Sir Frederick Messer

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 ...

(12 May 1886 – 8 May 1971) was an English

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 ...

ist, Labour Party politician and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

activist. He was a member of the House of Commons and Chairman of

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the cou ...

Career

Messer was born in north London, and was the son of a

poor law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

officer. He was educated at Thornhill Primary School,

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

before entering an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

as a

French polish French polishing is a wood finishing technique that results in a very high gloss surface, with a deep colour and chatoyancy. French polishing consists of applying many thin coats of shellac dissolved in denatured alcohol using a rubbing pad lubri ...

er. He became one of the first members of the French Polishers Union. He subsequently changed his career, becoming national organiser of the Industrial Orthopaedic Society. He was elected as a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenham South at the 1929 general election. Two years later another

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

was held and Messer was defeated in a straight fight with the National Labour candidate, Francis Palmer The situation was reversed when he regained the seat from Palmer at the next general election in 1935. He held the seat until its abolition in 1950, and was MP for the successor seat of

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

from 1950 until his retirement from parliament in 1959. He was appointed a

Commander of the 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 ...

in 1948 "for political and public services" and

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 1953 Coronation Honours List. As well as serving in parliament, he was for many years a member of

. For 15 years he was chairman of the Labour group on the council, and in 1938 was elevated to become an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

. He served as chairman of the council from 1947 to 1948, the first member of the Labour Party to hold the chair. A

Bevanite Bevanism was a movement on the left wing of the Labour Party in the late 1950s led by Aneurin Bevan which also included Richard Crossman, Michael Foot and Barbara Castle. Bevanism was opposed by the Gaitskellites, moderate social democrats wit ...

, in 1958 he became the first president of Victory for Socialism, a left-wing

ginger group The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in Canada, but a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who advocated socialism. The term ginger group also refers to a small group with new, radical ideas trying to ...

within the Labour Party. Messer died in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, aged 84.

Animal welfare

In 1954, Messer supported the Protection of Animals (Anaesthetics) Bill which had a second reading in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. The Bill made it an offence to perform certain operations on cattle, cats, dogs and horses without the use of anaesthetics. The Bill had been prepared by the

British Veterinary Association The British Veterinary Association (BVA) is the national body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom, and is a not-for-profit organisation. Its purpose is that of knowledge dissemination, which is important in the veterinary profession to ...

and received support from the National Farmers' Union,

British Horse Society The British Horse Society (BHS) is a membership-based equine charity, with a stated vision of "a Society which provides a strong voice for horses and people and which spreads awareness through support, training and education". It currently has ...

and the

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

. In the late 1950s, Messer campaigned against

deer hunting Deer hunting is hunting deer for meat and sport, and, formerly, for producing Buckskin (leather), buckskin hides, an activity which dates back tens of thousands of years. Venison, the name for deer meat, is a nutritious and natural food sourc ...

. He was a member of the National Abolition of Deer Hunting Committee. In 1957, he introduced to Parliament the Protection of Deer Bill. The Bill prohibited the hunting with hounds of deer and proposed humane methods of control. The Bill was drafted in consultation with the

League Against Cruel Sports The League Against Cruel Sports, formerly known as the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, is a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to stop blood sports such as fox hunting, hare and deer hunting; game bird shooting; and anim ...

and also received support from the RSPCA. In 1959, Messer performed the commentary on a 25 minute film of deer being hunted in Britain. The film took two years to produce and included footage of hunting scenes, including the chase, kill and cutting of dead deer. The film was made by the National Abolition of Deer Hunting Committee and was shown to MP's in the House of Commons. In 1959 and 1965, the Protection of Deer Bill was read at the House of Commons with strong opposition.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Messer, Frederick 1886 births 1971 deaths Anti-hunting activists British animal welfare workers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of Middlesex County Council UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 Parliamentary Peace Aims Group members