Arthur Moyle, Baron Moyle,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(25 September 1894 – 23 December 1974) was a British bricklayer, trade union official and politician. As a member of parliament for nineteen years, he was principally known for serving as Parliamentary private secretary to

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

during Attlee's Premiership. He was also perennially lucky in the ballot for

Private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

Early work

Moyle was a native of

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, the son of a stonemason. He grew up in

Llanidloes Llanidloes () is a town and community on the A470 and B4518 roads in Powys, within the historic county boundaries of Montgomeryshire (), Wales. The population in 2011 was 2,929, of whom 15% could speak Welsh. It is the third largest settleme ...

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

and went to the National School there. He learned the trade of a

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of maso ...

, and worked in Wales and the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...

. He was active in trade union work and in 1918, he became Secretary of the

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

Building Trades Federation.

1924 election

From 1920 Moyle was promoted to be an official of the National Federation of Building Trade Operatives. He also became active in the Labour Party, and in the 1924 general election he was chosen as Labour Party candidate for

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

. Moyle's intervention in what was a close fight between the Conservatives and Liberals, where Labour had not fought in the two previous elections, was met with annoyance on the part of the Liberal Party."Devon And Cornwall Contests", ''The Times'', 20 October 1924. In the end, the Liberals lost the seat by much more than the 2,752 votes which Moyle obtained.

Trade union work

After trade union mergers, Moyle became National Officer of the

National Union of Public Employees The National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) was a British trade union which existed between 1908 and 1993. It represented public sector workers in local government, the Health Service, universities, and water authorities. History The union w ...

, which made him responsible for local authority workers generally and not just those in construction. In the year 1937–1938 Moyle was Chairman of the National Joint Council for Local Authorities Non-Trading Services. He was a spokesman of a delegation to the government to ask for pensions for manual workers as well as local government officers in 1937."Pensions For Council 'Servants'", ''The Times'', 16 February 1937. In May 1938 he joined a delegation pressing for a

Whitley Council Whitley may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom *Whitley, Berkshire, a suburb of Reading *Whitley, Cheshire, a village near Warrington *Whitley, Coventry, a suburb of Coventry, West Midlands *Whitley, Essex, near Birdbrook * Whitley, Wigan, Greater ...

for nurses, to fix minimum salaries and maximum hours."T.U.C. Proposals For Nurses", ''The Times'', 18 May 1938. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Moyle represented the

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 ...

on the

Nurses Salaries Committee The Nurses Salaries Committee was the first official body to fix salary scales and conditions for nursing in England. It was founded in 1941, and ceased its activity with its last report in 1943. Henry Betterton, 1st Baron Rushcliffe or Rushcliffe, ...

chaired by

Lord Rushcliffe Henry Bucknall Betterton, 1st Baron Rushcliffe, (15 August 1872 – 18 November 1949), known as Sir Henry Betterton, Bt, between 1929 and 1935, was a British barrister and Conservative politician. He served as Minister of Labour under Ramsay MacD ...

which published two reports in 1943. Moyle was a member of the National Joint Council for Local Authorities Administrative Professional, Technical and Clerical Staffs, and in 1945 was chairman of the

Trade Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a 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 about 5.5 million members. P ...

Local Advisory Committee.

Member of Parliament

Moyle had been adopted as Labour Parliamentary candidate for

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

in January 1940,''The Times'', 4 January 1940. His chance to fight the seat had to be delayed during the war, but when the election came in 1945 he won the seat from the Conservatives with a majority of nearly 16,000. In Parliament he concentrated on local authority workers' issues, and in supporting the National Insurance Bill in February 1946, he spoke of his concern for the local authority staff who would find themselves redundant after the Bill became law. He called for adequate compensation to be paid."Parliament", ''The Times'', 12 February 1946.

Parliamentary Private Secretary

In May 1946, Moyle was appointed as Parliamentary private secretary to the Prime Minister,

, following

Geoffrey de Freitas Sir Geoffrey Stanley de Freitas (7 April 1913 – 10 August 1982) was a British politician and diplomat. For 31 years, a Labour Member of Parliament, he also served as British High Commissioner in Accra and Nairobi, and later as President of ...

who had been given a ministerial post."Mr. Moyle's Appointment", ''The Times'', 29 May 1946. The appointment gave Moyle a central role in managing relations between Attlee and government backbenchers, and almost silenced him in the chamber of the House of Commons. Attlee gave his PPS access to almost all important decisions, and respected Moyle's advice on the sometimes fractious

Parliamentary Labour Party The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons. The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes ...

