George Fuller Godfrey

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 ...

(5 November 1904 – 16 September 1989) was an English-born Australian journalist and trade unionist. Godfrey was born in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to schoolteacher Francis George Godfrey and Millie, ''née'' Fuller. He was educated at Strand School and won a mathematics scholarship to

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

, from which he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1926 (and later a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1972). During the

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

in 1926, he enlisted as a special constable. In 1927, he emigrated to Australia, arriving in 1927 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. He taught mathematics for a term at Essendon High School before being employed by '' The Argus'' in May. In 1930, he moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to work for the afternoon broadsheet the ''Sun'', of which he became a sub-editor (1943) and relieving editor. He married a clerk, Phyllis Berenice Alethia Carling, at St Augustine's Church of England in

Neutral Bay Neutral Bay is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Neutral Bay is around 1.5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Neutral Bay takes ...

on 21 June 1932. In 1927, Godfrey joined the Australian Journalists' Association (AJA); he was elected to the state committee in 1934 and 1940, and was state president from 1941-1953 during which time he federally implemented a code of ethics. He was awarded the gold honour badge in 1944. Godfrey was elected federal president of the AJA in 1963, serving until 1974. He was a long-term campaigner for the

Australian Press Council The Australian Press Council (APC) was established in 1976 and is responsible for promoting high standards of media practice, community access to information of public interest, and freedom of expression through the media. The council is also the ...

, which was finally established in 1976. Godfrey was also a prominent figure in the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

; he became president in 1944 of the Mosman branch in one of Sydney's least Labor-friendly areas. He edited the ''Labor Digest'' from 1945 to 1946, was elected a party conference delegate in 1946 and was on the state executive from 1959 to 1971. Godfrey was also a member of the Fabian Society. In 1955, he came to the rescue of federal leader

Bert Evatt Herbert Vere Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a judge of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs from 1941 to 1949, and ...

by providing him with membership of the Mosman branch after Evatt's leadership was not renewed. Godfrey wrote a column for the ''A.L.P. News'' in the early 1960s. He published a series of articles on

democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self- ...

for the ''A.L.P. Journal'' from 1960 to 1968. An anti-

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

campaigner, Godfrey had rallied against the imprisonment of Robert Close for obscene libel in 1948, opposed

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

' attempt to dissolve the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

in 1950, and objected to the barring of Russian journalist Vadim Nekrasov in 1963. In the later years of his federal presidency, Godfrey opposed the more militant unionists who opposed the close relationship between the union and media proprietors. He retired from the ''Sun'' in 1971 and worked for the ''North Shore Times'' from 1976 to 1986. Appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

in 1972, Godfrey was also a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. He died at Mosman in 1989 and was cremated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey, George 1904 births 1989 deaths Australian trade unionists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British special constables Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge 20th-century Australian journalists British emigrants to Australia