Thomas James Macnamara

The Right Honourable
Thomas James Macnamara
Minister of Labour
In office
19 March 1920  19 October 1922
Monarch George V
Prime Minister David Lloyd George
Preceded by Sir Robert Horne
Succeeded by Anderson Montague-Barlow
Personal details
Born 23 August 1861
Montreal
Died 3 December 1931 (1931-12-04) (aged 70)
Mrs. Thomas James Macnamara

Thomas James Macnamara PC (23 August 1861 – 3 December 1931) was a British teacher, educationalist and radical Liberal politician.[1]

Biography

Macnamara was born in Montreal, Canada, the son of a soldier originally from County Clare in Ireland.[2] His family returned to Britain in 1869.

He was educated first at the Depot School in Pembroke Dock and then in Exeter. He qualified as a teacher in 1876 at the Borough Road Training College for Teachers.

In 1886, he married Rachel Cameron. They had three sons and one daughter.[3]

Elsie Cawson Elias

His daughter, Elsie Cawson Macnamara was born in 1889. In April 1913 she was married and became known as Elsie Cawson Elias. At the 1924 General Election she stood as Liberal candidate for Southwark South East, finishing third.[4]

Teaching

He was active as a teacher until 1892 in Exeter, Huddersfield and Bristol, when he became editor of The Schoolmaster. He was sometime chairman of the London School Board and in 1896 he was appointed president of the National Union of Teachers.[5]

Politics

In 1900 he was elected to the House of Commons for Camberwell North, a seat he held until 1918, and then represented Camberwell North West until 1924. He served under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman as Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board from 1907 to 1908 and under H. H. Asquith and later David Lloyd George as Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty from 1908 to 1920 and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1911. In 1920 Lloyd George appointed him Minister of Labour, with a seat in the cabinet, a position he retained until the government fell in October 1922.

Death

Macnamara died on 3 December 1931, aged 70, of prostate cancer.[6]

Publications

Caricature of Macnamara by "Spy" (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair magazine, 1907

References

  1. Richard Aldrich and Peter Gordon. "Thomas James Macnamara". Dictionary of British Educationists. p. 161.
  2. Robin Betts, Dr Macnamara, 1861-1931; Liverpool University Press, 1999 pp 1-2
  3. ‘MACNAMARA, Rt Hon. Thomas James’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 7 Sept 2016
  4. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  5. The Times, 8.10.1900
  6. Betts, op cit p.359

Further reading

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Philip Hugh Dalbiac
Member of Parliament for Camberwell North
1900 1918
Succeeded by
Henry Newton Knights
New constituency Member of Parliament for Camberwell North West
1918 1924
Succeeded by
Edward Taswell Campbell
Political offices
Preceded by
Walter Runciman
Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board
1907 1908
Succeeded by
Charles Masterman
Preceded by
Edmund Robertson
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty
1908 1920
Succeeded by
Sir James Craig
Preceded by
Robert Stevenson Horne
Minister of Labour
1920 1922
Succeeded by
Anderson Montague-Barlow
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