Joseph Havelock Wilson (16 August 1859 – 16 April 1929), commonly known as Havelock Wilson or J. Havelock Wilson, was a British trade union leader,
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
politician, and campaigner for the rights of merchant seamen.
Early life
He was born in
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
and went to sea as a boy, serving somewhere between 10 and 14 years at sea. In 1879 whilst still a seaman he married Jane Ann Watham at Sunderland. In 1882 he opened a "Temperance Hotel" in Sunderland settling down to life ashore at the age of 24.
Political and trade union activities
He became involved in a local seamen's union established in Sunderland in 1879 and had become its president by 1885. Wilson pursued a policy of attempting to build branches in nearby ports, which met with some success but led to disagreements within the leadership. In 1887, Wilson broke with the Sunderland union to establish his own
National Sailors' & Firemen's Union, which was committed to a policy of expansion. Wilson remained president of the union until his death.
Wilson rose to prominence in the late 1880s, on the back of the success of his union and his involvement in various
strikes, including the
London dock strike of 1889
The 1889 London dock strike was an industrial dispute involving dock workers in the Port of London. It broke out on 14 August 1889, and resulted in victory for the 100,000 strikers when they won their pay claim of sixpence per hour, the so-cal ...
.
Wilson's first electoral contest was at a by-election in
Bristol East
Bristol East is a constituency recreated in 1983 covering the eastern part of the City of Bristol, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Kerry McCarthy of the Labour Party.
Constituency profile
Bristol East cove ...
in 1890, at which he did poorly.
He won his second contest, at
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
in 1892, in which he stood as an independent labour candidate in opposition to a
Gladstonian Liberal
Gladstonian liberalism is a political doctrine named after the British Victorian Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstonian liberalism consisted of limited government expenditure and low taxation whilst making ...
, and a
Liberal Unionist
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...
.
Having secured election, however, Like
John Burns
John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...
, Wilson moved quickly to cooperate with the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
. He also allied with existing
Lib–Lab Members of Parliament (MPs) such as
Thomas Burt
Thomas Burt Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (12 November 1837 – 12 April 1922) was a British trade unionist and one of the first working-class Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament.
Career
Burt became secretary of t ...
and
John Wilson. Wilson continued to align himself with the Liberal Party in politics despite the establishment and growth of the
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...
. Indeed, he was fiercely critical of the party and of key figures within it such as
Keir Hardie
James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...
and
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...
.
In 1893, Wilson brought an unsuccessful action for
libel
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
against ''
The Evening News and Post'', seeking thousands in damages. The newspaper was represented by the
Irish Unionist
Unionism in Ireland is a political tradition that professes loyalty to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, crown of the United Kingdom and to the union it represents with England, Scotland and Wales. The overwhelming sentiment of Ireland's Pro ...
Edward Carson
Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC, Privy Council of Ireland, PC (Ire), King's Counsel, KC (9 February 1854 – 22 October 1935), from 1900 to 1921 known as Sir Edward Carson, was an Irish unionist politician ...
. In late July 1893, a jury at
Guildford
Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...
found against Wilson, and the judge,
Sir William Grantham, a former
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
member of parliament, ordered him to pay the newspaper’s costs.
Wilson's union suffered in the early 1890s and almost collapsed in 1894.
Wilson retained his Middlesbrough seat in the
1895 general election but narrowly lost to
Samuel Alexander Sadler, a Conservative, in the
1900 election – an election characterised by a considerable swing towards the Conservatives.
He won Middlesbrough for a third and final time at the
1906 election.
He did not stand for Parliament in 1910.

Wilson's union revived in 1911, with the outbreak of a wave of seamen's and dockers' strikes in British ports. Despite his militant tactics, Wilson was a relative moderate whose goal was to establish friendly relations with shipowners and formal conciliation procedures in the shipping industry to enable disputes to be resolved without recourse to strikes or lockouts. This goal was steadily achieved after shipowners recognised the union in 1911 and began working closely with officials during the First World War. After 1917, wage rates and conditions were set by the
National Maritime Board :''This is about the Maritime Board in the United Kingdom. For the Board in the Philippines, see National Seamen Board.''
The National Maritime Board (NMB) was a bilateral board governing wages and working practices in the British shipping indust ...
, which represented the
Shipping Federation and Wilson's union.
Wilson and his union were noted as one of the most vociferous supporters of Britain's involvement in the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, because of the
loss of merchant seamen to
U-Boats
U-boats are naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the First and Second World Wars. The term is an anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the German term refers to any submarine. Austro-Hungarian Na ...
. This was in contrast to the position of the miners, engineers and railwaymen, who became increasingly sceptical of Britain's war effort by the latter stages of the war.
He was a founder of the
National Democratic Party but stood as a Liberal at the
October 1918 by-election in
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...
, when he was elected unopposed.
He held the seat as a
Coalition Liberal
The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place soon after British victory in the ...
at the
1918 general election.
His last electoral contest came at the
1922 general election, when he stood as a
National Liberal
National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism).
A serie ...
candidate, but lost his seat – coming third with only 20.5% of the vote.
In the 1920s, Wilson's reputation as a 'bosses' man' made him increasingly unpopular in the wider labour movement. His union was seen as having become little more than a “
company union
A company or "yellow" union is a worker organization which is dominated or unduly influenced by an employer and is therefore not an independent trade union. Company unions are contrary to international labour law (see ILO Convention 98, Article ...
”.
[Pelling 1992, p.148]
Havelock Wilson was buried in Hendon Park Cemetery, with many dockers in attendance having walked to the graveside from Docklands.
References
Havelock Wilson exposed (1921)Early attempt by followers of Lenin to smear Wilson.
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Havelock
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
British trade union leaders
Liberal-Labour (UK) MPs
Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress
National Democratic and Labour Party MPs
National Union of Seamen-sponsored MPs
1859 births
1929 deaths
UK MPs 1892–1895
UK MPs 1895–1900
UK MPs 1906–1910
UK MPs 1910–1918
UK MPs 1918–1922
Trade unionists from Tyne and Wear
People from Sunderland
Politicians from Tyne and Wear
Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians
British Merchant Navy personnel
Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom