Arthur William Barratt (8 October 1877 – 8 December 1939) was a British shoe manufacturer and socialist activist, who founded Barratts Shoes. Born in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, Barratt was the son of John, a working-class shoemaker, and Eleanor Yeomans. After a primary education, he became a shop assistant, selling shoes, and after a while moved to London. He met and married Alice Johnson, and the couple settled in Northampton. Barratt joined the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

and stood for Northampton Town Council, narrowly missing out on election. In 1902, Barratt set up a shoe shop with a brother. The following year, he began selling shoes by mail order, and although the shop went bankrupt in 1906, the mail order business proved a success. He set up a large factory in Northampton in 1913, and set up a shop in London the following year, the first of a large chain. The business grew rapidly making boots for the armed forces during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, but saw continued success after the war with its large advertising campaigns and reputation for quality. Barratt remained interested in politics, and from 1929, he served as a Labour Party member of Northampton Town Council. He also stood unsuccessfully in Bethnal Green North East at the

1931 United Kingdom general election Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

. However, in 1934 he resigned from the council, arguing that it operated on an unbusinesslike basis, and took no further part in electoral politics. He served as president of the Northampton Town Boot and Shoe Manufacturers Association from 1933, but was controversial in the industry for arguing for a shorter working week for employees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barratt, William 1877 births 1939 deaths Councillors in Northamptonshire Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Businesspeople in manufacturing People from Northampton Shoemakers Social Democratic Federation members