William Bridgland Steer (1867 – 26 March 1939) 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. Born in

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

, Steer attended East Grinstead Board School and then

Westminster Training College Westminster College was a teacher training college and college of higher education in England. The college was founded in London in 1851 as a training institute for teachers for Wesleyan Methodist schools, but moved to Oxford in 1959. Before t ...

, qualifying as a teacher with a degree from

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

. He moved to

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

to become an assistant schoolmaster, and became active in the Derby Teachers' Association and the Derby Class Teachers’ Association, serving as president of each in the early 1900s. From 1904, he worked at Derby Municipal Secondary School. Steer was active in the

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...

(NUT), and was first elected to its executive committee in 1905. Also prominent in the National Federation of Class Teachers, he was its president in 1907, and its treasurer from 1910 until 1927. He served as President of the NUT from 1914 to 1916. 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 ...

, Steer served on the Workers' National War Emergency Committee, and from the end of the war he sat on the Secondary School Burnham Committee. He also became active in the Labour Party, standing for it in

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

at the

1918 United Kingdom general election The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sent ...

, where he took second place with 39.8% of the vote, and in Walthamstow East in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, where he again managed second place, this time with 32.6% of the votes cast. Steer was elected to Derby Borough Council, and served as chair of the city's education committee. He retired from teaching in 1927, opening the Oakcroft Press, and writing a number of educational books for children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steer, William Bridgland 1867 births 1939 deaths Councillors in Derby English trade unionists Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from East Grinstead Schoolteachers from Sussex Presidents of the National Union of Teachers