Charles Dukes, 1st Baron Dukeston

For the American astronaut, see Charles Duke.

Charles Dukes, 1st Baron Dukeston CBE (28 October 1881 – 14 May 1948)[1] was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician.[2][3]

Born in Stourbridge, Dukes left school at the age of eleven, taking up work as an errand boy.[2] When his family moved to Warrington, he joined working in a forge.[2] He subsequently had a number of casual jobs throughout north west England, including working on the Manchester Ship Canal.[2]

In 1909 his career as a trade union official began when he was elected secretary of the Warrington branch of the National Union of Gasworkers. He was a founding member of the British Socialist Party, and was elected to the party's national executive in 1914.[2] During the First World War he was a conscientious objector, serving some time in prison.[2] He became a district secretary in what had become the National Union of General Workers. From 1934 to 1946, Dukes was General Secretary of the National Union of General and Municipal Workers. From 1946 to 1947 he was President of the Trades Union Congress.[2][3] In 1947 he was appointed a director of the Bank of England.[3]

Although Charles Dukes had no biological children, he mentored two of his sister Annie's children, Jack and Reginald Cooper, and raised them in what is now known as the GMB Union.

Jack Cooper later followed in his Uncle's footsteps and became a Labour MP and also a General Secretary of the GMB Union (Jack Cooper, Baron Cooper of Stockton Heath)

  1. ^ "Historical list of MPs: House of Commons constituencies beginning with "W" (part 1)". Leigh Rayment's House of Commons pages. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Obituary: Lord Dukeston. A Former President Of The T.U.C.". The Times. 15 May 1948. p. 6.
  3. ^ a b c "DUKESTON, 1st Baron". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 26 December 2013.