James Marley (6 May 1893 – 11 April 1954) was a schoolmaster and a Labour politician who sat 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 ...

between December 1923 and October 1924 and, again, between May 1929 and October 1931. He was both the seventh and ninth MP for St Pancras (North). At the 1923 general election held on 6 December, Marley won his first seat in Parliament with a majority of 2,872 votes; unseating the sitting Unionist MP, John William Lorden. in what resulted in the first minority Labour government. It was a short-lived victory for him and, in a

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...

, his seat was taken, at the 1924 general election by

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 ...

, Ian Fraser (later Baron Fraser of Lonsdale). He remained in politics, however, and was re-elected to the St Pancras North seat once again in May

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

, and retained the seat until 27 October

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, when he fell prey again to a

, the seat being regained by Ian Fraser of the Conservative Party.

Biography

James was the son of William Marley (1869–1948) and Margaret Shannon (1874–1922). He was born in

Shotts Shotts is a small town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow () and Edinburgh (). The town has a population of about 8,840. A local story has Shotts being named after the legendary giant highwayman Bertra ...

, Lanarkshire, Scotland and moved to London in 1917 to take up a teaching post at St Dominic's Boys' School in Hampstead (1917–19). During this time, he met and married his wife Alice Louise Pilgrim (1880–1945) the daughter of William Pilgrim, (1845–1922) an Inspector for the

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which was founded ...

and a former policeman for the London Metropolitan Police. The marriage between James Marley and Alice Louise Pilgrim took place in Shotts, Lanarkshire on 16 May 1920. Marley died in Bromley, Kent in April 1954, aged 60. Marley worked at the following schools in Scotland and London: * 1915–1916 St Francis Xavier's School, Carfin, Motherwell, Scotland * 1917–191
St Dominic's Boys' School
Hampstead, London * 1919 :::::: St Peter's Italian R.C. School, Herbal Hill, Holborn, London * 1919–192
St Dominic's Boys' School
Hampstead, London * 1925–1929 St Francis Boys' School, North Kensington, London

Education

* St Aloysius College, Glasgow *

St Mungo's Academy St Mungo's Academy is a Roman Catholic, co-educational, comprehensive, secondary school located in Gallowgate, Glasgow. The school was founded in 1858 by the Marist Brothers religious order. The debate team at St Mungo's were the first Scotti ...

, Glasgow * St Mary's Training College, Hammersmith (now in Twickenham) *

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

Gandhi's visit to the UK

In September 1931, Marley was amongst those who welcomed

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ru ...

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

when he visited the United Kingdom for the second Round Table conference.

Robeson Affair

In April 1929, the African-American concert singer

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

was refused entry to a London hotel. He wrote to Marley complaining about his treatment and the letter was made public, causing uproar in the UK and the US. The matter led to a debate in Parliament later that year (October 1929) into racial discrimination by English hotels."Colour Bar in London", ''Manchester Guardian'', 23 October 1929

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marley, James 1893 births 1954 deaths Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of St Mary's University, Twickenham Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at St Aloysius' College, Glasgow People educated at St Mungo's Academy People from Shotts Politicians from London Politicians from North Lanarkshire Schoolteachers from London UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1929–1931