George Chester

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(16 January 1886 – 21 April 1949) 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 unionist 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 Employee ben ...

. Born in Loddington in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, Chester worked making boots from the age of thirteen.

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: Sir George Chester", ''Annual Report of the 1949 Trades Union Congress'', p.288Chester, Sir George
, ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'' He joined the

National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives The National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives (NUBSO) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1873 and 1971. It represented workers in the footwear industry. History The union was founded in 1873, when many riveters and ...

the following year, and from 1915 was assistant secretary of his branch. In 1930, he was elected as the union's general secretary, and in 1937 he was elected to the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trade Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

(TUC). It was at the TUC that Chester came to greatest prominence. Acknowledged as an expert on economic and educational matters, in 1942 he presented the TUC's "Education after the War" policy document, and he chaired the TUC's economic committee for several years. In his spare time, Chester was a keen naturalist. He was secretary of the Kettering and District Naturalists' Society from 1908 to 1930 and, later in life, was made a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society. Chester was made a

knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in 1948, but died suddenly, early the following year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chester, George 1886 births 1949 deaths General Secretaries of the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society Knights Bachelor Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress