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Barry Williams

1928 – 2005

English boilermaker and labour activist

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About Barry Williams

Lived 1928 – 2005 (aged 76–77). Barry Williams was a trade unionist.

Alfred Barry Williams (7 February 1928 – 6 August 2005) was a British boilermaker, trade union official, and Communist politician in the United Kingdom.

Life He was one of three children of Elizabeth and Alfred John Williams; his father was also a boilermaker. He was the first of three children, born on 7 February 1928 in Liverpool, Lancashire (now Merseyside), England. He grew up in Liverpool and served an apprenticeship as a boilermaker at the firm of Francis Morton & Co. Engineers in Garston, Liverpool, England.

Williams was drafted for National Service in the British Army's RAMC in 1946 and was posted to Palestine as part of the force administering the British Mandate. against Jim Murray in highly contentious elections. He was elected vice president of the Liverpool Trades Council in 1970, later becoming its president. Williams also came up with the idea for the 1981 People's March for Jobs from Liverpool to London. He was also elected to the national executive of the Communist Party of Great Britain, representing it at the founding congress of the Workers Party of Ethiopia in 1984 where he delivered a speech on the party's behalf.

Williams stood as the Communist Party candidate in the 1965 Liverpool Borough Council Elections, in the Childwall Ward, polling only 74 votes, or one percent. The following year he stood as the Communist Candidate in the Birkenhead constituency in the United Kingdom General Election. He achieved only 1.5 per cent of the vote. He saw these acts as important to the political process despite openly acknowledging that his candidacy was unlikely to result in a seat in Parliament. He stood again in Birkenhead in the 1970 general election for the Communist Party, achieving 0.6 per cent of the vote. As well as his political activity for the CPGB, he also wrote football reports on Everton FC for the Morning Star under the nom de plume "Bill Morton".

Barry Williams died in Wrexham, North Wales, on 6 August 2005. He was 77.

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Important facts

Birth century
Died
2005
Occupation
Also known as
Alfred Barry Williams

People in Barry Williams's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Barry Williams's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Barry Williams?

English boilermaker and labour activist (1928-2005)

When was Barry Williams born?

Barry Williams was born on 7 February 1928.

When did Barry Williams die?

Barry Williams died in 2005.

What was Barry Williams's occupation?

Barry Williams was a trade unionist.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Barry Williams

· Wikidata: Q21995531

· DBpedia: Barry Williams (politician)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Barry Williams. https://biography.guide/barry-williams-trade-unionist/

MLA: "Barry Williams." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/barry-williams-trade-unionist/.

Chicago: "Barry Williams." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/barry-williams-trade-unionist/.

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