Barnett Stross
| Sir Barnett Stross | |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health | |
|
In office 20 October 1964 – 24 February 1965 |
|
| Minister | Kenneth Robinson |
| Preceded by | Bernard Braine |
| Succeeded by | Charles Loughlin |
| Member of the UK Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent Central |
|
|
In office 23 February 1950 – 31 March 1966 |
|
| Preceded by | New Constituency |
| Succeeded by | Robert Cant |
| Member of the UK Parliament for Hanley |
|
|
In office 5 July 1945 – 23 February 1950 |
|
| Preceded by | Arthur Hollins |
| Succeeded by | constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Strasberg 25 December 1899 Pabianice, Poland |
| Died | 13 May 1967 (aged 67) London |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Olive, Gwendoline |
| Relations | Charles Stross, novelist (grand-nephew) |
| Residence | Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent. Later, London |
| Alma mater | University of Leeds |
| Occupation | Doctor, politician |
| Profession | Medical |
| Cabinet | Wilson Government of 1964 |
| Religion | Jewish |
Sir Barnett Stross (25 December 1899 – 13 May 1967) was a British doctor and politician. He served twenty years as a Labour Party Member of Parliament, famously led the humanitarian campaign "Lidice Shall Live" and pushed for reforms in industry to protect workers. His grand-nephew Charles Stross is an author.
Barnett Stross was born to a Jewish family, originally bearing the name Strasberg, in Poland on Christmas Day 1899. His parents Samuel and Cecilia, a Rabbi's daughter, were married in Poland in 1880. Barnett, called Bob by his family, had eleven siblings. When he was three, his family moved to Leeds. Stross was educated at Leeds Grammar School. He then studied medicine at the University of Leeds where he qualified in 1926.
He chose to set up in practice in the Potteries area of north Staffordshire. Two years later he appeared before a committee of inquiry into silicosis as an expert witness on behalf of the pottery workers. His campaign on silicosis became a passionate cause and successive government schemes providing compensation for people suffering from pneumoconiosis and silicosis were established as a result of his campaigning. He successfully launched a media campaign to obtain financial compensation for miners who suffered serious occupational lung disease. At a time prior to the existence of a Welfare State in Britain, Stross gave medical care without charge to the poorer members of Stoke-on-Trent's communities. During the Second World War he gave healthy lifestyle lectures on behalf of the Ministry of Food. During one of these lectures, coinciding with an air raid, a German bomb struck the auditorium, leaving Stross seriously injured.
After Stross became honorary medical adviser to the Pottery Worker's Society, in 1926 he joined the Labour Party in 1930. He was also involved with the North Staffordshire Miners' Federation and an active member of the Socialist Medical Association. In 1937 he was elected to Stoke-on-Trent City Council, on which he served until 1952 (during the later part of this period he was an Alderman). At the 1945 general election Stross was elected as Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent's Hanley division. He continued to act as medical adviser to the Potters' Union until 1954. His medical experience was often called upon when other MPs, Lords and members of the public present in the Palace of Westminster felt ill. He concentrated on industrial illnesses and opposed smoking because of the lung damage caused.
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