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{{Short description|Welsh politician}}
[[Image:William Brace Cartoon.jpg|thumb|right|Western Mail Cartoon by [[Joseph Morewood Staniforth|JM Staniforth]] attacking the perceived lack of support from the unions in the [[Welsh coal strike of 1898]]]]
{{for|the American geophysicist|William Francis Brace}}
'''William Brace''' (23 September 1865 – 12 October 1947) was a [[Wales|Welsh]] [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]] and a member of the [[David Lloyd George|Lloyd George]] [[Coalition Government 1916-1922|Coalition Government]] as [[Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department]] from 1916 to 1919.
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
|name = William Brace
| honorific-suffix =
|image = 1906_William_Brace.jpg
|caption = Brace in 1906
|office1 = President of the [[South Wales Miners Federation]]
|term_start1 = 1912
|term_end1 = 1915
|predecessor1 = [[William Abraham (Welsh politician)|William Abraham]]
|successor1 = [[James Winstone]]
|birth_date = 23 September 1865
|birth_place=Risca, Wales
|death_date = 12 October 1947 (aged 82)
|death_place=Newport, Wales
}}


'''William Brace''' (23 September 1865 – 12 October 1947) was a [[Welsh people|Welsh]] [[trade union]]ist and [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] and [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] politician.<ref name="obit">{{cite news|title=Obituary: Mr. William Brace. Service in South Wales Coalfield|date=14 October 1947|work=[[The Times]]|page=6}}</ref><ref name=odnb>{{ODNBweb|id=47328|title=Brace, William (1865–1947), trade unionist}}</ref>
Brace was born in [[Risca]]<ref>''The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales''.[[John Davies (historian)|John Davies]], [[Nigel Jenkins]], Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch (2008) pg79 ISBN 9780708319536</ref> and educated at [[School board (England & Wales)|board school]]. Brace was an early advocate of a single union for all of Britain's colliers, an issue in which he clashed with [[William Abraham (Welsh politician)|William Abraham]]. In 1898 he became the first vice-president of the [[South Wales Miners Federation]] a post he would hold as president between 1912-1915. In 1903 he applied to be the Labour candidate for [[South Glamorgan]] but the party did not think a Labour candidate could win the seat [http://www.edgehill.ac.uk/research/smg/ArticlesRoger.htm].


==Early life and career==
He was elected MP in [[United Kingdom general election, 1906|1906]] for [[South Glamorganshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Glamorganshire]], and from 1918 sat for [[Abertillery (UK Parliament constituency)|Abertillery]]. He resigned from the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] in 1920. He became a permanent official in the [[Secretary of State for Employment|Ministry of Labour]].
Born in [[Risca]], in the coal-mining district of [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]], he was one of six children of Thomas and Anne Brace.<ref name="odnb" /> Brace briefly attended school before starting work at the local colliery, aged 12. He later worked at [[Celynnen]] and [[Abercarn]] collieries He soon involved himself in trade union activities and politics and in 1890 was elected the local agent for the [[Monmouthshire Miners' Association]]. He was also elected to Monmouthshire County Council.<ref name="obit" />


==Trade Union career==
He was made a [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Councillor]] in 1916. He died in [[Newport]] aged 82.
Brace was an early advocate of a single union for all of Britain's colliers, an issue in which he clashed with [[William Abraham (Welsh politician)|William Abraham (Mabon)]]. Following the [[Welsh coal strike of 1898]] the Miners' Association became part of the new [[South Wales Miners' Federation]], and Brace was elected its first vice-president. He was later to the union's president from 1912 to 1915.<ref name=obit/>

==Parliamentary career==
During the early years of the twentieth century, there was considerable debate within Welsh Liberal Party circles around the selection of working men as Liberal candidates. This had intensified after the election [[Keir Hardie]] as the first independent Welsh Labour MP in 1900. Hardie made outspoken attacks on nonconformity and the Liberal establishment and this made even moderate labour leaders such as Mabon appear suspect in the eyes of local Liberal associations. {{sfn|Morgan|1981|pp=54–5}} In 1903, Brace presented his name for the [[South Glamorganshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Glamorganshire]] constituency, held since 1895 by a Conservative landowner. Only after considerable pressure from the Liberal chief whip, [[Herbert Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone|Herbert Gladstone]], did the Liberal Association in the constituency agree to adopt Brace as their candidate. {{sfn|Morgan|1981|pp=54–5}}

At the [[1906 United Kingdom general election|1906 general election]] he was elected as a [[Liberal-Labour (UK)|Liberal-Labour]] member of parliament for [[South Glamorganshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Glamorganshire]], holding the seat at the next two general elections. He continued taking the Liberal whip for some years, despite the [[Miners' Federation of Great Britain]], which sponsored him, having affiliated to the Labour Party in 1909.<ref>John Williams, 'Brace, William (1865–1947)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2011 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/47328, accessed 28 Feb 2014]</ref> During the [[World War I|First World War]] he held the post of [[Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department]] in [[David Lloyd George|Lloyd George]] [[Coalition Government 1916-1922|Coalition Government]]. He was made a [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Counsellor]] in 1916. When the South Glamorganshire seat was abolished at the [[1918 United Kingdom general election|1918 general election]], he was elected unopposed to represent the new [[Abertillery (UK Parliament constituency)|Abertillery]] seat, this time as Labour Party MP.

