Robert Shirkie
British trade unionist
About Robert Shirkie
Lived 1869 – 1954 (aged 84–85).
Robert Shirkie (1868 – 15 August 1954) was a British trade unionist.
Shirkie was born in Ireland, the son of Robert Shirkie, an ironworker, and Jane Simpson. Shirkie worked as a colliery engineman for twenty years, both in Scotland in the Transvaal Colony. He joined the United Enginekeepers' Mutual Protective Association of Scotland, becoming its chairman, and then during the 1910s was elected as secretary of the National Federation of Colliery Enginemen and Boilermen. He represented this federation at the Trades Union Congress (TUC), and in 1918 was elected to serve on the Parliamentary Committee of the TUC.
The United Enginekeepers became the Scottish Colliery Enginemen, Boilermen and Tradesmen's Association, and Shirkie was additionally elected as its secretary. He attended the Paris Peace Conference, 1919, on the invitation of the British government, and in 1935 was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He retired in about 1942.
He died in Hillhead, Glasgow, aged 86.
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Important facts
Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Robert Shirkie?
British trade unionist
When was Robert Shirkie born?
Robert Shirkie was born in 1869.
When did Robert Shirkie die?
Robert Shirkie died on 15 August 1954.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Robert Shirkie. https://biography.guide/robert-shirkie/
MLA: "Robert Shirkie." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/robert-shirkie/.
Chicago: "Robert Shirkie." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/robert-shirkie/.
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