Albert Brookes (1898-1976) was born in Bream, the son of a miner. From July 1917 to February 1919 Brookes served in the Royal Navy in submarines and on his return gained work at Princess Royal colliery as a hewer. He then joined the Labour Party and became active within the FDMA. In September 1921 he married Dorothy Phipps and went on to have two children. In 1925, he joined the Miners’ Minority Movement. He was a member of the Monmouth Board of Guardians during the 1926 lockout. He was blacklisted after the lockout and never worked in a pit again and gained employment as an insurance agent.
In 1926 he was elected as a councillor on West Dean District Council. In 1931, he was elected as secretary of Bream Miners’ Hall and in 1933 was elected President of the Forest of Dean Labour Party and continued in that role until 1949. In 1935 he was elected to the new West Dean Parish Council. In 1938, he was a member of the Lydney Board of Guardians. In 1938, he was elected as a County Councillor representing the Blakeney ward. In 1949, he stood down from the role of President of the Labour Party after falling out with Luker and later in the year was expelled from the Labour Party for standing in a county council election against the official candidate, Harold Craddock.