David Garfield Davies, Baron Davies of Coity, (24 June 1935 – 4 March 2019 ) was a

Labour Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidat ...

peer in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

and a former

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.

Biography

Davies left school at 15 and worked as an electrician, serving in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

1956–58. In 1969 he became a full-time trade union official with

USDAW The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) is a trade union in the United Kingdom, consisting of around 360,000 members. Usdaw members work in a variety of occupations and industries including: shopworkers, factory and warehouse wo ...

and rose through the ranks, becoming General Secretary of the union in 1986. He retired in 1997. Davies was named

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 ...

in 1996 and created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Davies of Coity, ''of Penybont in the County of

Mid Glamorgan , Government= Mid Glamorgan County Council , Status= Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Mid ...

'' on 1 October 1997. Davies belonged to the

Labour Friends of Israel Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that promotes support for a strong bilateral relationship between Britain and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party and the Isra ...

lobby group. Baron Davies of Coity died on 4 March 2019, aged 83.Usdaw mourns the passing of a former general secretary Lord Davies of Coity RIP
/ref>

References

Davies, Garfield, Baron Davies of Coity Davies, Garfield, Baron Davies of Coity Davies of Coity, Garfield Davies, Baron Life peers created by Elizabeth II Davies, Garfield, Baron Davies of Coity General Secretaries of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Labour Friends of Israel {{UK-trade-unionist-bio-stub