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 later had two children. In 1925, he joined the Miners’ Minority Movement. He served on the Monmouth Board of Guardians during the 1926 lockout. He was blacklisted after the lockout, never worked in a pit again, and became an insurance agent.
In 1926, he was elected as a councillor on West Dean District Council. In 1931, he was elected secretary of Bream Miners’ Hall, and in 1933 he was elected President of the Forest of Dean Labour Party.
In 1935, he was elected to the new West Dean Parish Council. In 1938, he was elected as a County Councillor representing the Blakeney ward. He remained an active member of the Labour Party and a Labour Councillor until he retired.
One reply on “Albert Brookes”
This was my paternal grandfather. He was a true socialist, and would give his last penny to help someone else. A great public figure and a man with a tremendous rational outlook on life itself