Wilfred Lanceley Heywood OBE (11 September 1900 – 8 October 1977) 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

Wooldale Wooldale is a small village nestled on a hill, overlooking the Kirkroyds area of New Mill, Holmfirth in West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 2,420. Co-operative Society The village was the base of the Wooldale Co-operative Society, ...

, near

Holmfirth Holmfirth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, on the A635 and A6024 in the Holme Valley, at the confluence of the River Holme and Ribble, south of Huddersfield and west of Barnsley. It mostly consist ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, Heywood attended the Wooldale Council School before becoming active in the

National Union of Textile Workers The National Union of Textile Workers was a trade union representing workers in the textile industry in England, principally in Yorkshire. History The union was founded in 1922 when the General Union of Textile Workers merged with the Natio ...

;Heywood, Wilfred Lanceley
, ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'' he was elected to its executive in 1930.Christopher T. Husbands, ''Racial Exclusionism and the City: The Urban Support of the National Front'', p.73 He stood as the Labour Party candidate in Bradford East at the

1935 United Kingdom general election The 1935 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 14 November 1935 and resulted in a large, albeit reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Stanley Baldwin of the Conservative Party. The greatest number of members, ...

, with the backing of the union. His candidacy was controversial, as

Frederick William Jowett Frederick William Jowett (31 January 1864 – 1 February 1944) was a British Labour politician. Early life Jowett was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on 31 January 1864. He received little formal education and at the age of eight was worki ...

, the former Labour MP for the seat, also stood, as an

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) candidate, and the ILP had a long tradition in the local labour movement. Jowett beat Heywood, who took third place with 21.7% of the vote, and was widely considered to have taken enough votes from Jowett to enable a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

victory. The National Union of Textile Workers became part of the

National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers The National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers (NUDBTW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1936 with the merger of the National Union of Textile Workers, which was the main union representing ...

in 1936, and Heywood remained prominent, being elected as General Secretary in 1948, and also taking a seat on the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trade Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

. He also served on the

British Wool Marketing Board The British Wool Marketing Board (also now known as British Wool) operates the central marketing system for UK fleece wool. A farmer-run organisation, British Wool was established in 1950 with the aim of achieving the best possible net return f ...

and the

Monopolies Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under t ...

, but stood down from all his position in 1957, to take a seat on the

Restrictive Practices Court The Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1956 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to enforce competition, and provide an appropriate check on restrictive combines and practices. It required that any agreement between companies ...

. In 1968, he moved to the

National Board for Prices and Incomes The National Board for Prices and Incomes was created by the government of Harold Wilson in 1965 in an attempt to solve the problem of inflation in the British economy by managing wages and prices. The board's chairman was Aubrey Jones, formerl ...

, then in 1970 returned to the Court before finally retiring in 1971. Heywood was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1951 New Year Honours The 1951 New Years Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1951 for the Brit ...

, and a

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in the

1958 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1958 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heywood, Wilfred 1900 births 1977 deaths General Secretaries of the National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Holmfirth