Madeley got his schooling in India at Bombay Cathedral High School. In 1889, he became an apprentice at the Woolwich Arsenal. In 1896 he immigrated to South Africa where he was a fitter in a mine on the Rand. He joined the Amalgamated Society of Engineers and took part in various strikes. He was also the first vice-president of the Kimberley Trades Council, but was one of five of its leaders sacked by De Beers for their trade union activism. This led him to start giving public speeches, in opposition to victimisation. He relocated to the East Rand to find work, but was repeatedly victimised, and was compelled to start his own business in order to make a living.[1]
Madeley was soon considered a leading figure in the Labour Party because of his exceptional ability. In the 1910 general election, he was first elected to the House of Assembly of South Africa as a Labour MP. He represented the districts of Springs (1910-1915), then Benoni (1915-1945).[1]
General J.B.M. Hertzog's National Party formed a coalition government with Labour following the 1924 election in order to oust Jan Smuts's South African Party government. In November 1925, Madeley joined the cabinet as minister of post and telegraph services and public works. Even as minister, he advocated socialist policies such as nationalization of the means of production, to the embarrassment of his National Party colleagues.
In 1928 he received, against the express wishes of General Hertzog, a delegation of the Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union, an unrecognized union which had black members and grieved the working conditions of black employees in his department. Hertzog asked him to resign, but when he refused, Hertzog dropped him from the cabinet. This created a rift within the Labour Party whose leader, Frederic Creswell, supported Hertzog and remained in the government while Madeley's faction went in opposition and became known as "National Council Labour". The split continued until the 1933 election when Creswell's faction dissolved into Hertozg's National Party leaving Madeley to become undisputed leader of the Labour Party.
With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the Labour Party voted against the Prime Minister Hertzog's motion of neutrality and supported General Smuts, whose party had entered into coalition with Hertzog in 1934 to form the United Party with Smuts as deputy prime minister. Hertzog was forced to resign and Smuts became prime minister for the duration of the war. Labour entered the wartime coalition government and Madeley served as Minister of Labour until the party left the coalition at the end of the war in 1945, he also served as minister of social affairs from 1939 to 1943. Madeley resigned as party leader in 1946 and died the next year.
Referencesedit
^ abGitsham, Ernest; Trembath, James H. (1926). A first account of labour organisation in South Africa(PDF). Durban: E. P. & Commercial Printing. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
Sourcesedit
DJ Potgieter, Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: Nasionale Opvoedkundige Uitgewery (Nasou) 1972.
BM Schoeman, Parlementêre verkiesings in Suid-Afrika 1910-1976, Pretoria: Aktuele Publikasies 1977
Peter Alexander, Workers, War & the Origins of Apartheid: Labour and Politics in South Africa, 1939-1948, James Currey Publishers, 2000
December 18, 2023
walter, madeley, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Walter Madeley news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia s layout guidelines Please help by editing the article to make improvements to the overall structure August 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Walter Bayley Madeley Woolwich England 28 July 1873 Boksburg South Africa 12 May 1947 was a leader of the South African Labour Party and a cabinet minister Walter MadeleyWalter Madeley in 1928Leader of the South African Labour PartyIn office 1928 1933 1946Preceded byFrederic CreswellSucceeded byJohn ChristieMinister of LabourIn office 1939 1945Prime MinisterJan Christiaan SmutsPreceded byHarry Gordon LawrenceSucceeded byColin Fraser SteynMinister of Social AffairsIn office 1941 1943Prime MinisterJan Christiaan SmutsPreceded byHenry Allan FaganSucceeded byHarry Gordon LawrenceMinister of Communications Telecommunications and Postal Services and Public Works of South AfricaIn office 1925 1928Prime MinisterJ B M HertzogPreceded byThomas BoydellSucceeded byHarry SampsonPersonal detailsBorn 1873 07 28 28 July 1873Died12 May 1947 1947 05 12 aged 73 NationalitySouth AfricanPolitical partyLabourMadeley got his schooling in India at Bombay Cathedral High School In 1889 he became an apprentice at the Woolwich Arsenal In 1896 he immigrated to South Africa where he was a fitter in a mine on the Rand He joined the Amalgamated Society of Engineers and took part in various strikes He was also the first vice president of the Kimberley Trades Council but was one of five of its leaders sacked by De Beers for their trade union activism This led him to start giving public speeches in opposition to victimisation He relocated to the East Rand to find work but was repeatedly victimised and was compelled to start his own business in order to make a living 1 Madeley was soon considered a leading figure in the Labour Party because of his exceptional ability In the 1910 general election he was first elected to the House of Assembly of South Africa as a Labour MP He represented the districts of Springs 1910 1915 then Benoni 1915 1945 1 General J B M Hertzog s National Party formed a coalition government with Labour following the 1924 election in order to oust Jan Smuts s South African Party government In November 1925 Madeley joined the cabinet as minister of post and telegraph services and public works Even as minister he advocated socialist policies such as nationalization of the means of production to the embarrassment of his National Party colleagues In 1928 he received against the express wishes of General Hertzog a delegation of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union an unrecognized union which had black members and grieved the working conditions of black employees in his department Hertzog asked him to resign but when he refused Hertzog dropped him from the cabinet This created a rift within the Labour Party whose leader Frederic Creswell supported Hertzog and remained in the government while Madeley s faction went in opposition and became known as National Council Labour The split continued until the 1933 election when Creswell s faction dissolved into Hertozg s National Party leaving Madeley to become undisputed leader of the Labour Party With the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the Labour Party voted against the Prime Minister Hertzog s motion of neutrality and supported General Smuts whose party had entered into coalition with Hertzog in 1934 to form the United Party with Smuts as deputy prime minister Hertzog was forced to resign and Smuts became prime minister for the duration of the war Labour entered the wartime coalition government and Madeley served as Minister of Labour until the party left the coalition at the end of the war in 1945 he also served as minister of social affairs from 1939 to 1943 Madeley resigned as party leader in 1946 and died the next year References edit a b Gitsham Ernest Trembath James H 1926 A first account of labour organisation in South Africa PDF Durban E P amp Commercial Printing Retrieved 11 April 2021 Sources editDJ Potgieter Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa Cape Town Nasionale Opvoedkundige Uitgewery Nasou 1972 BM Schoeman Parlementere verkiesings in Suid Afrika 1910 1976 Pretoria Aktuele Publikasies 1977 Peter Alexander Workers War amp the Origins of Apartheid Labour and Politics in South Africa 1939 1948 James Currey Publishers 2000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Walter Madeley amp oldid 1148039939, 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