John Timmons JP (14 May 1890His obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' gives his year of birth as 1891 but appears to have been in error. – 21 November 1964) was a British coalminer and Labour Party politician.

Early life

Born in

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...

on 14 May 1890, Timmons attended St Aloysius School, Chapelhall. Following in the family tradition, Timmons went down the mines at the age of 12. He worked at the coal face but studied in his spare time, gaining his mine manager's certificate. He was subsequently promoted to the job of checkweighman, and studied at Coatbridge Technical College. An active member of the Miners' Federation, Timmons joined the Labour Party in 1911. He was Branch Secretary of his union for 30 years. Timmons was married in Ireland to Emily Connolly from

Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. He had 7 children, four sons and three daughters. Timmons' eldest son Patrick was lost in action over the North Sea, while serving with the RAF on 14 January 1942.

Advancement

In 1938 Timmons was elected to Lanarkshire County Council. He had several local administrative responsibilities, including being on the panel of referees for the Ministry of Labour, and a member of the advisory committee to the Assistance Board.

Parliament

Timmons was elected as Labour Member of Parliament for

Bothwell Bothwell is a conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, east-south-east of Glasgow city centre. Description and history An ancie ...

at the 1945 general election. It was difficult for Scottish MPs to find lodgings in post-war London, which had been badly affected by the Blitz. Timmons found accommodation at the home of the Mayor and Mayoress of Lambeth in Denny Crescent,

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

with other Scottish MPs including John Rankin (politician). At Westminster Timmons rarely spoke, nevertheless as a former coal miner Timmons spoke at length on the industry in debates. He was a member of the left-wing faction who disapproved of the continuation of

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

and supported

Aneurin Bevan Aneurin "Nye" Bevan PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, noted for tenure as Minister of Health in Clement Attlee's government in which he spearheaded the creation of the British National Health ...

in the early 1950s. A Roman Catholic of Irish descent, in 1949 Timmons voted against the Ireland Bill which gave the

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

a veto against the end of partition.

Later career

His rebellious tendencies eased later in the 1950s, although in 1957 he joined a group calling for no retreat on the policy of nationalisation. He played his part in ensuring that the contract for the ''

Queen Elizabeth 2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner converted into a floating hotel. Originally built for the Cunard Line, the ship, named as the second ship named ''Queen Elizabeth'', was operated by Cunard as both a transatlantic ...

'' liner went to the Clyde shipyards rather than the Tyne. Timmons further served the people of Lanarkshire as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

and

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. Unwell in the early 1960s, he announced his intention not to contest the next election in 1962 and retired from Parliament at the 1964 general election, dying only a month later. John Timmons MP Bothwell Grave

References

*M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981) *Obituary, ''The Times'', 23 November 1964. *Obituary, ''The Glasgow Herald'', 23 November 1964.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Timmons, John 1890 births 1964 deaths Scottish Liberal Party councillors Scottish Labour MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies National Union of Mineworkers-sponsored MPs UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964