Rowland William Casasola (14 May 1893 – 29 March 1971), known as "Roland", 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, ...

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 benefits (s ...

and political activist. Born 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 ...

, Casasola completed an apprenticeship as an iron moulder and joined the

Friendly Society of Iron Founders The Friendly Society of Iron Founders of England, Ireland and Wales (FSIF) was an early trade union representing foundry workers in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1809 in Bolton as the Friendly Iron Moulders' Society. Unlike ...

in 1912. He served with the Royal Engineers in France during

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, and during the war was promoted to corporal.David Howell, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.IV, pp.52-55 In 1919, Casasola returned to the UK and became active in 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 ...

(ILP) and the Labour Party. He studied with the

National Council of Labour Colleges The National Council of Labour Colleges (NCLC) was an organisation set up in the United Kingdom to foster independent working class education. The organisation was founded at a convention held in the Clarion Club House, Yardley, Birmingham on 8/9 ...

and continued to work as an iron moulder, now in the merged

National Union of Foundry Workers The National Union of Foundry Workers (NUFW) was a trade union representing workers in foundries in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1920 with the merger of the Associated Iron Moulders of Scotland, the Amalgamated Society ...

. Casasola was a leading supporter of

William Dobbie Lieutenant General Sir William George Shedden Dobbie, (12 July 1879 – 3 October 1964) was a British Army officer who served in the Second Boer War and the First and Second World Wars. Early life William was born in Madras to a civil servant ...

's unsuccessful candidacy in Stalybridge and Hyde at the 1931 general election and, as a result, was selected as the Labour candidate for the seat at the 1935 general election. He lost and devoted the next few years to supporting the Republicans in the

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, claiming this was the reason he was not selected to fight the 1937 Stalybridge and Hyde by-election. However, he was selected as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

at the election expected to take place in 1939 or 1940; when this was cancelled due to

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, he was instead selected for Stockport, which he fought unsuccessfully at the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgarian ...

. In 1946, Casasola was elected to the executive of the new Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers, and because

Jim Gardner James or Jim Gardner may refer to: * James Gardner (surveyor), British engineer * James Gardner (designer) (1907–1995), British industrial designer * James Gardner (musician) (born 1962), British musician and composer * James A. Gardner (1943� ...

, the union's general secretary, was active in the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), Casasola became its representative to Labour Party conferences. This enabled him to gain union funding to contest Manchester Moss Side at the 1950 general election, but he came a distant second, and a final contest at Blackburn West at the 1951 general election was also unsuccessful. During the early 1950s, Casasola was a prominent opponent of German rearmament, moving an unsuccessful resolution on the subject at the Labour Party conference. In 1954, he was elected as chairman of the Foundry Workers, and in 1956 was elected to the

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of the Labour Party. He retired from his posts in 1958, and resigned from the Labour Party in 1961 to join the CPGB.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casasola, Roland 1893 births 1971 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members Trade unionists from Manchester Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates