James [Jim, Jimmy] Thomas (1874-1949; ODNB), train driver, and trade unionist; secretary, Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (1906-13), and National Union of Railwaymen (1913-31); member, TUC parliamentary committee, 1917-21, general council, 1921-4, 1925-9; leading figure in national railway strikes, 1911, 1919; MP (Lab) Derby, 1910-31, (Nat Lab) 1931-6; colonial secretary 1924; lord privy seal 1929-30; dominions secretary 1930-5; joined MacDonald in the National government, 1931; colonial secretary, 1935-6; noted for his enjoyment of high society, drink and gambling; found by judicial inquiry to have leaked budget secrets, he resigned from government and parliament in 1936: see Volume 66, 67.

Journal references: 4

• 29 Sep 1919
• 6 Oct 1919
• 7 Sep 1920
• 10 Jul 1921

See also Thomas, Leslie