James Coulthard (23 December 1868 – 1 January 1952) 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, ...

rugby player, trade unionist and politician. Born in

Ellenborough, Cumbria Ellenborough is a suburb of the town of Maryport, Cumbria, England, historically within Cumberland. It takes its name from the nearby River Ellen. The population of the electoral ward taken at the 2011 census was 3,810. __TOC__ Governance Ell ...

, Coulthard was the son of William Coulthard, one of the founders of the

Cumberland Miners' Association The Cumberland Miners' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1872 as the West Cumberland Miners' Association, with its aims being the establishment of an eight-hour day, and improved safety. In 1906, it rem ...

, and Margaret Davidson. James worked at the mine himself from 1880 to 1890. He played rugby with Brockland Rovers, captaining the team for nine seasons, but left in 1896 to play professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

with

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

He was there only a single season, and later worked on the railways. From 1911, Coulthard was the secretary of the

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

joint branches of the

National Union of Railwaymen The National Union of Railwaymen was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom. The largest railway workers' union in the country, it was influential in the national trade union movement. History The NUR was an industrial union ...

(NUR), and he also served on the union's Liverpool and North Wales Council, being its president in 1917/18. He was also elected to the executive of the Birkenhead Trades and Labour Council. Coulthard was a member of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

, an affiliate of the Labour Party, and was elected to Birkenhead Town Council. At the

1924 UK general election Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, he stood in Birkenhead East, taking 26.7% of the vote and third place. At the

1929 UK general election The 1929 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 30 May 1929 and resulted in a hung parliament. It stands as the fourth of six instances under the secret ballot, and the first of three under universal suffrage, in which a party has ...

, he stood again, improving to 31.8%, but remaining in third place. In 1933/34, Coulthard served as Mayor of Birkenhead.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coulthard, James 1868 births 1952 deaths English miners English rugby league players English trade unionists Hull F.C. players Independent Labour Party politicians Labour Party (UK) councillors Mayors of places in Merseyside People from Maryport Rugby league players from Maryport