Sir William Edward Dudley OBE (1868-1938)

Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (from 1920) and Knight Bachelor (from 1926)

Died aged c. 70

Sir William Edward Dudley (29 May 1868 – 7 May 1938) was an administrator in the British co-operative movement and a local politician. He lived in Runcorn, Cheshire, throughout his life and, after working with Bridgewater Navigation, he joined the co-operative movement in 1893. Dudley served in various positions in the movement, initially locally and later nationally, eventually becoming president of the Co-operative Wholesale Society. During and after the First World War he was an adviser to the government on matters concerning food, and was knighted for this service in 1936. He was also a local politician, and served on a number of local committees.
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Runcorn, United Kingdom

Sir William Edward Dudley OBE (1868-1938). Dudley was born at 1 Loch Street (house now demolished) into a family already involved in co-operative trading. He joined the Runcorn Co-operative Society in 1893, and by 1896 he was the society's chairman. He campaigned for better representation for the Cheshire and North Wales district within the north-west section of the Co-operative Union, and he became chairman of the union's central board in 1911. He was elected to the board of the Co-operative Wholesale Society in the same year, and was appointed its president in 1933. He received an O.B.E. in 1920 for his work with the Ministry of Food during and after World War I. Further official service led to a knighthood in 1926. From 1914 he served on the Runcorn Urban District Council, and was chairman from 1921 to 1923. He was also a Justice of the Peace, an overseer of the poor, and was involved with many local charities and societies. He was buried in Runcorn Cemetery on Greenway Road.

Co-operative Store, Granville Street, Runcorn, United Kingdom where they lived near