John Holmes (1815–1894) was a radical campaigner in the city of Leeds in the mid 19th Century.
A prosperous draper by profession, he was nevertheless very active in campaigning for workers' rights and was instrumental in founding the Leeds Co-operative Society (President 1862–64) and its precursor, the People's Flour Mill.
[1] His writing on the value of cooperatives attracted attention from major figures such as Edwin Chadwick, who cited his work,[2] and John Stuart Mill, with whom he corresponded.
Holmes's essays argue that the costs and quality of the co-op bread compared favourably with the private sector due to economies of scale and saving marketing costs and it provided a way to avoid adulteration of flour.
[8] He also sponsored archeological digs by his friend Thomas Bachouse Sandwith, Vice Consul in Cyprus.