Henry Reginall Underhill, Baron Underhill

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(8 May 1914 – 12 March 1993), was a British party worker and Labour politician.

Background

He was the youngest son of Henry James Underhill and his wife Alice Maud Butler. Underhill was educated at Leyton Central School and left it in 1929. Aged only sixteen, he joined the Labour Party in the following year and was a Lloyd's Underwriter until 1933.

Career

Subsequently, Underhill began working as a junior clerk in the party's head office and became vice-chairman in the constituency of Leyton West. He was appointed an honorary secretary of the British Workers' Sports Association and in 1936 travelled with the British delegation to the

People's Olympiad The People's Olympiad (Catalan: ''Olimpíada Popular'', Spanish: ''Olimpiada Popular'') was a planned international multi-sport event that was intended to take place in Barcelona, the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia within the Span ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Underhill refused to fight, citing his socialism, however served in the

National Fire Service The National Fire Service (NFS) was the single fire service created in Great Britain in 1941 during the Second World War; a separate National Fire Service (Northern Ireland) was created in 1942. The NFS was created in August 1941 by the amalga ...

in London, often acting as a driver. In 1945, after the end of the war, he was assistant to

Morgan Phillips Morgan Walter Phillips (18 June 1902 – 15 January 1963) was a colliery worker and trade union activist who became the General Secretary of the British Labour Party, involved in two of the party's election victories. Life Born in Aberdare, G ...

, at that time the

General Secretary of the Labour Party The General Secretary of the Labour Party is the most senior employee of the British Labour Party, and acts as the non-voting secretary to the National Executive Committee. When there is a vacancy the National Executive Committee selects a provi ...

. He was then administrative assistant to the party's national agent until 1947 and worked as propaganda officer until the next year. From 1948, Underhill served as Labour's regional organiser in the West Midlands until 1960, when he was chosen assistant national agent. In 1972, he finally became the National Agent of the Labour Party. His work involved reporting on the

Militant tendency The Militant tendency, or Militant, was a Trotskyism, Trotskyist group in the British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, organised around the ''Militant'' newspaper, which launched in 1964. According to Michael Crick, its politics were based on the t ...

as entrists into the Labour Party, eventually leading to their expulsion from the party. Underhill was awarded a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

1976 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours The 1976 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were announced on 27 May 1976 to mark the resignation of the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. The list of resignation honours became known satirically as the "Lavender List". Controversy The list caus ...

and on his retirement from his post in 1979, he was created 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. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

with the title Baron Underhill, of Leyton, in

Greater London Greater may refer to: * Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film * Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 * Greater Bank, an Austra ...

on 12 July. He became Labour's Opposition front bench spokesman on transport in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

in 1980 and on electoral affairs in 1983. On the resignation of

Cledwyn Hughes Cledwyn Hughes, Baron Cledwyn of Penrhos, (14 September 1916 – 22 February 2001) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, usually associated with the moderate wing of the party. He was also regarded, particularly in later years, as a non-politic ...

in 1982, Underhill was elected deputy leader of Labour in the House, a post he held until 1989. He was a founding member of the reformed

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and received the union's gold medal.

Family

He married Flora Philbrick in 1937. Underhill died in a hospital in Epping in 1993 and left a daughter, Joan, and two sons, Terry and Bob.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Underhill, Henry 1914 births 1993 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Labour Party (UK) life peers