# Alec Firth

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{{Short description|British trade union official}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Alec Sandy Firth''' (1892 – date of death unknown) was a [British](/source/British_people) [trade union](/source/trade_union) official.

Born in [London](/source/London), Firth attended [Shelley](/source/Shelley%2C_West_Yorkshire) Elementary School, then won scholarships to [Penistone Grammar School](/source/Penistone_Grammar_School), followed by [Huddersfield Technical College](/source/University_of_Huddersfield).  He won the Martin Fisher Travelling Scholarship in 1915, but due to the outbreak of [World War I](/source/World_War_I), he instead completed a degree in economics with the [University of London External Programme](/source/University_of_London_External_Programme), and became an assistant lecturer at the Huddersfield Technical College.  He briefly served in the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy), but was discharged for medical reasons.<ref name="griggs">{{cite book |last1=Griggs |first1=Clive |title=The TUC and Education Reform, 1926-1970 |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1134723942 |pages=5–6}}</ref>

Firth found work as the deputy statistical officer at the Department of Wool Textile Production in the [War Office](/source/War_Office), then as secretary of a company of wool brokers, before moving to the [Board of Trade](/source/Board_of_Trade), serving in its Profiteering Act Department.<ref name="whoswho">{{cite book |title=The Labour Who's Who |date=1927 |publisher=Labour Publishing Company |page=68}}</ref>

A supporter of the [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)), Firth was asked to stand in [Penistone](/source/Penistone_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) at the [1918 United Kingdom general election](/source/1918_United_Kingdom_general_election), but was unable to, as he was a civil servant.  He began working as education officer of the [Trades Union Congress](/source/Trades_Union_Congress) (TUC) in 1921, during this period standing unsuccessfully in [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) at the [1922](/source/1922_United_Kingdom_general_election), [1923](/source/1923_United_Kingdom_general_election) and [1924 United Kingdom general election](/source/1924_United_Kingdom_general_election)s.  In 1923, he became an [Assistant General Secretary of the TUC](/source/General_Secretary_of_the_Trades_Union_Congress).<ref name="whoswho" />

In 1931, Firth became secretary of the [Workers' Educational Association](/source/Workers'_Educational_Association); he resigned in 1934, due to poor health.<ref>{{cite web |title=Workers' Educational Association archive |url=https://student.londonmet.ac.uk/media/london-metropolitan-university/london-met-documents/professional-service-departments/library-services/tuc-library-collections/archives/Workers-Educational-Association-Library.pdf |website=London Metropolitan University |accessdate=25 March 2019}}</ref>

==References==
<references />

{{start box}}
{{s-npo|union}}
{{succession box|title=Secretary of the Education Department of the [Trades Union Congress](/source/Trades_Union_Congress)|years=1921–1931|before=''New position''|after=Jack Wray}}
{{succession box|title=[Assistant General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress](/source/Assistant_General_Secretary_of_the_Trades_Union_Congress)|years=1923–1931|with=[Walter Citrine](/source/Walter_Citrine) (1924–1925)|before=[Fred Bramley](/source/Fred_Bramley)|after=[Vincent Tewson](/source/Vincent_Tewson)}}
{{s-npo}}
{{succession box|title=General Secretary of the [Workers' Educational Association](/source/Workers'_Educational_Association)|years=1931–1934|before=[John William Muir](/source/John_William_Muir)|after=Ernest Green}}
{{end box}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Firth, Alec}}
Category:1892 births
Category:Year of death missing
Category:Academics of the University of Huddersfield
Category:Alumni of the University of Huddersfield
Category:Alumni of University of London Worldwide
Category:Royal Navy personnel of World War I
Category:Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates
Category:People educated at Penistone Grammar School
Category:Trade unionists from London
Category:Workers' Educational Association
Category:20th-century British trade unionists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alec Firth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Firth) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Firth?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.