William John Sherwood (1871 – 14 March 1955) 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 in

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

, Sherwood left school at the age of twelve. He joined the

National Union of General Workers The National Union of General Workers is the name of: * National Union of General Workers (Sohyo), a former trade union in Japan * National Union of General Workers (Zenrokyo) The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) is the shortened, Engl ...

and began working full-time for the union in 1900,"Mr Will Sherwood", ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 15 March 1955 later becoming its President. He also became active in the Labour Party, and was elected to Hartlepool Town Council. He stood unsuccessfully for the party in

The Hartlepools The Hartlepools was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The constituency became Hartlepool in 1974. The seat's name reflected the representation of both old Hartlepool and West Hartlepool. Hist ...

at the 1918 general election, then in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

at the 1922 general election, 1923 by-election and 1923 general election. In 1925, Sherwood was elected as President of the

Federation of Engineering and Shipbuilding Trades The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU), often known as the Confed is a trade union confederation in the United Kingdom. History The confederation was founded in December 1890 as the Federation of Engineering and Shipbuil ...

, holding the post until 1933. In 1924, the National Union of General Workers became part of the

National Union of General and Municipal Workers The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 460,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National Health Service (N ...

, and Sherwood became its National Industrial Officer. He also served on the General Council of the

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 ...

for many years, and was its representative to the

American Federation of Labour The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...

in 1927.''Report of Proceedings at the 72nd Annual Trades Union Congress'', p.6 He retired in 1937.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwood, Will 1871 births 1955 deaths Councillors in County Durham English trade unionists Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Hartlepool