George Benjamin Thorneycroft (8 January 1893 – 29 June 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 ( ...

leader. Born in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

,''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915'' Thorneycroft worked on the railways for the

Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company was a Company in England, formed in 1846, which managed several canals and railways. It intended to convert a number of canals to railways, but was leased by the London and North Western Railway (LN ...

in his youth.Malcolm Wallace, ''Single or Return'' He joined the

Railway Clerks' Association The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) is a trade union for workers in the transport and travel industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head office is in London, and it has regional offices in Bristol, Derby, Dublin, Manche ...

, and was appointed to its head office staff in 1914. In 1935, he was appointed as secretary for the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

section of its membership, then in 1945 he became senior assistant secretary.

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: George Thorneycroft", ''Annual Report of the 1975 Trades Union Congress'', p.343 In 1947, the union's general secretary, Charles Gallie, retired. The assistant general secretary, Percy Heady, was close to retirement himself, and so Thorneycroft stood for the vacant post. However, he was defeated by Fred Bostock. Bostock died the following year, and with Heady temporarily filling his post, Thorneycroft was promoted to become assistant general secretary. That year, he was also 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 ...

, and to the executive of the

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership ...

. Heady retired in 1949, and Thorneycroft now easily won election as the union's new general secretary. However, he too was nearing retirement, and so stood down from all his trade union posts in 1953. He served on several government bodies, including the Royal Commission on Civil Service Pay and Conditions and the

Independent Television Authority The Independent Television Authority (ITA) was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" (ITV (TV network), ITV), the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom. The ITA exi ...

. He was made a

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 1955.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorneycroft, George 1893 births 1975 deaths General Secretaries of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People from West Bromwich