Leslie Richard Sillitoe (August 1915 – 10 October 1996) 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 leader and politician. Sillitoe served 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and took part in the

Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. After the war, he found work at the Campbell Tile Factory in

Stoke on Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

, and joined the

National Society of Pottery Workers The Ceramic and Allied Trades Union (CATU) was a trade union representing pottery workers in the United Kingdom. Predecessors The first significant union in the pottery trades was founded in 1827 as the National Union of Operative Potters, affili ...

(NSPW). Sillitoe was a supporter of the Labour Party, and won election to

Stoke-on-Trent City Council Stoke-on-Trent City Council is the local authority of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. As a unitary authority, it has the combined powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council and is administratively separate from the rest of ...

, ultimately serving for 36 years. He became a leading proponent for safer and cleaner working conditions in the pottery industry, and in 1966 he won election as assistant general secretary of the NSPW. At the end of 1974, Alf Dulson retired as general secretary of the union, by then renamed as the

Ceramic and Allied Trades Union The Ceramic and Allied Trades Union (CATU) was a trade union representing pottery workers in the United Kingdom. Predecessors The first significant union in the pottery trades was founded in 1827 as the National Union of Operative Potters, affili ...

, and Sillitoe won the election to replace him. He had immediate success by securing a

closed shop A pre-entry closed shop (or simply closed shop) is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times to remain employed. This is different fro ...

agreement with the British Pottery Manufacturers' Federation, agreeing how future wage increases would be calculated, and secured an extra two days holiday for workers in the industry. This agreement took the union to its highest ever membership density, with more than 75% of eligible workers joining. Sillitoe retired from his trade union posts in 1980, and was

Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent The position of Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent is largely ceremonial, determined by a vote amongst the elected councillors of Stoke-on-Trent City Council. Candidates are selected from the councillors. The lord mayor for 2022 to 2023 is Faisal Huss ...

in 1981/82. He was made a freeman of the city, and in 1976 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sillitoe, Les 1915 births 1996 deaths General secretaries of British trade unions Labour Party (UK) councillors Councillors in Staffordshire People from Stoke-on-Trent Trade unionists from Staffordshire Lord Mayors of Stoke-on-Trent British Army personnel of World War II