birth_place birth_date known_for article_title name size
ipstones , staffordshire 1895 lord mayor of stoke-on-trent esperanto horace barks
 horace barks 100px
horace barks

horace barks , obe was lord mayor of stoke-on-trent in 1951 -- 2 .
barks was born in ipstones in the countryside near stoke-on-trent and came from a working class background .
his experiences in world war i left him with pacifist beliefs and experience of railway operations .
after the war he became a train guard and , in 1921 , a member of the labour party , the dominant party in stoke-on-trent during the twentieth century .
he was elected a stoke councillor in 1930 and made an alderman in 1948 .
he served as mayor for 1951 -- 52 .
barks ' cultural interests included esperanto and the writer arnold bennett .
barks and his son guy were active in the arnold bennett society , which is based in stoke-on-trent .
the reference library in the city is named after barks .
