Alfred Roberts
Encyclopedia
Alfred Roberts was an English
grocer, lay preacher
, alderman
and Mayor
of Grantham
. He was the father of Margaret Thatcher
, the future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
.
Roberts was born in Ringstead
and grew up in Northamptonshire
. He was the fifth of seven children. His father was Benjamin Ebenezer Roberts (1857-1925), from a Ringstead family, and his mother was Ellen Smith (1857-1935), whose own mother was born at Kenmare
in Ireland
.
Roberts' bad eyesight meant he could not enter the family trade of shoemaking. He left school at thirteen in order to help support his family and moved to Grantham
, Lincolnshire
, where he gained a job as an apprentice in a grocery store
; he had originally wanted to become a teacher. When World War I
broke out in 1914, Roberts, "a deeply patriotic man", applied to enlist in the army six times but was rejected because of his poor eyesight.
Four years after moving to Grantham, Roberts met Beatrice Ethel Stephenson through the local Methodist
church, which he attended every Sunday. They married in Grantham on 28 May 1917 and had two daughters, both born in Grantham: Muriel (1921 - December 2004) and Margaret (born 1925). In 1919 they bought the grocery shop and in 1923 Roberts opened a second shop. He took one week off work every year to compete in the annual bowls
tournament at Skegness
. He was a religious man and also a routine lay preacher who met prominent Methodists such as Leslie Weatherhead
and Donald Soper
.
Roberts was an "old-fashioned liberal" who believed strongly in individual responsibility and sound finance. He had read and admired John Stuart Mill
's On Liberty
. He came from a family that traditionally voted Liberal
but he believed that the Liberal Party had embraced collectivism
and that the Conservatives
stood for the old liberalism. His daughter Muriel recalled that Roberts "was always a Liberal at heart". In the 1935 general election
, Roberts helped the local Conservative candidate Victor Warrender
to win the seat
.
In 1927 Roberts was elected to the Grantham town council as an independent. He was also a part-time Justice of the Peace
, president of the Chamber of Trade
, President of Rotary
, a director of the Grantham Building Society, a director of the Trustee Savings Bank, chairman of the local National Savings Movement
, a governor of the local boys and girls grammar schools and chairman of the Workers' Educational Association
. During the Second World War
he was Chief Welfare Officer, directing civil defence. He soon became Chairman of the Finance and Rating Committee, and in 1943 he was elected by the council as an Alderman
and then served as the Mayor of Grantham from November 1945 to 1946, in which he presided over the town's victory celebrations. In his inaugural speech Roberts called for a large programme of expenditure to rebuild the roads, public transport, health and social services for children and to "build houses by the thousand."
On 21 May 1952, Roberts was voted out as Alderman by the first Labour
majority on the council and as the vote was taken he proclaimed: "It is now almost nine years since I took up these robes in honour, and now I trust in honour they are laid down." When Thatcher recalled this event over thirty years later during an interview with Miriam Stoppard
, she said it was "very emotional" and wept on television.
Roberts retired and sold his business in 1958 but continued to preach and remained active in the Rotary Club. Beatrice died in 1960, Roberts married again to Cecily Miriam Hubbard in 1965. He died in 1970, shortly before the election, and nine years before his daughter became prime minister.
Coincidentally, he shared his name and occupation with a fictional character
in the ITV
soap opera Coronation Street
(played by Bryan Mosley
from 1961 until 1998).
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
grocer, lay preacher
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
, alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
and Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
. He was the father of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, the future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
.
Roberts was born in Ringstead
Ringstead, Northamptonshire
Ringstead is a small village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England approximately 15 miles north-east of Northampton. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 1,428 people....
and grew up in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
. He was the fifth of seven children. His father was Benjamin Ebenezer Roberts (1857-1925), from a Ringstead family, and his mother was Ellen Smith (1857-1935), whose own mother was born at Kenmare
Kenmare
Kenmare is a small town in the south of County Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the anglicised form of Ceann Mara meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay.-Location:...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Roberts' bad eyesight meant he could not enter the family trade of shoemaking. He left school at thirteen in order to help support his family and moved to Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, where he gained a job as an apprentice in a grocery store
Grocery store
A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...
; he had originally wanted to become a teacher. When World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out in 1914, Roberts, "a deeply patriotic man", applied to enlist in the army six times but was rejected because of his poor eyesight.
Four years after moving to Grantham, Roberts met Beatrice Ethel Stephenson through the local Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
church, which he attended every Sunday. They married in Grantham on 28 May 1917 and had two daughters, both born in Grantham: Muriel (1921 - December 2004) and Margaret (born 1925). In 1919 they bought the grocery shop and in 1923 Roberts opened a second shop. He took one week off work every year to compete in the annual bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
tournament at Skegness
Skegness
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, east of the city of Lincoln it has a total resident population of 18,910....
