William Pallister Richardson (25 February 1873–8 August 1930), known as W. P. Richardson, 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 benefits (s ...

. Richardson was born in

Usworth Washington is a town in the City of Sunderland district of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it is the ancestral settlement of the Washington family, which George Washington descended from. It is located between Che ...

, County Durham. His father was killed in 1885, while working in the Usworth Colliery. A few months later, William began work in the same pit. He joined the

Durham Miners' Association The Durham Miners' Association (DMA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1869 and its membership quickly rose to 4,000, but within a year had fallen back to 2,000. In December 1870, William Crawford becam ...

, and became branch secretary in 1898, and was elected to the county executive in 1912. He served as General Secretary of the union from 1924 until his death, and as treasurer of the

Miners' Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...

from 1921. Richardson was also an active member of the

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 ...

, and its leading member in Usworth. His brother Tom was also active in the party, and was the Member of Parliament for

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

from 1910 to 1918.David Howell, ''British workers and the Independent Labour Party'', p.47

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, William Pallister 1873 births 1930 deaths British trade union leaders People from Washington, Tyne and Wear Trade unionists from Tyne and Wear