James Small Wilkie (1893 – 23 July 1947) 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, ...

politician and trade unionist. Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Wilkie served in

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 ...

with the

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Mar ...

. After the war, he worked as a

cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

, and joined the National Association of Coopers, winning election to its committee, then as its president, and finally working full time as its secretary. In order to take up this post, he moved to London, where he became active in the Labour Party, and won election to Battersea Metropolitan Borough Council. In 1926, the various coopers' trade unions formed the Coopers' Federation of Great Britain, and in 1942, Wilkie was elected as its general secretary. He remained politically active, and at the

1946 London County Council election An election to the County Council of London took place on 7 March 1946. The council was elected by First Past the Post with each elector having two votes in the two-member seats. The Labour Party once more made gains, again increasing their ma ...

, he was elected to represent Battersea North. However, he soon became ill, and returned to Edinburgh, where he died in 1947, at the age of 54.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkie, James Small 1893 births 1947 deaths General secretaries of British trade unions Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of London County Council Trade unionists from Edinburgh Royal Scots Fusiliers soldiers British Army personnel of World War I