Harold Chorlton

CBE 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 ...

(14 February 1898 – 4 January 1967) was a British trade union leader and politician. He served as the council leader in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, and also as a leading figure in the Lancashire cotton trade unions. Born in

, Lancashire, Chorlton began working at a local cotton mill as a roller coverer, when he was thirteen years old. He subsequently became a stripper-and-grinder, and joined the Rochdale Card and Blowing Room and Ring Spinners' Association. In 1930, Chorlton was elected as secretary of the Rochdale Cardroom Association. In this role, he led a drive to achieve 100% union membership and, although this was not achieved, he did increase membership density. He also managed to get Sunday morning work abolished He stood unsuccessfully as a Labour Party candidate for Rochdale town council in Castleton East in 1934, but won the seat in 1935, and held it each year thereafter. During this period, his newspapers were delivered by

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of ...

, who he encouraged to join the party, and who later won election to the council. Chorlton became deputy leader of Rochdale town council in 1948, and served as Mayor of Rochdale in 1949–1950., He used his mayoral year to visit all the local cotton mills, thanking workers for their efforts during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1952, he was appointed as 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 ...

on the council. In 1953, Chorlton was elected as President of the

Cardroom Amalgamation The Cardroom Amalgamation or Cardroom Workers' Amalgamation (CWA)Joseph L. White, ''The Limits of Trade Union Militancy'', p.240, note 9 was a British trade union which existed between 1886 and 1974. It represented workers in the cotton textil ...

, to which the Rochdale union was affiliated. Five years later, he was additionally elected as President of the United Textile Factory Workers' Association, which represented the cotton unions in political matters. He retired from his trade union posts in 1963, and was made a

Commander 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 ...

in recognition of his union work. Chorlton became the leader of the Labour Party group on Rochdale council in 1960. In 1966, the council debated rent increases; Chorlton was opposed, but gave the group a free vote on the issue. This prompted the resignation of Cyril Smith and four supporters, who later joined the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. In January 1967, Chorlton said goodbye to a relative on a train at

Rochdale railway station Rochdale railway station is a multi-modal transport hub in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It consists of a Northern-operated heavy rail station on the Caldervale Line, and an adjoining light rail stop on Metrolink's Oldham and Rochda ...

. The train began moving off, and he attempted to disembark, but fell and fractured his skull, dying soon afterwards. In his obituary, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described him as the "father of Rochdale town council". Chorlton's wife, Alice, also served on Rochdale Council for many years, and was the first woman to become Mayor of Rochdale (1962–1963).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chorlton, Harold 1898 births 1967 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire General secretaries of British trade unions Labour Party (UK) councillors Mayors of Rochdale People from Rochdale Presidents of the United Textile Factory Workers' Association Leaders of local authorities of England