Charlie Cramp
Concemore Thomas Thwaites Cramp (19 March 1876 – 13 July 1933), known as Charlie Cramp, was a British trade unionist and political activist.
Born in Staplehurst in Kent, Cramp worked as a gardener, before gaining employment with the Midland Railway. He worked as a porter based in Shipley and then Rotherham, where he was promoted to become a guard, and joined the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS). Soon after, he moved to Sheffield, where he married an Elizabeth Baker, also from Staplehurst.[1]
Cramp was an effective trade unionist, and was elected to the executive of the ASRS in 1911, immediately prior to a major strike.[1] The ASRS merged with other unions in 1913 to form the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR).[1] Cramp maintained his position on its executive, working during World War I to oppose further strikes, and was elected as President of the NUR in 1917.[1][2] He was also appointed as Industrial General Secretary of the union, a full-time position in which he was seen as deputy to General Secretary James Henry Thomas.[1]
Cramp was also active in the Labour Party. He stood unsuccessfully for it in Middlesbrough West at the 1918 general election.[3] He was a member of its National Executive Committee from 1919 until 1929, and served as Chair of the Labour Party in 1924/5.[1][2] The following year, he was elected as President of the International Transport Workers' Federation.[4] In 1929, he was elected to the General Council of the Trades Union Congress, serving for three years,[2] thereby swapping positions with Thomas. In 1931, Thomas was given a ministerial position, and Cramp took over as General Secretary, but he died suddenly two years later.[1]
References
- David Howell, "Cramp, Concemore Thomas Thwaites", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- Geert van Goethem, The Amsterdam International, p.129
- Hastings Lees-Smith, "Encyclopaedia of the Labour Movement", p.187
- "General Secretaries and Presidents of the ITF 1896-2010", International Transport Workers' Federation
| Trade union offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Albert Bellamy |
President of the National Union of Railwaymen 1917–1919 |
Succeeded by William James Abraham |
| Preceded by Samuel Chorlton Walter Hudson Thomas Lowth as Assistant Secretaries |
Industrial General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen 1920–1931 |
Succeeded by John Marchbank as Assistant General Secretary |
| Preceded by Robert Williams |
President of the International Transport Workers' Federation 1925–1933 |
Succeeded by Charles Lindley |
| Preceded by James Henry Thomas |
General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen 1931–1933 |
Succeeded by John Marchbank |
| Preceded by William C. Robinson and Robert Barrie Walker |
Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour 1924 With: Alonzo Swales |
Succeeded by A. A. Purcell and Ben Smith |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Arthur Henderson |
President of the Labour and Socialist International 1924–1925 |
Succeeded by Arthur Henderson |
| Preceded by Ramsay MacDonald |
Chair of the Labour Party 1924–1925 |
Succeeded by Robert Williams |