Henry Boothman (5 February 1875''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 25 April 1953) 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 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 ( ...

leader. Born in

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

, Boothman moved with his family to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

when he was six years old, and he began working as a half-time in a local cotton mill when he was ten. He later became a minder at the mill, and relocated to

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

when his parents died. In 1898, he began working full-time for the Oldham Operative Spinners' Association. During

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 ...

, Boothman served on the Cotton Control Board, and in 1916, he was elected as the General Secretary of the

Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners The Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners and Twiners, also known as the Amalgamation, was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1870 and 1970. It represented male mule spinners in the cotton industry. Histor ...

. Around the same time, he won election as treasurer of the

United Textile Factory Workers' Association The United Textile Factory Workers' Association (UTFWA) was a trade union federation in Great Britain. It was active from 1889 until 1975. Objectives The federation was founded in 1889, to represent the various textile workers' unions in polit ...

and, in 1919, he was elected to the

Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

(TUC), and continued on its replacement, the

General Council General council may refer to: In education: * General Council (Scottish university), an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland * General Council of the University of St Andrews, the corporate body of all graduates and senio ...

. In 1922 Boothman was elected as a Labour Councillor in Oldham Council's St Pauls Ward for Labour, benefitting from a three way split in a Conservative, Liberal, Labor contest. He did nott contest the seat again in 1924. From 1925 to 1929, he served on the Board of Trade Committee."Obituary: Henry Boothman", ''Annual Report of the 1953 Trades Union Congress'', p.287 He also served as honorary treasurer of the

. Boothman served on the General Council of the TUC until 1936; during this time, he was asked to become chairman and President of the TUC, but he refused, on the grounds that this would require him to spend too much time away from the Lancashire base of his union. He served on the Cotton Board during

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 opposin ...

, but resigned from all his posts in 1943, after suffering from poor health. He died ten years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boothman, Henry 1875 births 1953 deaths General Secretaries of the Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress