Dobbie was born in Maybole, Ayrshire. When he was just two-years-old, his parents, Francis Dobbie and Agnes McCreath, died there leaving two young sons, William and his brother James aged six. James remained in Maybole with his maternal grandparents while William was raised in Glasgow by his aunt.
Dobbie became a railway employee and moved to York and became a councillor in 1911. He became active in the General Railway Workers' Union, and was its president in 1913, when it became part of the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR).[2] During World War I, he served in the British Army and was wounded. After the war he became an alderman of York and in 1923 was elected Lord Mayor of York, the first Labour mayor of the city. He was President of the NUR from 1925 to 1927 and 1931–1933.
Dobbie stood for Parliament without success for Barkston Ash in 1924 and Clitheroe in 1929 before being elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Rotherham in a by-election in 1933. In 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, Dobbie visited the Alcazar, a military academy under siege by Republican troops. Willie Forrest, who arrived in a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce requisitioned from a Royalist nobleman said of the occasion, "I took William Dobbie, a visiting Labour MP, up a church tower from which you get a wonderful view of the Alcazar's courtyard. There was a machine-gun in the tower and Dobbie couldn't resist the temptation to fire it at the fascists."[3] William Dobbie later served a second term as Lord Mayor in 1947 and in the same year was made a CBE (it is said he refused a knighthood), remaining a Member of Parliament until his death.
william, dobbie, politician, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, william, dobbie, politician, news, news. 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 William Dobbie politician news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2008 Learn how and when to remove this message William Dobbie CBE 1878 19 January 1950 1 was a British Labour Party politician AldermanWilliam DobbieCBELord Mayor of YorkIn office 1947 1948Preceded byFred GainesSucceeded byJohn Bowes MorrellIn office 1923 1924Preceded byJames Brown InglisSucceeded byRobert KayMember of Parliamentfor RotherhamIn office 27 February 1933 3 February 1950Preceded byGeorge HerbertSucceeded byJohn Henry JonesCity of York CouncillorIn office 1911 1950Personal detailsBorn1878Maybole ScotlandDied19 January 1950York EnglandPolitical partyLabour Dobbie was born in Maybole Ayrshire When he was just two years old his parents Francis Dobbie and Agnes McCreath died there leaving two young sons William and his brother James aged six James remained in Maybole with his maternal grandparents while William was raised in Glasgow by his aunt Dobbie became a railway employee and moved to York and became a councillor in 1911 He became active in the General Railway Workers Union and was its president in 1913 when it became part of the National Union of Railwaymen NUR 2 During World War I he served in the British Army and was wounded After the war he became an alderman of York and in 1923 was elected Lord Mayor of York the first Labour mayor of the city He was President of the NUR from 1925 to 1927 and 1931 1933 Dobbie stood for Parliament without success for Barkston Ash in 1924 and Clitheroe in 1929 before being elected Member of Parliament MP for Rotherham in a by election in 1933 In 1936 during the Spanish Civil War Dobbie visited the Alcazar a military academy under siege by Republican troops Willie Forrest who arrived in a chauffeur driven Rolls Royce requisitioned from a Royalist nobleman said of the occasion I took William Dobbie a visiting Labour MP up a church tower from which you get a wonderful view of the Alcazar s courtyard There was a machine gun in the tower and Dobbie couldn t resist the temptation to fire it at the fascists 3 William Dobbie later served a second term as Lord Mayor in 1947 and in the same year was made a CBE it is said he refused a knighthood remaining a Member of Parliament until his death References edit Mr William Dobbie Hansard Hills R I The Inevitable March of Labour Electoral Politics in York 1900 1914 p 27 Mitchell D The Spanish Civil War p 59External links editHansard 1803 2005 contributions in Parliament by William Dobbie Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded byGeorge Herbert Member of Parliament for Rotherham1933 1950 Succeeded byJack Jones Trade union offices Preceded byJohn Marchbank President of the National Union of Railwaymen1925 1927 Succeeded byJ Gore Preceded byJ Gore President of the National Union of Railwaymen1931 1933 Succeeded byJoseph Henderson nbsp nbsp nbsp This article about a Labour Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom MP representing an English constituency is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp nbsp This article about a mayor in England is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Dobbie politician amp oldid 1205172323, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
