Samuel Lomax (1872 – 5 May 1944) was a British

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 Employee ben ...

and politician who served as the

Mayor of Bolton This is a list of the Mayors in England, Mayors of Bolton in the north west of England. The office of Mayor is a ceremonial, non-political post. As the Borough's First Citizen, the Mayor serves as the civic representative at a wide range of functi ...

. Born in

Kearsley Kearsley ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 14,212. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies northwest of Manchester, southwest of Bury and south of Bolt ...

, Lomax was educated at Kearsley Council School and became a half-timer in a cotton mill. He then joined the

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...

in Bolton, working as a parcels clerk, and joined the

Railway Clerks' Association The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) is a trade union for workers in the transport and travel industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head office is in London, and it has regional offices in Bristol, Derby, Dublin, Manche ...

(RCA). Lomax was a member of the Independent Labour Party and a supporter of the Labour Party, chairing the Bolton branches of both bodies. In 1915, he was elected to Bolton County Borough Council, representing the East ward. He lost his seat in 1919, but was sponsored by the RCA as a candidate for Bolton at the

1922 United Kingdom general election The 1922 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 15 November 1922. It was won by the Conservative Party, led by Bonar Law, which gained an overall majority over the Labour Party, led by J. R. Clynes, and a divided Liberal Party. ...

. He took third place in two seat constituency, with 16.1% of the vote. He was re-elected in East ward in 1925, and became an alderman in 1928. In 1932/33, he was

. In 1924, Lomax was appointed as head of the finance department of the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

. He served twice as chair of the RCA, and was elected as an auditor of the

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most years from 1921 until 1925. Bolton Labour Party expelled Lomax in 1935, complaining that he had opposed its favoured candidate in an election. The national Labour Party investigated, and reinstated Lomax. He continued on the council, moving to become a councillor for Bradford ward from 1940.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lomax, Samuel 1872 births 1944 deaths Independent Labour Party politicians Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Mayors of Bolton People from Kearsley