Edwin Marsden (26 April 1913''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007'' – 30 August 1975) 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 ( ...

ist and

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

activist. Born in the

Openshaw Openshaw is a suburb of Manchester, England, about three miles east of the city centre. Historically part of Lancashire, Openshaw was incorporated into the city of Manchester in 1890. Its name derives from the Old English ''Opinschawe'', which me ...

area of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

,Graham Stevenson,
Marsden Eddie
, ''Compendium of Communist Biography'' Marsden trained as a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

but instead became a steel erector.

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 ...

, "Obituary: Eddie Marsden", ''Annual Report of the 1975 Trades Union Congress'' In 1935, Marsden joined the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

(CPGB), radicalised in opposition to the Italian invasion of Abyssinia.''

New Society ''New Society'' was a weekly magazine of social inquiry and social and cultural comment, published in the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1988. It drew on the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, psychology, human geography, social history and so ...

'', Vol.27, p.120 He also joined the

Constructional Engineering Union The Constructional Engineering Union (CEU) was a trade union representing steel erectors and other workers involved in steel construction in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1924 as a section of the Iron and Steel Trades Co ...

, serving as a site steward for more than thirty years. In 1952, Marsden was elected to the executive of the union, representing North West England, and in 1962 he became the union's full-time organiser for the region, also representing the union on the executive of the

Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU), often known as the Confed is a trade union confederation in the United Kingdom. History The confederation was founded in December 1890 as the Federation of Engineering and Shipbuil ...

. Meanwhile, he became increasingly prominent in the CPGB, serving on its Lancashire and Cheshire District Committee, and standing unsuccessfully for the party in the 1963 Manchester Openshaw by-election, and again in the seat in the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and 1966 general elections.

F. W. S. Craig Frederick Walter Scott Craig (10 December 1929 – 23 March 1989) was a Scottish psephologist and compiler of the standard reference books covering United Kingdom Parliamentary election results. He originally worked in public relations, compilin ...

, ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1950–1973'' In 1968, he was elected to the party's Executive Committee. Marsden was elected as general secretary of the union in 1968. Three years later it became part of the

Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992. History The history of t ...

, albeit remaining largely autonomous, with Marsden continuing as general secretary of the union's new Construction section. This gave Marsden increased prominence in the trade union movement, and he was a prominent figure at meetings of the

. Marsden died in 1975, still in office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsden, Eddie 1913 births 1975 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members General Secretaries of the Amalgamated Engineering Union People from Openshaw Trade unionists from Manchester