Kenneth Rowland Thomas (7 February 1927 – 12 August 2008) was a Welsh trade unionist and General Secretary of the

Civil and Public Services Association The Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom, representing civil servants. History The union was founded in 1921, when the Civil Service Clerical Union and the Clerical Officers' Association merged ...

(CPSA).

Early life

Thomas was born in

Penarth Penarth (, ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg), Wales, exactly south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a weal ...

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

. His father died when he was a boy, and he was brought up by his mother and two sisters.Ken Thomas
Telegraph 19/8/2008 – retrieved 2/8/2011 After Penarth Grammar School, he worked briefly as a trainee journalist for the

South Wales Echo The ''South Wales Echo'' is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed throughout the surrounding area. It has a circulation of 7,573. Background The newspaper was founded in 1884 and was based in Thomson House, ...

and Western Mail from 1943 to 1944.Ken Thomas: Civil Service trade union leader
Independent 16/8/2008 – retrieved 2/8/2011

Civil Service career

Thomas joined the Civil Service in 1944. He became an assistant secretary of the CPSA from 1955 until 1967, Deputy General Secretary from 1967 and was appointed

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the union in 1976, a post from which he retired in 1982, asking for a composition by Welsh composer Daniel Jones.Ken Thomas: leader of the Civil and Public Services Association
Times 16/8/2008 – retrieved 2/8/2011 He was also a member of the TUC General Council from 1977 to 1982.

Retirement

In retirement Thomas sat on various boards and committees including Occupational Pensions Board (1981–1997); the Civil Service Appeal Board (1984–91); the Law Society Professional Purposes Committee (1984–86); and the Solicitors' Complaints Bureau (1986–92). He was also a trustee of the Post Office Pension Fund (1969–84), the London Development Capital Fund (1984–99) and the British Telecommunications Fund (1983–97) as well being a director of the West Midlands Enterprise Board from 1982, the Warwickshire Venture Capital Fund (1988–91) and the West Midlands Growth Fund (1990–2005). He was appointed an OBE in 1995.

References

External links

Obituary in the Times

Obituary on PCS (CPSA's successor union) website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ken 1927 births 2008 deaths General Secretaries of the Civil and Public Services Association Welsh trade unionists Officers of the Order of the British Empire