James Bowman, 1st Baronet (8 March 1898–25 September 1978) was a British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 trade unionist.

Born in Great Corby

Great Corby

Great Corby is a village in northern Cumbria, England, above the eastern bank of a wooded gorge on the River Eden. Directly across the river from Great Corby is the village of Wetheral. The two villages are linked by a railway viaduct...

, near Carlisle, Bowman worked at Ashington

Ashington

Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England with a population of around 27,000 people; it was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is located some north of Newcastle upon Tyne off the A189. The south of the town is bordered by the River Wansbeck...

 colliery from the age of fifteen. He served in the Royal Marines

Royal Marines

The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

 during 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...

, then returned to coal mining, where he became active in the Northumberland Miners' Association

Northumberland Miners' Association

The Northumberland Miners' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom.The union was founded in 1864 to represent coal miners in Northumberland, following the collapse of a short-live union covering both Northumberland and Durham miners...

. He became General Secretary of the union in 1935, and Vice President of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain in 1939, holding the post unopposed until 1949, during which period he took a leading role in reorganising the union into the National Union of Mineworkers.

Bowman advised in reforming the German trade unions after World War II

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 also served on the 1947 Royal Commission on the Press, and Beveridge's committee on broadcasting. He withdrew from trade unionism at the end of 1949, instead taking a National Coal Board

National Coal Board

The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...

 post; in 1956, he was appointed its chairman. He stood down in 1961, due to ill health, at which point he was created a baronet

Baronet

A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

.