==Later life==
He resigned from the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] in 1920 in the wake of a bitter dispute within the miners' unions. Brace was criticised over his failure to support the "Datum Line" strike while he was equally critical of the "wild" union leaders who were determined to bring about conflict in the coalfields.<ref name="obit" /><ref name="odnb" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/10/17/113314150.pdf|title=1,000,000 Miners Strike in England|date=16 October 1920|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=1 August 2011}}</ref> He decided he could better serve the interests of the coal miners by taking up the position of Labour Advisor to the [[Secretary of State for Employment|Ministry of Mines]].<ref name=obit/>

His brother George Brace borrowed money from him and other family members to form [[Brace's Bakery]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}

Brace married Nellie Humphreys in 1890. The couple had had two sons and a daughter. The younger son, [[Ivor Llewellyn Brace]], became
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of [[Sarawak]], [[North Borneo]] and [[Brunei]].<ref name="odnb" />

William Brace died after a long illness at his home in [[Allt-yr-yn]], [[Newport, Wales|Newport]] in October 1947 aged 82.<ref name=obit/><ref name="odnb" />


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
*{{Rayment}}
*{{Rayment|date=February 2012}}


==Sources==
{{start box}}
===Books and Journals===
*{{cite book|last1=Morgan|first1=Kenneth O.|author-link=Kenneth O. Morgan|title=Rebirth of a Nation. Wales 1880-1980.|date=1981|publisher=University of Wales Press|location=Cardiff|isbn=0-19-821760-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/wales18801980reb0000morg}}

==Images==
<gallery>
File:William Brace.JPG|William Brace in the mid 1900s
Image:William Brace Cartoon.jpg|Western Mail Cartoon by [[Joseph Morewood Staniforth|JM Staniforth]] attacking the perceived lack of support from the unions in the [[Welsh coal strike of 1898]]
</gallery>

{{S-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Windham Wyndham-Quin, 5th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl|Windham Wyndham-Quin]]}}
{{succession box
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[South Glamorganshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Glamorganshire]]
| title = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[South Glamorganshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Glamorganshire]]
| years = [[United Kingdom general election, 1906|1906]]&ndash;[[United Kingdom general election, 1918|1918]]
| years = [[1906 United Kingdom general election|1906]]–[[1918 United Kingdom general election|1918]]
| before = [[Windham Wyndham-Quin, 5th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl|Windham Wyndham-Quin]]
| after = ''(constituency abolished)''
}}
}}
{{s-non|reason = Constituency abolished}}
{{succession box
{{s-new | constituency }}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Abertillery (UK Parliament constituency)|Abertillery]]
| title = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Abertillery (UK Parliament constituency)|Abertillery]]
| years = [[United Kingdom general election, 1918|1918]]&ndash;[[Abertillery by-election, 1920|1920]]
| years = [[1918 United Kingdom general election|1918]]–[[1920 Abertillery by-election|1920]]
| before = ''(new constituency)''
| after = [[George Barker (politician)|George Barker]]
}}
}}
{{s-aft | after = [[George Barker (Welsh politician)|George Barker]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-npo|union}}
{{s-new| post}}
{{s-ttl
|title=Agent for the Monmouth Western Valleys District of the [[South Wales Miners' Federation]]
|years=1898–1906
}}
{{s-aft|after=Michael Roach}}
{{s-bef
|before = [[J. R. Clynes]]
|before2 = [[Alfred Henry Gill]]
}}
{{s-ttl
|title=[[Trades Union Congress]] representative to the [[American Federation of Labour]]
|years=1910
|with=[[Ben Turner (politician)|Ben Turner]]
}}
{{s-aft
|after = [[James Crinion]]
|after2 = [[George Henry Roberts]]
}}
{{s-new| post}}
{{s-ttl
| title = Vice-President of the [[South Wales Miners Federation]]
| years = 1898–1912

}}
{{s-aft | after = [[James Winstone]]}}
{{succession box
{{succession box
| title = President of the [[South Wales Miners Federation]]
| title = President of the [[South Wales Miners Federation]]
| years = 1912&ndash;1915
| years = 1912–1920
| before = [[William Abraham (Welsh politician)|William Abraham]]
| before = [[William Abraham (Welsh politician)|William Abraham]]
| after = [[James Winstone]]
| after = [[James Winstone]]
}}
}}
{{end box}}
{{S-end}}

