Henry Charles Charleton (1 March 1870 – 8 October 1959) was a British train driver,

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 ( ...

ist and Labour Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1922 to 1931 and from 1935 to 1945.

Early life and family

Charleton was born in Kentish Town, in London. His father Henry Charleton was an engine-driver on the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

. The younger Henry was educated at Mansfield Place Board School,Dod's Parliamentary Companion, 1943
/ref> which he left at age 12. He worked initially as an assistant to a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, before following his father into the Midland Railway. He rose through the grades and eventually became a driver. In 1897, Charleton married Louisa Jane Alcock from Kentish Town. They had one son.

Career

Whilst working on the railways, Charleton studied at the St Pancras Working Men's College, and became active in the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR). In 1919 he compiled the ''Locomotive Men's Conditions of Service'' in 1919, and later became a member of the NUR's executive committee. He was elected at the 1922 general election as the

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(MP) for

Leeds South Leeds South was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the Coun ...

, and held the seat until his defeat in

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. The formation of the

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had undermined support for Labour, and in many constituencies the

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and Unionist parties fielded a single candidate in support of the National Government. However, Leeds South was contested by the Liberal and Unionists, so Charleton was expected to hold the seat. However the Unionist candidate

Noel Whiteside Borras Noel Hamilton Whiteside (12 December 1903 – 13 June 1948) was a British company director and politician, who served a single term as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP). He was noted for his interest in aviation, being a private pil ...

took the seat with a majority of 2.0% of the votes. Described by ''

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'' as a "moderate", he regained the seat at the 1935 general election, and held it until he retired from the House of Commons at 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 Bulgaria ...

. He was chairman of the

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on Estimates in 1930, and from 1929 to 1931 he served as

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

William Lunn William Lunn may refer to: *William Lunn (politician) (1872–1942), English Labour Party politician *William Lunn (educator) (1796–1886), Canadian educator, businessman, and politician *William Lunn (rugby union) (1926–1996), New Zealand rugby ...

, the

Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs The position of Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British ministerial position, subordinate to that of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, created in 1925 to deal with British relations with the Dominions – Canada, Aust ...

. He was a briefly a

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, in 1931. He also served as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charleton, Henry Charles 1870 births 1959 deaths British trade unionists Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies National Union of Railwaymen-sponsored MPs UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1935–1945 Members of London County Council People from Kentish Town London, Midland and Scottish Railway people