Ada Maddocks (22 September 1927–7 March 2007) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

official. Born in

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London. His ...

, Maddocks grew up in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

and was educated at Walthamstow High School before working in a laboratory for the

Co-operative Wholesale Society A co-operative wholesale society, or CWS, is a form of co-operative federation (that is, a co-operative in which all the members are co-operatives), in this case, the members are usually consumer cooperatives. According to co-operative economi ...

. She became active in the co-operative movement, then began working for the

National and Local Government Officers Association The National and Local Government Officers' Association was a British trade union representing mostly local government "white collar" workers. It was formed in 1905 as the National Association of Local Government Officers, and changed its full ...

in 1961. In 1976, she assumed lead responsibility for health service employees in the union, and was elected to one of two women-only seats on the General Council of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

. She was awarded an OBE in 1982, and served as

President of the Trades Union Congress The President of the Trades Union Congress is a prominent but largely honorary position in British trade unionism. History Initially, the post of president was elected at the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC) itself, and would serve just for the d ...

in 1990, actively supporting the ambulance workers' strike. She retired in 1992.

Dave Prentis David Prentis, Baron Prentis of Leeds (born 29 May 1948) is a British trade unionist and former General Secretary of UNISON, the United Kingdom's largest trade union. He was originally elected in 2000. He was re-elected in March 2005, with 77% ...

,
Obituary: Ada Maddocks
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 26 March 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maddocks, Ada 1927 births 2007 deaths British trade unionists Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People from Felixstowe People from Walthamstow Presidents of the Trades Union Congress People educated at Walthamstow School for Girls