James Gilliland (11 May 1866 – 27 December 1952) was a British trade unionist. Born in East Rainton, Gilliand grew up in Crook and became a coal miner at an early age. He was elected as a

checkweighman {{Short description, Occupation within mining, especially coal A checkweighman (occasionally checkmeasurer or checkweigher) is a person who is responsible for weighing coal or another mined substance, and thereby determining the payment due to each ...

at Lintz Green Colliery in 1897, then in 1907 moved to become checkweighman at Ouston E. He also became involved with the Durham Miners' Association (DMA), and stood to become its agent in 1915, but was not elected. He also lost elections for the DMA financial secretary post in 1919, losing to

Peter Lee Peter Lee may refer to: *Peter Lee (bishop of Christ the King) (born 1947), England-born Anglican bishop, working in South Africa *Peter Lee (bishop of Virginia) (born 1938), American bishop of the Episcopal Church *Peter Lee (chess player) (born 19 ...

, and another for the agent role in 1923, losing to John Swan. He was eventually elected as agent in 1925, and through this served on the executive of the Miners Federation of Great Britain for much of the period 1925 to 1939.Anthony Mason, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.IV, pp.82-83 In 1930, Gilliand became the DMA's compensation secretary, and in 1935 he was elected president, serving until his retirement in 1945. He was also active in the Labour Party, serving on

Tanfield Tanfield may refer to: People *Charlie Tanfield (born 1996), British racing cyclist *Elizabeth Tanfield (1585–1635), English poet and dramatist *Francis Tanfield (1565–?), Proprietary Governor of the South Falkland colony in Newfoundland *Lawr ...

Urban District Council and then

Durham County Council Durham County Council is a local authority administering all significant local government functions in the unitary authority area of County Durham in North East England. The council area covers part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, e ...

, holding the Birtley seat from 1925 until 1951. In his spare time, Gilliand was a Methodist preacher, and served as a magistrate. He was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilliland, James 1866 births 1952 deaths Councillors in County Durham Labour Party (UK) councillors Trade unionists from County Durham