Sir Richard Coppock (21 February 1885 – 7 September 1971) was a British

trade unionist 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 Employee ben ...

and politician. Born in

Cheetham Cheetham may refer to: People * Cheetham (surname) Places * Cheetham and Altona Important Bird Area, Melbourne, Australia * Cheetham Close, a megalith and scheduled ancient monument located in Lancashire, very close to the boundary with Greater Ma ...

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 ...

, Coppock left school at eleven and followed his father in becoming an apprentice bricklayer two years later. During this period, he also became a member of the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

(SDF). He supervised the construction of the Socialist Hall built by members of the

Openshaw Socialist Society The Openshaw Socialist Society (OSS) was a working class socialist organisation established by members of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in the Openshaw area of Manchester. Under the guidance of Dick Coppock they built their own hall in Margar ...

in 1907. On completing his apprenticeship, he joined the

Operative Bricklayers' Society The Operative Bricklayers' Society (OBS) was a British New Model Trade Union based in London. History The society was founded in 1818 as the London Bricklayers' Society, but by 1829 had developed into a national operative union. By the 1840s ...

and became an active trade unionist. He served as a full-time branch secretary from 1911, then divisional organiser in 1916. He was active on the Manchester and Salford Trades Council, and became a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

before he was thirty.John Saville, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', Vol.III, pp. 48-52 Coppock opposed

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, during which he was active in

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

(ILP), through which he became friends with

Harry Pollitt Harry Pollitt (22 November 1890 – 27 June 1960) was a British communist who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) from 1929 to September 1939 and again from 1941 until his death in 1960. Pollitt spen ...

. He was elected to

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...

in 1919, serving for two years, and he also stood unsuccessfully to become secretary of the

Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers The Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers (AUBTW) was a British trade union. History The AUBTW was founded in 1921 when the Operative Society of Masons, Quarrymen and Allied Trades of England and Wales, the Operative Bricklayers' Socie ...

, successor to the Operative Bricklayers, but was beaten by

George Hicks George Hicks may refer to: * George Hicks (trade unionist) (1879–1954), British trade unionist and politician * George Hicks (footballer) (1902–?), English footballer * George Elgar Hicks (1824–1914), English painter * George Hicks (RAF off ...

. However, in 1920, he was narrowly elected as secretary of the

National Federation of Building Trade Operatives The National Federation of Building Trades Operatives (NFBTO) was a trade union federation in the United Kingdom, consisting of unions with members in construction and related industries. History In 1914, a group of workers attempted to form the Bu ...

, which brought together various builders' trade unions. As a result, he moved to London. The federation during his first decade had few successes, and Coppock devoted some of his time to promoting the Building Guilds movement, but in 1934 he was central to forming the

International Federation of Building and Wood Workers The International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW) was a global union federation of trade unions in the building, building materials, wood, forestry and allied industries. History The federation was established in 1934 by a merg ...

, and was its first president. He also founded the Dick Coppock cup, famously played for in East London

. In 1925, Coppock was elected to

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

, serving for six years, then in 1934 he was elected to represent Limehouse. He was vice-chairman of the council in 1939/40, and chairman in 1943/44, after which he once more became an alderman, serving until 1965. While on the LCC, he made a major contribution to development of the

Green Belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

around London, working with

James Chuter Ede James Chuter Ede, Baron Chuter-Ede of Epsom, (11 September 1882 – 11 November 1965), was a British teacher, trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He served as Home Secretary under Prime Minister Clement Attlee from 1945 to 1951, becomi ...

of the

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...

and others on determining the land to be conserved.J Chuter Ede, unpublished diary, 22 May 1943. He gave one of the orations at Pollitt's funeral in 1960, and retired from his trade union posts in 1961. Coppock 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 ...

in 1942, and was awarded a knighthood in 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coppock, Dick 1885 births 1971 deaths Councillors in Manchester Trade unionists from Manchester Members of London County Council People from Cheetham Hill British trade union leaders Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire