William Robert Robins OBE (1886 – 28 September 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, ...

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 at

Osmaston, Derby Osmaston is a suburb of the city of Derby, England. It is situated about 4 km south of the city centre. It is written in the Domesday Book as ''Osmundestune''. In 1307 the manor of Osmaston was granted to Robert Holland. It was the locati ...

, Robins was the son of John Robins, a railway wagon builder originally from

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somer ...

who moved his family to

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

about 1893. He was brought up as a

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...

. He found work as a railway clerk. In 1908, he joined the

Railway Clerks' Association The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) is a trade union for workers in the transport and travel industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head office is in London, and it has regional offices in Bristol, Derby, Dublin, Manche ...

(RCA). Three years later, the RCA had enough members in the town to form a branch, and he became its first organising secretary, serving until 1919. From 1918 until 1921, he also served as the secretary of Swindon

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

, and in 1919, he was elected as a Labour Party member of the town council. From 1918 until 1925, he was the chairman of the RCA's Western Divisional Council, then from 1925 until 1931 he served on the union's executive committee. Robins stood in

Cirencester and Tewkesbury Cirencester and Tewkesbury was a parliamentary constituency in Gloucestershire which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 1918 general election and abolish ...

at the

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 ...

and

1923 United Kingdom general election The 1923 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 December 1923. The Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives, led by Stanley Baldwin, won the most seats, but Labour Party (UK), Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald, and H. H. Asquith's re ...

s, with the sponsorship of his union. On each occasion, he took second place, with about one third of the vote. He became increasingly prominent in local politics. In 1928, he was elected as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

, then served as Mayor of Swindon for 1932/33. At the national level, he was unsuccessful in

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

at the

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

1931 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 ...

, and

1935 United Kingdom general election The 1935 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 14 November 1935 and resulted in a large, albeit reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Stanley Baldwin of the Conservative Party. The greatest number of members, ...

s, and although he was selected as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

in 1939, no election took place until 1945, by which time he had been replaced. In October 1939, Robins was registered under the

National Registration Act 1939 The National Registration Act 1939 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. The initial National Registration Bill was introduced to Parliament as an emergency measure at the start of the Second World War. The Act provided for the estab ...

as a railway clerk. In the

1948 Birthday Honours The 1948 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the Commonwealth Realms. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, a ...

, he was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, while in 1951, he was awarded the Freedom of Swindon. He served as the first chairman of the committee which produced the ''

Wiltshire Victoria County History The Wiltshire Victoria County History, properly called The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire but commonly referred to as VCH Wiltshire, is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Wiltshire in England. It forms part of the overall Vic ...

'', resigning shortly before his death in 1959. Robins died on 28 September 1959 at St Margaret’s Hospital,

Stratton St Margaret Stratton St Margaret is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The parish covers north-eastern suburbs of Swindon including Stratton St Margaret itself along with Upper Stratton, Lower Stratton and Kingsdown. Since May 20 ...

, leaving a widow, Daisy, of 318 Cricklade Road, Swindon. “ROBINS William Robert of 318 Cricklade Road, Swindon” in ''Probate Calendar for England and Wales, 1959''
p. 299
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References

1886 births 1959 deaths Trade unionists from Wiltshire Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Mayors of places in Wiltshire People from Derby {{UK-trade-unionist-bio-stub