Robert C. Handley

Robert Crompton Handley (1881 – 4 February 1940) was a British politician and trade unionist.

Born in Bolton, Handley began working in a cotton mill as a half-timer at the age of ten. He eventually became a spinner, and joined the Preston Operative Cotton Spinners' Association, being elected as its treasurer, then as its secretary.[1][2]

Handley was also active in the Labour Party, and was elected to Preston Borough Council in 1923. In 1934/5, he served as Mayor of Preston, the third Labour mayor of the town.[2] In 1936, he was elected as vice-chairman of the Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners, and in 1938 he was also elected to the General Council of the Trades Union Congress.[3]

Handley was also active internationally, attending the conferences of the International Labour Organization, at which he was particularly well known for his campaign for a maximum forty-hour working week.[3]

  1. ^ The Labour Who's Who. London: Labour Publishing Company. 1927. p. 92.
  2. ^ a b "Labour Mayor for Preston", Manchester Guardian, 29 September 1934
  3. ^ a b Trades Union Congress, "Obituary: Mr Robert C. Handley", Annual Report of the 1940 Trades Union Congress, p.217