Sir John William Bowen

CBE 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 ...

(8 May 1876 – 1 April 1965), known as William Bowen, 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 ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. Born and educated in Gowerton in Glamorgan, Bowen left school aged eleven to work at the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

. He soon became an active trade unionist, joining the

Postmen's Federation The Postmen's Federation was a trade union representing postal workers in the United Kingdom. In 1889, a "Postmen's Union" was founded in Clerkenwell by Tom Dredge and John Lincoln Mahon. This dissolved after many of its members were sacked, bu ...

, of which he became chair in 1916."Obituary: Sir William Bowen", ''The Times'', 2 April 1965 He was also active in the Labour Party and stood unsuccessfully for it in

Newport, Monmouthshire Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest au ...

at the 1918 general election and in several elections subsequently.Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees, ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament'', vol.3, p.37 In 1919, Bowen moved to London to take up the role of treasurer of the Postmen's Federation. In this post, he was involved in negotiating the merger of various unions to form the

Union of Post Office Workers The Union of Communication Workers (UCW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. History The union was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) by the merger ...

, and was elected as its first general secretary. He also served on the General Council of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

and was on the council of

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 ...

for many years, becoming its chairman in 1948.

Bowen stood for election repeatedly in Newport, at a 1922 by-election and the

1922 Events January * January 7 – 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 Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

and 1924 general elections, but was never elected. At the 1929 general election, he instead stood in Crewe and immediately won the seat, but he lost it in

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 failed to win it back in 1935. Bowen stood down as secretary of the Post Office Workers in 1936, and was made a

Commander 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 ...

three years later. In 1940, he was elected to

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

for Wandsworth Central. He lost the seat in 1949, but despite no longer being a member of the council, the Labour group ensured his election as the council's Chair. He served in the position for three years, winning an aldermanic seat in 1951 to remain on the council after his time as chair finished. He was knighted in the 1953 Coronation Honours List, and remained on the council until 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, John William 1876 births 1965 deaths Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1929–1931 Members of London County Council General Secretaries of the Union of Communication Workers Labour Party (UK) councillors Union of Communication Workers-sponsored MPs Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor British postmen Politicians from Swansea