Cramp in 1920

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, aged 57.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g David Howell, "Cramp, Concemore Thomas Thwaites", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  2. ^ a b c Geert van Goethem, The Amsterdam International, p.129
  3. ^ Hastings Lees-Smith, "Encyclopaedia of the Labour Movement", p.187
  4. ^ "General Secretaries and Presidents of the ITF 1896-2010", International Transport Workers' Federation
Trade union offices Preceded byAlbert Bellamy President of the National Union of Railwaymen 1917–1919 Succeeded byWilliam James Abraham Preceded bySamuel ChorltonWalter HudsonThomas Lowthas Assistant Secretaries Industrial General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen 1920–1931 Succeeded byJohn Marchbankas Assistant General Secretary Preceded byRobert Williams President of the International Transport Workers' Federation 1925–1933 Succeeded byCharles Lindley Preceded byJames Henry Thomas General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen 1931–1933 Succeeded byJohn Marchbank Preceded byWilliam C. Robinson and Robert Barrie Walker Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour 1924 With: Alonzo Swales Succeeded byA. A. Purcell and Ben Smith Party political offices Preceded byArthur Henderson President of the Labour and Socialist International 1924–1925 Succeeded byArthur Henderson Preceded byRamsay MacDonald Chair of the Labour Party 1924–1925 Succeeded byRobert Williams
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