James Mallon was born in Manchester on 24th December 1874, of Irish Roman Catholic parents. He had two sisters. Their father, Felix Mallon, died when James was only four.
James went to convent school in Liverpool. When he left he started an apprenticeship as a jeweller. He also studied at the Victoria University of Manchester. It was here that he became interested in working with the under-privileged.
In 1903 he joined the Independent Labour Party and the Fabian Society. In 1906 he moved to Toynbee Hall in the East End of London. Toynbee Hall was a settlement house set up by Samuel Barnett with help from two Oxford colleges. The idea of the settlement house was to allow middle class reformers to live in poor neighbourhoods and give direct help. Samuel Barnett said the purpose was, "to learn as much as teach; to receive as much as to give."
James was a member of many different organisations, and served on many different committees, the main aims of which were to improve the conditions and opportunities for working people.
James was appointed a Companion of Honour in 1939, for services of national importance. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Liverpool University in 1944. From 1937 to 1939, and again from 1941 to 1946 he was a Governor of the B.B.C. In 1955 he was awarded the Margaret McMillan medal, in recognition of his work for the underprivileged.
James wanted to be a Labour M.P., but was unsuccessful. At Burslem in 1944 he said, "In this and in many other constituencies, I have been rejected by large and enthusiastic majorities." He might have failed to become an M.P., but "it was his persistent cheerfulness in dismal times of depression and war that always impressed his contemporaries." (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 36)
James died in 1961. He was survived by his wife, Stella Katherine. They had no children. His obituary in the Times said of him, "If ever there was a life single-heartedly devoted to the service of others, such a life was Mallon's."
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| Updated: | Thu 12 Jul 2007 - 1 |
| Interpretation written by | Barbara Harris |
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