Albert Knowles (1885 – July 1953) was a British

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leader. Born in Turton, near Bolton, Knowles began working in a cotton mill at the age of eleven, also joining a local union. In 1908, he moved to Oldham and transferred to the Oldham Operative Cotton Spinners' Association."Obituary: Mr Albert Knowles", ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 11 July 1953 He was elected as the Oldham Spinners' assistant secretary in 1917,''Quarterly Report of the General Federation of Trade Unions'', 21 March 1950, p.13 then 1936, became its general secretary. Also that year, he was elected to the management committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU). In 1940, he was additionally elected as secretary of the Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners.

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

, "Obituary: Albert Knowles", ''Annual Report of the 1953 Trades Union Congress'', pp.288-289 From 1943, Knowles served on the Cotton Board, and was also elected to the executive of the British Cotton Growing Association. From 1950 to 1952, he was the chairman of the GFTU. In his spare time, Knowles was active in the Workers Educational Association, acting as vice-chair of its North West District. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Albert 1885 births 1953 deaths Trade unionists from Bolton Presidents of the Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners Presidents of the General Federation of Trade Unions (UK)