Alfred Henry Gill

Gill in the mid 1900s

Alfred Henry Gill (3 December 1856 – 27 August 1914) was an English Labour Member of Parliament for Bolton.

He was born in Rochdale, the son of John and Mary (née Stott) Gill, and educated at St. Mary's Elementary School, Balderstone. He started work in a cotton mill at the age of 10, became an active campaigner for workers' rights and rose to be General Secretary of the Bolton Operative Spinners Association, a locally important trade union. He also served as a Justice of the Peace (JP) for Bolton from 1899.

In 1906 he entered Parliament as the junior MP for Bolton, one of the 29 original members of the Parliamentary Labour Party. Their victories in the polls were made possible by a deal with the Liberal Party whereby the Liberals would give up selected seats and support the Labour candidate instead. He subsequently held the seat, latterly as the senior MP, until his death from anaemia. Throughout his time in Parliament he fought for better health and safety in the workplace. At the time of his death he was vice-chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party.

Grave of Alfred Gill, Heaton Cemetery, Bolton

He died in 1914 and is buried in Heaton Cemetery, Bolton. He had married Sarah Ellen Greenwood in Rochdale and had a son and four daughters.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Alfred Henry Gill