Sir Richard Marchant Knowles (20 May 1917 – 18 February 2008) was a British politician known for his work in local government in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

. He led the Labour Party administration on Birmingham City Council from 1984 to 1993. Knowles was brought up in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and worked in the building industry from the age of 14. After brief service in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he became a builder and shipbuilder in 1941. In 1950 he became a

trade union 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 ...

organiser in the building trade, working in Sevenoaks,

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

and eventually ending up in

. From 1971, he became national organiser of the

Co-operative Party The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to campaign politically for the fair ...

and began to consider a career in local government. He was elected to

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

in 1972 and was swiftly made Chairman of the Planning Committee. In 1974 he was elected as an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members ...

and moved on to the Policy Committee, of which he was a member for three years until the Labour Party lost power. He also served on West Midlands County Council from 1973 to 1977. In 1980, Knowles returned as Planning Committee chairman for two years. He was promoted to be Labour group leader and became Leader of the Council in 1984 when Labour won control. Knowles played a key role in the transformation of Birmingham city centre during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was influential in bringing about the International Convention Centre and Symphony Hall on Broad Street, which were to prove hugely important in the regeneration and reinvention of the city. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

in 1989. Knowles was sued in 1990 by

John Hemming John Hemming may refer to: * John Hemming (historian) (born 1935), British explorer and author *John Hemming (politician) (born 1960), British politician See also *John Heminges, co-publisher of Shakespeare's works after his death *John Hemings J ...

over a leaflet which Hemming considered libellous; although Knowles had not written the leaflet, he had helped distribute it door-to-door. Lacking the resources to defend the case, Knowles agreed to pay damages of £1,000 to charity plus Hemming's legal costs. Knowles stood down from the leadership in 1993, being succeeded by Theresa Stewart and was made

Lord Mayor of Birmingham This is a list of the Mayors in England, mayors and lord mayors of Birmingham in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Birmingham has had a mayor (and elected council) since 1838. The office was raised to the dignity of lord ma ...

in 1994. He was defeated for re-election to the council in 2000. On 2 May 2007, the then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, paid tribute to Dick Knowles's contribution to the regeneration of Birmingham, during

Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every W ...

at Westminster. He was still politically active as a governor of University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust well into his eighties.

Death and legacy

Knowles died of

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become ma ...

, aged 90. His son, Bill Knowles, added that his father had lived "a very full and complete life". The Knowles stand, one of four stands for spectators at Alexander Stadium is named after him.

References

External links

ObituaryPicture of Dick
at the Birmingham Carnival 1994.
Obituary in The Times, 28 February 2008
(£)
Obituary in the Guardian, 21 February 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Dick 1917 births 2008 deaths Military personnel from Kent Deaths from bladder cancer Labour Party (UK) councillors Co-operative Party politicians Politicians from Birmingham, West Midlands People from Kent Deaths from cancer in England Councillors in Birmingham, West Midlands Knights Bachelor Lord Mayors of Birmingham, West Midlands Leaders of local authorities of England British Army personnel of World War II Royal Engineers soldiers