Lionel Murray, Baron Murray of Epping Forest, (2 August 1922 – 20 May 2004) was a British
Labour Party politician and
trade union leader.
Early life
Murray was born in
Hadley,
Shropshire, the son of a young unmarried woman, Lorna Hodskinson, and was brought up by a local nurse, Mary Jane Chilton. He attended
Wellington Grammar School, read English at
Queen Mary College, London
, mottoeng = With united powers
, established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College
, type = Public researc ...
, and then joined the
British Army.
Army
In the
Second World War Murray was
commissioned in the
King's Shropshire Light Infantry in April 1943 and took part in the
Normandy landings on D-Day. Six days later, Murray was badly wounded and in October 1944 was invalided out of the army with the rank of
lieutenant.
Demobilisation
Murray worked at an engineering works in
Wolverhampton as storekeeper, before leaving to sell ''The
Daily Worker
The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were m ...
'' on street corners and joining the
Communist Party. Whilst selling ''The Daily Worker'', he encountered his former headmaster, who informed him he was wasting his time. Determined to improve himself, shortly afterwards Murray gained a place at
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...
, where he graduated with a First in
PPE after two years' study under tutors including the future MP
Dick Crossman and
Sir John Hicks
Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...
.
Career
Murray started as a manager for a
Liverpool catering firm. He was a
Trades Union Congress (TUC) employee from 1947, when he joined as an assistant in the economics department. Seven years later he was promoted to head of the department. He was elected assistant general-secretary in 1969.
In 1970 he was invited to deliver the Marlow (Scotland) Lecture to the
Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland. He chose the subject ''Trade Unions and the State – 1964 to 1970 in Retrospect''.
He became
General Secretary of the TUC in 1973, leading it during the
Winter of Discontent and confrontations with
Margaret Thatcher's government.
Personal life
Murray married Heather Woolf, a nurse, in 1945. The couple had two daughters and two sons, the younger of whom,
David, pursued a successful career in the
Royal Air Force. They lived in
Loughton, Essex.
Murray served as a TUC officer until his retirement in 1984, three years early. Upon his retirement in early May 1984, he made the following statement – "There are places to go, books to read, flowers to smell and trees to look at. I would like to walk through Epping Forest".
He was active in Loughton Methodist Church. Murray died in hospital in 2004 from septicaemia and
pneumonia.
Honours
Murray was appointed
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 ...
(OBE) in the
1966 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1966 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lond ...
.
Sworn of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
in 1976, he was 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 Murray of Epping Forest, of
Telford in the
County of Shropshire, on 14 February 1985.
The Murray Hall in Loughton was named after him, and a
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
to him was unveiled on the family house, 29 The Crescent, in January 2019.
References
External links
News of Murray's death''(
The Guardian)''
Obituary of Len Murray''(
Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
)''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray of Epping Forest, Lionel Murray, Baron
1922 births
2004 deaths
Alumni of New College, Oxford
British Army personnel of World War II
People from Telford
King's Shropshire Light Infantry officers
General Secretaries of the Trades Union Congress
Trade unionists from Shropshire
Labour Party (UK) life peers
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Deaths from emphysema
Deaths from pneumonia in England
Methodist local preachers