Thomas Edward Burgess Webb (July 1829 – 2 December 1896) was an English co-operator who was for 45 years a leading figure in the Battersea and Wandsworth Co-operative Society, as well as involvement in the People's Co-operative Society,

Co-operative Permanent Building Society The Co-operative Permanent Building Society was a mutual organization, mutual building society, providing mortgage law, mortgages and savings accounts to its members. Its head office was located at New Oxford House in London.Co-operative Printing Society, and the

Co-operative Wholesale Society A cooperative wholesale society (CWS) is a form of cooperative federation (that is, a cooperative in which all the members are cooperatives), in this case, the members are usually consumer cooperatives. The theory, practice and history of th ...

. Two of his children,

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

and

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, were themselves prominent co-operators.

Biography

Webb was born in July 1829 in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

, London, to James and Mary Ann Webb (). From a young age until 1878 he worked as a coppersmith at Price's Candle Factory in

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

. In 1854 he married Catherine Young, with whom he would have five children, including the co-operators

and Arthur Webb. In 1854 he was a founding member of the Battersea and Wandsworth Co-operative Society, serving on the committee until 1860, then as the chairman until 1874, then as secretary until 1878. From 1878 to 1890 he served as permanent secretary and manager of the society, then from 1890 until his death as honorary president of the society. He served as the first president of the People's Co-operative Society. From 1884 he was a founding member and chairman of the

. He died in

Raynes Park Raynes Park is a residential suburb, railway station and local centre near Wimbledon, London, and is within the London Borough of Merton. It is situated southwest of Wimbledon Common, to the northwest of Wimbledon Chase and to the east of Ne ...

, London, on 2 December 1896 and was survived by his wife and four of his children. He is buried in St Mary's Cemetery,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Thomas Edward Burgess 1829 births 1896 deaths Building society founders English financial company founders People from Battersea British cooperative organizers