James Thomas - Player's Cigarettes card - (47 / 50)

Photo reference number: 443

"Jimmy" Thomas was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, in 1874. He left school at the age of 12 and three years later became an engine cleaner on the Great Western Railway.
After involvement in the trade Union movement he entered politics representing the Labour Party first as a councillor then an MP.
He rose to the position of Lord Privy Seal in 1929, however his time in politics ended in 1936 after accusations that he had leaked forthcoming budget details. (It would seem the card pictured above dates from before.)
He died in 1949.

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