Synopses & Reviews
The significant and sometimes controversial figure, Will Crooks, who became the Chairman of the Popular Board of Guardians and a leading pioneer of the trade union and labour movement, has been overlooked by modern historians. Here Paul Tyler presents a groundbreaking political biography of a significant Labour figure at both a local and national level and an important reinterpretation of the early trade union and labour movement from the 1880s to the 1920s.
About the Author
Paul F. Tyler is Postdoctoral Fellow at the Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements * List of Abbreviations * Introduction * Part 1: LOCAL ACTIVIST AND LABOUR PIONEER 1852-1907 * Will Crooks of Poplar 1852-1893 * Trustee, London County Councillor and Guardian of the Poor 1887-1907 * Unemployment and the Poor Law 1892-1905 * Woolwich and independent Labour representation 1868-1904 * PART II: LABOUR PIONEER AND MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT 1903-1921 * Member for Woolwich 1903-1910 * Role in Parliament and the General Elections of 1910 * Returns to the Parliamentary Fray 1911-14 * War and Peace 1914-1921 * References and Notes * Bibliography * Index