William Marsland (1855 – 28 March 1917) 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 Hurst near

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

, Marsland worked from an early age as a half-timer in a hat factory. When he was 13, he began working full-time at a cotton mill and joined the Ashton Spinners' Association, while spending much of his spare time studying. As a result, in 1898, when the secretaryship of the Ashton Spinners became available, he took the top place in an examination, and won the post. Later in the year, he was also elected to the Ashton

Board of Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the poor ...

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

, "Obituary: Mr William Marsland, JP", ''Annual Report of the 1917 Trades Union Congress'', p.206 In 1904, Marsland again won a general secretaryship by examination, becoming leader of the

Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners The Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners and Twiners, also known as the Amalgamation, was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1870 and 1970. It represented male mule spinners in the cotton industry. Histor ...

, to which the Ashton Spinners was affiliated. In 1905, he was additionally appointed as secretary of the International Federation of Textile Workers' Associations. He also served on the committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions, and on the council of the British Cotton Growing Association, for which in 1911 he went on a fact-finding trip to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. He died in his 52nd year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsland, William 1855 births 1917 deaths English trade unionists General Secretaries of the Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners People from Ashton-under-Lyne Date of birth missing English justices of the peace