1959. He was selected in the ballot for Private Member's Bills in 1957 and introduced a Bill to give supplementary benefits to those who had suffered from industrial injuries before 1948, although it did not succeed.

Retirement

Deer's wife was Chairman of the London County Council in 1962-63 and he accompanied her on the many social occasions to which the Chairman was invited. He retired at the 1964 general election. He died in Grimsby aged 84.

References

*"The Times House of Commons 1935" *Obituary, ''The Times'', 17 May 1974 *M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deer, George 1890 births 1974 deaths English trade unionists Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Transport and General Workers' Union-sponsored MPs UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 Politics of Lincoln, England British Socialist Party members