Sir Harold Charles Shearman (14 March 1896 – 24 March 1984) 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, ...

socialist politician and educationalist, who served as chair of both 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 ...

and Greater London Council. Shearman attended

Sulgrave Sulgrave is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, about north of Brackley. The village is just south of a stream that rises in the parish and flows east to join the River Tove, a tributary of the Great Ouse. The villag ...

National School, then

Magdalen College School, Brackley Magdalen College School, Brackley, in Northamptonshire, is one of three ancient "Magdalen College Schools", the others being Magdalen College School in Oxford, and Wainfleet All Saints in Lincolnshire, all associated with Magdalen College, Oxf ...

, Wolsingham Grammar School, and finally

St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any universit ...

, from which he graduated with a first-class honours degree in modern history. In 1912, he became an elementary school teacher in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, but he left in 1915 to serve in

World War I 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 first served with the Royal Army Medical Corps, and then with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, within which he was a flying officer (observer). After the war, Shearman became active in the Labour Party, and at the

1922 UK general election The 1922 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 15 November 1922. It was won by the Conservative Party, led by Bonar Law, which gained an overall majority over the Labour Party, led by J. R. Clynes, and a divided Liberal Party ...

, he unsuccessfully contested the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. From 1927, he worked for the

Workers' Educational Association The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers lea ...

, until 1946, when he was elected to London County Council 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 ...

. At the

1952 London County Council election An election to the County Council of London took place on 3 April 1952. The council was elected by First Past the Post with each elector having three votes in the three-member seats. The Labour Party made substantial gains and greatly increase ...

, he switched to become a councillor, representing

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

. On the council, Shearman took an interest in educational matters, and from 1955 he was the chair of the council's education committee. He left that position in 1961, to become the chair of the council. In 1964, the new Greater London Council was established, and Shearman was elected as its first chair, serving until 1966. From 1964 to 1965, he additionally served as chair of the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was an ad hoc local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. The authority was reconstituted as a directly elected body corp ...

. He stood down from the council at the 1967 Greater London Council election. In his spare time, Shearman served on numerous committees, including the Committee on Higher Education,

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme under which Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. History The plan was originally proposed b ...

, and as chair of the School Journey Association of London and the Metropolitan Examinations Board. In retirement, he served on the court of

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June ...

, the senate of the

University of London 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 ...

, and as chair of the

South Bank Polytechnic London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

. He stood down from the last of his posts in 1976, and died eight years later.

References

1896 births 1984 deaths Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Members of London County Council Members of the Greater London Council People educated at Magdalen College School, Brackley Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Deputy Lieutenants of Greater London {{UK-politician-stub