Tom Shaw (politician)
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The Right Honourable Tom Shaw CBE |
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|---|---|
| Secretary of State for War | |
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In office 7 June 1929 – 24 August 1931 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Preceded by | Sir Laming Worthington-Evans, Bt |
| Succeeded by | The Marquess of Crewe |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
9 April 1872 Colne, Lancashire |
| Died | 26 September 1938 (aged 66) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
Thomas Shaw CBE PC (9 April 1872 – 26 September 1938), known as Tom Shaw, was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician.
Shaw was born in Waterside, Colne, Lancashire. He was the eldest son of a miner, Ellis Shaw, and his wife, Sarah Ann (née Wilkinson). At age 10, Shaw began working part-time in a textile factory, and two years later quit school to work full-time. Later, he took evening classes to catch up with his education and was particularly skillful in languages. His knowledge of German and French proved useful to him later in his career.
Shaw was a strong supporter of unions. He joined the Colne Weavers' Association and became its secretary, and was a founding member of the Northern Counties Textile Trades Federation. He was Joint Secretary of Labour and Socialist International from 1923–1925. He was secretary of the International Federation of Textile Workers from 1911–1929, and again from 1931, a job that took him to nearly every country in Europe.
He sat as Member of Parliament (MP) for Preston from December 1918 until he was unseated at the 1931 general election. He served as a Junior Whip, 1919; as Minister of Labour in the Labour Government 1924 and as Secretary of State for War from 1929–1931.
During the First World War, Shaw served as Director of national service for the West Midland Region. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1919 New Year Honours. and appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1924.
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