About Arthur Roberts
Lived 1897 – 1964 (aged 67). Arthur Roberts was a trade unionist.
Bryn Roberts (7 April 1897 – 26 August 1964) was a Welsh trade union leader.
Roberts grew up in Abertillery, leaving school at the age of thirteen to work at a colliery. He joined the South Wales Miners' Federation (SWMF), and won a union scholarship to attend the Central Labour College in 1919. Two years later, he returned to Wales and was elected as checkweighman for Rhymney, then worked full-time for the union as its agent for Rhymney Valley and sat on its executive. He was also elected as a local councillor for the Labour Party. In 1929 he finished second behind Aneurin Bevan in the contest to find a Labour candidate for the Ebbw Vale constituency.
In 1934, Roberts left the SWMF to become General Secretary of the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE). He represented the union at the Trades Union Congress (TUC), and was the TUC's representative to the American Federation of Labour in 1942. In 1954, he was part of a joint trade union and Parliamentary delegation to China.
Roberts retired in 1962 due to increasingly poor health, and died two years later, aged 67.
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Important facts
People in Arthur Roberts's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Arthur Roberts's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Arthur Roberts?
Trade unionist (1897–1964)
When was Arthur Roberts born?
Arthur Roberts was born on 17 January 1897 in Abertillery.
When did Arthur Roberts die?
Arthur Roberts died on 17 January 1964.
What was Arthur Roberts's occupation?
Arthur Roberts was a trade unionist.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Arthur Roberts. https://biography.guide/arthur-roberts-trade-unionist/
MLA: "Arthur Roberts." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/arthur-roberts-trade-unionist/.
Chicago: "Arthur Roberts." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/arthur-roberts-trade-unionist/.
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