Edward Nicholas Friend (died 14 February 1948), also known as Teddy Friend, was a British trade union leader. Friend worked in London as a bookbinder, specialising in binding account books using

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...

. This was a small but established trade, and he joined a craft union, the

Vellum (Account Book) Binders' Trade Society The Vellum (Account Book) Binders' Trade Society was a British trade union formed in 1823, and with a tiny membership representing a small fraction of bookbinders. It is perhaps best remembered in contemporary times for its president from 1892 to ...

. Friend was an early supporter of the Labour Representation Committee and its successor, the Labour Party, in which union president Frederick Rogers was prominent. Friend was also secretary of the

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

Labour League. Pay and conditions for the vellum binders lagged behind those of other bookbinders, and by 1907, the union was strongly in favour of amalgamating with other, larger, unions in the trade. In 1909, Friend was elected as general secretary of the vellum binders, and he championed a merger between his union, the

Bookbinders and Machine Rulers' Consolidated Union The Bookbinders and Machine Rulers' Consolidated Union (B&MRCU) was a trade union representing people involved in the manufacturing of books in the United Kingdom. The union was founded on 19 October 1835 in Manchester as the Bookbinders' Consol ...

, the

Society of Day-working Bookbinders of London, Westminster, etc A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...

and the

London Consolidated Society of Journeymen Bookbinders The London Consolidated Lodge of Journeymen Bookbinders was a trade union representing bookbinders based in London. In 1839, there were three lodges of bookbinders in London, and they undertook a thirty-week strike to limit the number of apprenti ...

. This occurred at the start of January 1911, with the formation of the

National Union of Bookbinders and Machine Rulers {{Infobox union , name = National Union of Bookbinders and Machine Rulers , full_name = , image = , founded = 1911 , predecessor = , successor = , dissolved = 1921 , merged = National Union of Prin ...

, and Friend becoming full-time secretary of its vellum binders' branch. He immediately became known as a critical voice in the union, arguing that the union's campaign for shorter working hours was poorly co-ordinated, and complaining that the letterpress branches had not taken part in action, as they already had a 48-hour week. In 1913, with Friend's support, the vellum binders' branch of the union was merged with three other London branches of the union, and Friend became its full-time organiser. He already represented the union on the London Trades Council, and his new role gave him enough time that, in 1914, he became the chair of the trades council. In 1917, the union moved its headquarters to London, and for the first time elected an executive, with Friend becoming one of four London representatives. In 1921, the union became part of the

National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers The National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers (NUPBPW) was a British trade union. History The union was founded in 1921 as the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding, Machine Ruling and Paper Workers when the National Union o ...

(NUPBPW), with Friend remaining an organiser and executive member. He also remained chair of the London Trades Council, and thereby played a major role in organising workers in London during the

1926 UK general strike The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British governm ...

. Friend retired late in 1940, and was the first employee of the NUPBPW to receive a pension from the union. He died early in 1948.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friend, Edward Year of birth missing 1948 deaths English trade unionists General secretaries of British trade unions