Kenneth Bruce Ashton (9 November 1925 – 8 September 2002) was a British journalist and trade union leader.

Early life and education

Ashton grew up in London, where he attended the

Latymer Upper School (Slowly Therefore Surely) , established = , closed = , sister_school = Godolphin and Latymer School , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , head_label = H ...

before serving in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

from 1942. Stationed in Scotland for much of this time, he attended a course at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, and took some casual work as a

subeditor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual of ...

with the '' Daily Record''. He was demobbed in 1946, and became a journalist with the ''

Hampstead and Highgate Express The Ham & High, officially the Hampstead & Highgate Express is a weekly paid newspaper published in the London Borough of Camden by Archant. The newspaper is priced at £1 and is published every Thursday. History Founded in 1860, from 1862 it ...

'', then worked successively for the '' Devon and Somerset News'', the '' Mansfield Reporter'' and the ''

Sheffield Star ''The Star'', often known as the ''Sheffield Star'', is a daily newspaper published in Sheffield, England, from Monday to Saturday each week. Originally a broadsheet, the newspaper became a tabloid in 1993. ''The Star'', the weekly ''Sheffield ...

''. In 1958, he became a subeditor with the ''

Sheffield Telegraph The ''Sheffield Telegraph'' is a weekly newspaper published in Sheffield, England. Founded in 1855 as the ''Sheffield Daily Telegraph'', it became known as the ''Sheffield Telegraph'' in 1938. History The ''Sheffield Telegraph'' was founded i ...

'', then held the same post at the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' and finally the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

''.

Trade unionism

Ashton was a long-term member of the

National Union of Journalists The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and has 38,000 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Structure There i ...

(NUJ), and was elected to its executive in 1968. He became the union's president in 1975, but had to stand down shortly afterwards as he began working full-time for the union as its

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

regional organiser. In 1977, he was elected as the union's general secretary. Ashton's time as leader of the NUJ was difficult. The union became involved in an increasing number of disputes, something Ashton was unhappy about, and this led him to face increasing criticism from union members. A member critical of him was elected as his deputy. In 1985, he took early retirement, relocating to the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills ri ...

, where he became a volunteer warden. From 1982 to 1986, Ashton also served as president of the

International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries. The IFJ is an associate ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Ken 1925 births 2002 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Journalists from London General Secretaries of the National Union of Journalists People educated at Latymer Upper School Trade unionists from London Presidents of the National Union of Journalists