Arthur James Williams (30 November 1880 – 10 October 1962) 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, who served as

Lord Mayor of Cardiff This is a list of mayors of Cardiff, Wales. The first mayor recorded for Cardiff was in 1126 though the title was generally given to the Constable or military governor of Cardiff Castle.

. Born in

Pontypool Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...

, Arthur was the son of James Edwin Williams, an activist in the

Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan am ...

(ASRS). Arthur was educated at Pontymoile National School, then followed his father in working on the railways, joining the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

in 1896, and in 1900 became a train guard. He also became active in the ASRS, which in 1907 funded him to attend

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is an independent educational institution in Oxford, England. It is not a college of Oxford University. It is named after the essayist, art and social critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) an ...

. From 1909, Williams worked full-time for the ASRS. In 1913, it became part of the

National Union of Railwaymen The National Union of Railwaymen was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom. The largest railway workers' union in the country, it was influential in the national trade union movement. History The NUR was an industrial union ...

, and Williams remained active, serving as its organising secretary for Wales, and representing it on various bodies relating to pensions. He also served as editor of ''The Railway Pioneer'' journal. Williams was a supporter of the Labour Party. He wrote ''What the Labour Party Stands For'', and stood unsuccessfully in Cardiff East at the

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

and

1922 United Kingdom general election The 1922 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 15 November 1922. It was won by the Conservative Party, led by Bonar Law, which gained an overall majority over the Labour Party, led by J. R. Clynes, and a divided Liberal Party. ...

s. In 1935, he was elected to

Cardiff City Council Cardiff City Council was the local government district authority that administered the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, from 1974 until 1996. The district council replaced the pre-1974 county borough council. It was succeeded in 1996 by Car ...

. He retired from his trade union position in 1940, but remained on the council, and was

in 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Arthur James 1880 births 1962 deaths Alumni of Ruskin College British trade unionists Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Mayors of Cardiff People from Pontypool