Horace Nobbs (9 December 1880 – 1973) was a British

trade unionist 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 Employee ben ...

and political activist. Born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, Nobbs joined the Post Office and became active in the

Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association The Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association (PTCA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. History The union was founded in 1881 as the Postal Telegraph Clerks' Association, am ...

(PTCA), working for it full-time in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

from 1911. He also became a supporter of syndicalism, and in 1914 he persuaded the union to back his motion, which called for the Post Office to come under workers' control. In 1918, he became the union's national organising secretary, then in 1919 briefly served as its treasurer. Nobbs was active in the Labour Party, for which he stood in Heywood and Radcliffe at the

1918 United Kingdom general election The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sent ...

, with the sponsorship of the union; he took 32.4% of the vote and second place. He was expected to stand in the

1921 Heywood and Radcliffe by-election The 1921 Heywood and Radcliffe by-election was held on 8 July 1921. The by-election was held due to the elevation to the peerage of the incumbent Coalition Liberal MP, Albert Illingworth. It was won by the Labour candidate Walter Halls Wa ...

, but withdrew on the instruction of the union, and the election was won by his replacement,

Walter Halls Walter Halls (16 June 1871 – 20 October 1953) was a British trade unionist and politician. Born in Gaulby in Leicestershire, Halls was educated locally before finding work on the railways. He became an active trade unionist, and was elected a ...

. In 1919, Nobbs became part of the

Union of Post Office Workers The Union of Communication Workers (UCW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. History The union was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) by the merger ...

, becoming its national organising secretary. In this role, he was responsible for membership, the co-ordination of the district organisers, and for members' education. He was also active in the Workers' Educational Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nobbs, Horace 1880 births 1973 deaths British syndicalists Trade unionists from Norfolk Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Union leaders from Norwich