{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Brace, William}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brace, William}}
[[Category:1865 births]]
[[Category:1865 births]]
[[Category:1947 deaths]]
[[Category:1947 deaths]]
[[Category:Leaders of British trade unions]]
[[Category:British trade union leaders]]
[[Category:Welsh Labour politicians]]
[[Category:Welsh Labour MPs]]
[[Category:Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for Welsh constituencies]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs]]
[[Category:Liberal-Labour (UK) MPs]]
[[Category:Miners' Federation of Great Britain-sponsored MPs]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1906–1910]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1906–1910]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1910]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1910]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1910–1918]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1910–1918]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1918–1922]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1918–1922]]
[[Category:People from Risca]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies]]

Latest revision as of 18:49, 28 September 2023

For the American geophysicist, see William Francis Brace.

The Right Honourable
William Brace
Brace in 1906
President of the South Wales Miners Federation
In office
1912–1915
Preceded byWilliam Abraham
Succeeded byJames Winstone
Personal details
Born23 September 1865
Risca, Wales
Died12 October 1947 (aged 82)
Newport, Wales

William Brace (23 September 1865 – 12 October 1947) was a Welsh trade unionist and Liberal and Labour politician.[1][2]

Early life and career

[edit]

Born in Risca, in the coal-mining district of Monmouthshire, he was one of six children of Thomas and Anne Brace.[2] Brace briefly attended school before starting work at the local colliery, aged 12. He later worked at Celynnen and Abercarn collieries He soon involved himself in trade union activities and politics and in 1890 was elected the local agent for the Monmouthshire Miners' Association. He was also elected to Monmouthshire County Council.[1]

Trade Union career

[edit]

Brace was an early advocate of a single union for all of Britain's colliers, an issue in which he clashed with William Abraham (Mabon). Following the Welsh coal strike of 1898 the Miners' Association became part of the new South Wales Miners' Federation, and Brace was elected its first vice-president. He was later to the union's president from 1912 to 1915.[1]

Parliamentary career

[edit]

During the early years of the twentieth century, there was considerable debate within Welsh Liberal Party circles around the selection of working men as Liberal candidates. This had intensified after the election Keir Hardie as the first independent Welsh Labour MP in 1900. Hardie made outspoken attacks on nonconformity and the Liberal establishment and this made even moderate labour leaders such as Mabon appear suspect in the eyes of local Liberal associations. [3] In 1903, Brace presented his name for the South Glamorganshire constituency, held since 1895 by a Conservative landowner. Only after considerable pressure from the Liberal chief whip, Herbert Gladstone, did the Liberal Association in the constituency agree to adopt Brace as their candidate. [3]

At the 1906 general election he was elected as a Liberal-Labour member of parliament for South Glamorganshire, holding the seat at the next two general elections. He continued taking the Liberal whip for some years, despite the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, which sponsored him, having affiliated to the Labour Party in 1909.[4] During the First World War he held the post of Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department in Lloyd George Coalition Government. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1916. When the South Glamorganshire seat was abolished at the 1918 general election, he was elected unopposed to represent the new Abertillery seat, this time as Labour Party MP.

Later life

[edit]

He resigned from the House of Commons in 1920 in the wake of a bitter dispute within the miners' unions. Brace was criticised over his failure to support the "Datum Line" strike while he was equally critical of the "wild" union leaders who were determined to bring about conflict in the coalfields.[1][2][5] He decided he could better serve the interests of the coal miners by taking up the position of Labour Advisor to the Ministry of Mines.[1]

His brother George Brace borrowed money from him and other family members to form Brace's Bakery.[citation needed]

Brace married Nellie Humphreys in 1890. The couple had had two sons and a daughter. The younger son, Ivor Llewellyn Brace, became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei.[2]

William Brace died after a long illness at his home in Allt-yr-yn, Newport in October 1947 aged 82.[1][2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Obituary: Mr. William Brace. Service in South Wales Coalfield". The Times. 14 October 1947. p. 6.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Brace, William (1865–1947), trade unionist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47328. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ a b Morgan 1981, pp. 54–5.
  4. ^ John Williams, 'Brace, William (1865–1947)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2011 accessed 28 Feb 2014
  5. ^ "1,000,000 Miners Strike in England" (PDF). The New York Times. 16 October 1920. Retrieved 1 August 2011.

Sources

[edit]

Books and Journals

[edit]

Images

[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for South Glamorganshire
1906–1918 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Abertillery
1918–1920 		Succeeded by
Trade union offices
New post Agent for the Monmouth Western Valleys District of the South Wales Miners' Federation
1898–1906 		Succeeded by
Michael Roach
Preceded by Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour
1910
With: Ben Turner 		Succeeded by
New post Vice-President of the South Wales Miners Federation
1898–1912 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the South Wales Miners Federation
1912–1920 		Succeeded by
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