Tom Williamson
 Tom Williamson    ( trade unionist, politician) | |
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| Born | 2 September 1897 |
| Died | 27 February 1983 (Age 85) Cheshire, England, UK |
| Nationality | UK |
"Very fierce anti-communist" UK trade unionist and Labour Party politician who attended the first and fourth Bilderbergs. Leading supporter of sending trade union leaders to the US for CIA-funded training. Later knighted.
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Thomas Williamson, Baron Williamson CBE JP was a "very fierce anti-communist"[1] trade unionist and Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.[2]
Career
Williamson was born in St. Helens, Lancashire. His father was a glassblower, and Tom began his career working in the office of his father's union, the National Amalgamated Union of Labour.[2][3] He became a full-time union delegate, and in 1924, when it became part of the National Union of General and Municipal Workers (NUGMW), he was appointed as a district secretary. He became interested in politics at age 9, when his father took him to see Tom Mann speak. During the First World War, he waswith the Royal Engineers.[2]
He first foray into politics was on the Liverpool City Council from 1929 to 1935. At the 1945 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Brigg constituency in Lincolnshire. He resigned his seat in 1948, and the resulting by-election was won by Labour's Lance Mallalieu.[2]
In 1937, he became the industrial officer of NUGMW, and was its General Secretary from 1946 to 1961. He was also President of the Trades Union Congress from 1957 to 1958. He was a founding member of the British Productivity Council.[2]
From the 1950s onwards, hundreds of British trade union leaders and officers were given trips to the United States and courses at Harvard Business School under programmes financed by the [CIA]]. Tom Williamson, general secretary of the GMWU at that time, was a leading supporter of the programme.[4]
Williamson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1950,[5] and was knighted in 1956.[6]
Williamson was created a life peer on 15 May 1962, with the title Baron Williamson, of Eccleston in the Borough of St. Helens in the County Palatine of Lancaster.[7]
He died in a Cheshire nursing home in 1983, aged 85. He was survived by his wife, Hilda Hartley, whom he married in 1925. They had one daughter.[2]
Events Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/1954 | 29 May 1954 | 31 May 1954 | Netherlands Hotel Bilderberg Oosterbeek | The first Bilderberg meeting, attended by 68 men from Europe and the US, including 20 businessmen, 25 politicians, 5 financiers & 4 academics. |
| Bilderberg/1956 | 11 May 1956 | 13 May 1956 | Denmark Fredensborg | The 4th Bilderberg meeting, with 147 guests, in contrast to the generally smaller meetings of the 1950s. Has two Bilderberg meetings in the years before and after |
References
- ↑ https://read.uolpress.co.uk/read/anti-communism-in-britain-during-the-early-cold-war-6397e660-5433-45e5-b61c-40351033f96e/section/ad41a511-cb96-4afa-80b4-a660b8ccf06f
- ↑ a b c d e f "Obituary: Lord Williamson". The Times. 1 March 1983. p. 14.
- ↑ Clegg, H. A. (1954). General Union. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. pp. 304–306.
- ↑ https://revolutionarycommunist.org/britain/labour-trade-unions/the-trade-unions-capitalisms-fifth-column-frfi-170-dec-2002-jan-2003/
- ↑ https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/38929/page/2786
- ↑ https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/40829/page/4075
- ↑ https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/42675/page/3943