Private member's bills

Following boundary changes, Moyle was elected for Oldbury and Halesowen in the 1950 general election. That November, he drew top place in the ballot for

s, and introduced a Bill to tighten up the licensing of

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

."Parliament", ''The Times'', 18 November 1950. The Bill passed into law. Moyle continued to act as Attlee's Parliamentary Private Secretary when Labour went into opposition following the 1951 general election,"Parliamentary Private Secretaries", ''The Times'', 16 November 1951. and was appointed a

Commander of Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in Attlee's resignation honours list."The Resignation Honours", ''The Times'', 30 November 1951. In July 1952 Moyle insisted that

civil defence Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, ...

, even in the nuclear age, should not be made into a disciplined force, but instead find its own level of discipline as in the Second World War."Parliament", ''The Times'', 19 July 1952. In November 1953 he came top of the ballot for Private Member's Bills, and chose the subject of humane slaughter of horses."Private Member's Bill on Humane Slaughter", ''The Times'', 18 November 1953. His Bill received government support"Government Support For Slaughter Bill", ''The Times'', 26 November 1953. and was also enacted. Later, in June 1957, Moyle was elected chairman of the International League for the Protection of Horses."Protection of Horses", ''The Times'', 8 June 1957.

Air pollution

After Attlee retired as Leader of the Opposition, Moyle was allowed to range more widely in his contributions. He was particularly concerned about

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

and complained that smokeless fuel was too expensive and slow to order; he advocated the nationalisation of the companies who made it to expand production."Plea For Smokeless Fuel Control", ''The Times'', 7 March 1956. During the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

, Moyle stated that Britain had destroyed her

moral authority Moral authority is authority premised on principles, or fundamental truths, which are independent of written, or positive laws. As such, moral authority necessitates the existence of and adherence to truth. Because truth does not change the princip ...

by one action and lost the opportunity to criticise the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

for its action in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

."Parliament", ''The Times'', 7 November 1956. He wanted naval

courts martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

to be composed of petty officers and ratings as well as officers."Parliament", ''The Times'', 3 May 1957.

Third private member's bill

Moyle topped the ballot for Private Member's Bills for a third time in November 1957."Alteration of Property Act To Be Sought", ''The Times'', 15 November 1957. This time he introduced a Bill to implement recommendations of a

Royal commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

on the children of divorced people."Hunting of Deer With Hounds", ''The Times'', 19 November 1957. As with his previous Bills, he secured government support"Care of Divorce Case Children", ''The Times'', 29 January 1958. and received Royal Assent. In 1957 and 1958, Moyle ran unsuccessfully for the Shadow Cabinet, although he polled poorly."Mr. Bevan Top in Shadow Cabinet", ''The Times'', 14 November 1958. Following the 1959 general election, Moyle found himself unable to play an active part in Parliament due to illness. His lack of participation was highlighted by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television programme "

That Was the Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pr ...

" in January 1963, which listed all 13 MPs who had not made a speech in the entire Parliament. He announced his retirement, and left the House at the 1964 general election.

Life peerage

In September 1965, Moyle wrote to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' to urge that one

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

test match in each tour should be allocated to South Wales."Test match For Wales?", ''The Times'', 1 September 1965. In the Queen's Birthday honours list of 1966, he was given a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

age, being created Baron Moyle, of

in the

County of Montgomery Montgomeryshire ( ) was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, which in turn was named after one of William the Conqueror's main counsell ...

on 23 June 1966. On the death of Earl Attlee (as he had since become), Moyle was named as his

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film rights, film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially ...

."Lord Attlee leaves £6,700", ''The Times'', 6 January 1968. In March 1970 he spoke against making an application to join the

European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of Institutions of the European Union, institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Co ...

, arguing that Britain should stand by the United States who had stood by Britain in two world wars and were continuing to do so."Parliament", ''The Times'', 18 March 1970. Moyle married Elizabeth Evans from Llanidloes in 1921, but was widowed in 1949. Their son,

Roland Moyle Roland Dunstan Moyle PC (12 March 1928 – 14 July 2017) was a British Labour politician. Early life Moyle was born in March 1928. His father was Arthur Moyle who was a Labour Member of Parliament and served as Parliamentary Private Secret ...

, was later a Labour Member of Parliament for

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

. He remarried in 1951 to Lena Bassett of

Frant Frant is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, on the Kentish border about three miles (5 km) south of Royal Tunbridge Wells. When the iron industry was at its height, much of the village was owned by ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. Moyle Drive, a residential cul-de-sac in Cradley was named for Arthur Moyle in 1976.

References

*M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981) *W.D. Rubinstein, "The Biographical Dictionary of Life Peers" (St. Martin's Press, 1991)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moyle, Arthur 1894 births 1974 deaths Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) life peers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs who were granted peerages Life peers created by Elizabeth II English trade unionists Parliamentary private secretaries to the prime minister