Sir Arthur Pugh (19 January 1870 – 2 August 1955) 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 Employee ben ...

. Born in

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye (Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye and ...

, Pugh was apprenticed to a farmer who also worked as a butcher, but soon moved to

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

to work in the steel industry, where he became active in the

British Steel Smelters' Association The British Steel Smelters' Association (BSSA) was a trade union representing steel smelters and workers in related trades in Britain. History The union was founded in after a strike at the David Colville and Sons Works in Motherwell in 1885. T ...

. In 1901, he moved to

Frodingham, Lincolnshire Frodingham was a hamlet in Lincolnshire which has grown into a suburb of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire. Although the village lay directly to the south of what is now Scunthorpe town centre, the name Frodingham is now often used to refer to the ...

, and he became first Assistant Secretary and then Office Secretary of the union. In 1917, he played a leading role in the formation of the

Iron and Steel Trades Confederation The Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC) was a British trade union for metal-workers and allied groups, being the largest union in these fields. It was formed on 1 January 1917 as a merger of existing steel-workers' unions and it is now pa ...

(ISTC) and the

British Iron, Steel and Kindred Trades Association The Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC) was a British trade union for metal-workers and allied groups, being the largest union in these fields. It was formed on 1 January 1917 as a merger of existing steel-workers' unions and it is now pa ...

, becoming the first General Secretary of the ISTC. He served as

President of the Trades Union Congress The President of the Trades Union Congress is a prominent but largely honorary position in British trade unionism. History Initially, the post of president was elected at the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC) itself, and would serve just for the d ...

in 1926, during the

UK General Strike The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British governmen ...

, was on the economic consultative committee of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

, and was active in running the ''

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'' newspaper. He retired from his union posts in 1935, receiving a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

, and wrote ''Men of Steel'', a history of the metal-workers trade unions.Pugh, Sir Arthur
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pugh, Arthur 1870 births 1955 deaths General Secretaries of the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation Knights Bachelor Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress People from Ross-on-Wye Presidents of the Trades Union Congress Trade unionists from Herefordshire