William Lockyer (1875 – 19 February 1959) 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, ...

politician and trade unionist, who served on the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

. Born in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

, Lockyer came to prominence as the chair of the

Postmen's Federation The Postmen's Federation was a trade union representing postal workers in the United Kingdom. In 1889, a "Postmen's Union" was founded in Clerkenwell by Tom Dredge and John Lincoln Mahon. This dissolved after many of its members were sacked, bu ...

from 1904. He supported the formation of a single union for post office staff, and chaired the conference which led the federation to merge with other unions, forming the

Union of Post Office Workers The Union of Communication Workers (UCW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. History The union was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) by the merger ...

. Lockyer served as the union's treasurer until he retired in 1935. Lockyer was a supporter of the Labour Party, and in 1919 he was elected to

Lambeth Borough Council Lambeth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, and one of the 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council meets at Lambeth Town Hall ...

, serving as Mayor of Lambeth from 1938 until 1945. At the 1937 London County Council election, he won a seat in Lambeth North, and he served until 1949. Lockyer was made a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

, and also a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockyer, Will 1875 births 1959 deaths English trade unionists Labour Party (UK) councillors Mayors of places in Greater London Members of London County Council People from Lambeth