Clifford Groocock Groocock (20 April 1895 – 9 February 1988) was a British

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 ( ...

leader. Born as Clifford Groocock Hincks, he was brought up as a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

, and from 1917 was a

lay preacher Lay preacher is a preacher or a religious proclaimer who is not a formally ordained cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presidi ...

. By 1921 he was living in Hinckley in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, and working as a hosiery hand. That year, he dropped his surname, and became known as "Clifford Groocock Groocock". He became active in the

Hinckley and District Hosiery Union The Hinckley and District Hosiery Union was a trade union representing workers involved in making hosiery in the Hinckley area of Leicestershire, in England. The Leicester and Leicestershire Amalgamated Hosiery Union was founded in 1885, and atte ...

, and in 1930 he was elected as its general secretary. Under Groocock's leadership, the Hinckley union grew, with membership reaching 6,000 by 1939. However, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

this fell back to 4,000 members, and he learned that the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

and the

National Union of General and Municipal Workers The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 460,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National Health Service (N ...

were proposing to start recruiting hosiery workers in the East Midlands. As a result, he came to support

Horace Moulden Horace Matthew Moulden-Colton (14 July 1898 – 30 April 1988) was a British trade union leader. Born in Leicester, Moulden left school at the age of thirteen before completing a short apprenticeship in hosiery knitting. He spent four years fig ...

's proposal that the various local hosiery unions should merge and form a national union. In 1945, Groocock took his union into the new

National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, and he became its first general secretary. Despite the title, this post was only that of second-in-command, with Moulden as general president being its most prominent figure. Groocock also remained leader of the new union's Hinckley section. Like Moulden, Groocock saw himself as a social democrat, favouring good relationships with employers and minimising industrial action. The union grew as a national force, and Groocock retired in 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groocock, Clifford 1895 births 1988 deaths General secretaries of British trade unions People from Hinckley