John Gibb Bothwell

OBE 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 ...

(1909 or 1910 – 1994) was a British

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. Bothwell became a junior clerk with 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 ...

when he was sixteen years old. 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 from 1939 began working full-time in its Scottish office. In 1950, he was appointed as the Scottish secretary of the union. He became active in the Scottish Trades Union Congress, and served as its president in 1954. In 1956, he was made an

Officer 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 1960, Bothwell was elected as assistant general secretary of the union, by now renamed as the

Transport Salaried Staffs' 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 ...

(TSSA). He became general secretary in 1963, and was also elected to the General Council of the Trades Union Congress, and in 1965 to the general council 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 ...

. He retired from his trade union posts in 1968, due to poor health. However, he remained active as a member of the Industrial Arbitration Board, for which work 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bothwell, John General Secretaries of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress 20th-century births 1994 deaths Year of birth uncertain