. He was a religious man and also a routine lay preacher who met prominent Methodists such as Leslie Weatherhead
Leslie Weatherhead
Leslie Dixon Weatherhead was an English Christian theologian in the liberal Protestant tradition. One of Britain's finest preachers in his day, Weatherhead was noted for his preaching ministry at City Temple in London and for his books, including The Will of God, The Christian Agnostic, and...
and Donald Soper
Donald Soper
Donald Oliver Soper, Baron Soper was a prominent Methodist minister, socialist and pacifist.Soper was born at 36 Knoll Road, Wandsworth, London, the first son and first child of the three children of Ernest Frankham Soper , an average adjuster in marine insurance, the son of a tailor, and his...
.
Roberts was an "old-fashioned liberal" who believed strongly in individual responsibility and sound finance. He had read and admired John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
's On Liberty
On Liberty
On Liberty is a philosophical work by British philosopher John Stuart Mill. It was a radical work to the Victorian readers of the time because it supported individuals' moral and economic freedom from the state....
. He came from a family that traditionally voted Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
but he believed that the Liberal Party had embraced collectivism
Collectivism
Collectivism is any philosophic, political, economic, mystical or social outlook that emphasizes the interdependence of every human in some collective group and the priority of group goals over individual goals. Collectivists usually focus on community, society, or nation...
and that the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
stood for the old liberalism. His daughter Muriel recalled that Roberts "was always a Liberal at heart". In the 1935 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1935
The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
, Roberts helped the local Conservative candidate Victor Warrender
Victor Warrender, 1st Baron Bruntisfield
Victor Alexander George Anthony Warrender, 1st Baron Bruntisfield MC , known as Sir Victor Warrender, Bt, between 1917 and 1942, was a British Conservative politician...
to win the seat
Grantham (UK Parliament constituency)
Grantham was a Parliamentary constituency in Lincolnshire, England.The constituency was created in 1468 as a parliamentary borough which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until the union with Scotland, and then to the Parliament of Great Britain...
.
In 1927 Roberts was elected to the Grantham town council as an independent. He was also a part-time Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, president of the Chamber of Trade
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
, President of Rotary
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, a director of the Grantham Building Society, a director of the Trustee Savings Bank, chairman of the local National Savings Movement
National Savings Movement
The National Savings Movement 1916 to 1978 was a British mass savings movement created to raise funds from the public to finance the deficit of government spending over tax revenues. The movement was instrumental during World War II in raising funds to support the war effort. In peacetime the...
, a governor of the local boys and girls grammar schools and chairman of the Workers' Educational Association
Workers' Educational Association
The Workers’ Educational Association seeks to provide access to education and lifelong learning for adults from all backgrounds, and in particular those who have previously missed out on education. The International Federation of Workers Education Associations has consultative status to UNESCO...
. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was Chief Welfare Officer, directing civil defence. He soon became Chairman of the Finance and Rating Committee, and in 1943 he was elected by the council as an Alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
and then served as the Mayor of Grantham from November 1945 to 1946, in which he presided over the town's victory celebrations. In his inaugural speech Roberts called for a large programme of expenditure to rebuild the roads, public transport, health and social services for children and to "build houses by the thousand."
On 21 May 1952, Roberts was voted out as Alderman by the first Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
majority on the council and as the vote was taken he proclaimed: "It is now almost nine years since I took up these robes in honour, and now I trust in honour they are laid down." When Thatcher recalled this event over thirty years later during an interview with Miriam Stoppard
Miriam Stoppard
Miriam Stoppard OBE , is a British doctor, author, television presenter and agony aunt.- Early life and medical career :...
, she said it was "very emotional" and wept on television.
Roberts retired and sold his business in 1958 but continued to preach and remained active in the Rotary Club. Beatrice died in 1960, Roberts married again to Cecily Miriam Hubbard in 1965. He died in 1970, shortly before the election, and nine years before his daughter became prime minister.
Coincidentally, he shared his name and occupation with a fictional character
Alf Roberts
Alfred Sidney "Alf" Roberts was a fictional character in the British ITV soap Coronation Street. He ran a grocery shop at No. 15 and was heavily involved in local politics, including two spells as mayor of Weatherfield...
in the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soap opera Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
(played by Bryan Mosley
Bryan Mosley
Bryan Mosley OBE was a British actor, known best as grocer Alf Roberts in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street.- Early life :...
from 1961 until 1998).