Alfred Henry Gill

Alfred Henry Gill (3 December 1856 – 27 August 1914)^[1] was an English Labour Member of Parliament for Bolton.

Gill in the mid 1900s

He was born in Rochdale, the son of John and Mary (née Stott) Gill, and educated at St. Mary's Elementary School, Balderstone. He started work in a cotton mill at the age of 10, became an active campaigner for workers' rights and rose to be General Secretary of the Bolton Operative Spinners Association, a locally important trade union. He also served as a Justice of the Peace (JP) for Bolton from 1899.

In 1906 he entered Parliament as the junior MP for Bolton, one of the 29 original members of the Parliamentary Labour Party. Their victories in the polls were made possible by a deal with the Liberal Party whereby the Liberals would give up selected seats and support the Labour candidate instead. He subsequently held the seat, latterly as the senior MP, until his death from anaemia. Throughout his time in Parliament he fought for better health and safety in the workplace. At the time of his death he was vice-chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party.^[2]

Grave of Alfred Gill, Heaton Cemetery, Bolton

He died in 1914 and is buried in Heaton Cemetery, Bolton. He had married Sarah Ellen Greenwood in Rochdale and had a son and four daughters.

References

1. "Rochdale News". Retrieved 24 April 2009.
2. Hayworth, Alan. "Chapter 6". Men Who Made Labour.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Alfred Henry Gill

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Herbert Shepherd-Cross George Harwood	Member of Parliament for Bolton 1906–1914 With: George Harwood 1906–1912 Thomas Taylor 1912–1914	Succeeded by Robert Tootill Thomas Taylor
Trade union offices
Preceded by ?	General Secretary of the Bolton and District Operative Cotton Spinners' Provincial Association 1896–1914	Succeeded by Peter Bullough
Preceded by D. C. Cummings	President of the Trades Union Congress 1907	Succeeded by David Shackleton
Preceded by Herbert Skinner and John Wadsworth	Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour 1909 With: J. R. Clynes	Succeeded by William Brace and Ben Turner