Horace Nobbs (9 December 1880 – 1973) 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

trade unionist 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 ...

and political activist. Born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, Nobbs joined the Post Office and became active in the

Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association The Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association (PTCA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. History The union was founded in 1881 as the Postal Telegraph Clerks' Association, am ...

(PTCA), working for it full-time in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

from 1911. He also became a supporter of

syndicalism Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through Strike action, strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goa ...

, and in 1914 he persuaded the union to back his motion, which called for the Post Office to come under

workers' control Workers' control is participation in the management of factories and other commercial enterprises by the people who work there. It has been variously advocated by anarchists, socialists, communists, social democrats, distributists and Christi ...

. In 1918, he became the union's national organising secretary, then in 1919 briefly served as its treasurer. Nobbs was active in the Labour Party, for which he stood in Heywood and Radcliffe at the

1918 United Kingdom general election The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sen ...

, with the sponsorship of the union; he took 32.4% of the vote and second place. He was expected to stand in the

1921 Heywood and Radcliffe by-election The 1921 Heywood and Radcliffe (UK Parliament constituency), Heywood and Radcliffe by-election was held on 8 June 1921. The by-election was held due to the elevation to the peerage of the incumbent Coalition Liberal MP, Albert Illingworth. It ...

, but withdrew on the instruction of the union, and the election was won by his replacement,

Walter Halls Walter Halls (16 June 1871 – 20 October 1953) was a British trade unionist and politician. Born in Gaulby in Leicestershire, Halls was educated locally before finding work on the railways. He became an active trade unionist, and was electe ...

. In 1919, Nobbs became part of 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 ...

, becoming its national organising secretary. In this role, he was responsible for membership, the co-ordination of the district organisers, and for members' education. He was also active in the

Workers' Educational Association Workers' Educational Associations (WEA) are not-for-profit bodies that deliver further education to adults in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. WEA UK WEA UK, founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult edu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nobbs, Horace 1880 births 1973 deaths British syndicalists Trade unionists from Norfolk Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Union leaders from Norwich