Robert Willis (27 February 1904 – 20 September 1982), usually known as Bob Willis, 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 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 benefits (s ...

. Willis worked as a printer, then as a compositor with ''

Reynolds News ''Reynold's News'' was a Sunday newspaper in the United Kingdom, founded as ''Reynolds's Weekly Newspaper''Joanne Shattock, ''The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'', p.2908 by George W. M. Reynolds in 1850, who became its first edito ...

'', and joined the

London Society of Compositors The London Society of Compositors was a British trade union, representing print workers in London. History The union was founded as the London Union of Compositors in 1834 by the merger of the London Trade Society of Compositors and the Londo ...

in 1930.''The Labour Gazette'' (1958), p.1387 A member of the Communist Party of Great Britain in his youth, he left in the early 1930s, describing it as an "intellectual straitjacket". In 1938, he was elected as the Secretary of the

London Trades Council The London Trades Council was an early labour organisation, uniting London's trade unionists. Its modern successor organisation is the Greater London Association of Trades (Union) Councils History Leading figures in the London trade union mov ...

, then in 1945, he became the general secretary of his union. He was elected to the General Council of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

in 1947, serving until 1965, and became the President of the Trades Union Congress in 1959.''Report of the Annual Trades Union Congress'' (1982), p.338 From 1952, he also served as Chairman of the London Trades Council. Under Willis' leadership, the London Society of Compositors merged with the Printing Machine Managers' Trade Society to form the "London Typographical Society". He became known as a strong speaker with forceful views. In 1964, Willis led the Compositors into a merger with the Typographical Association to form the

National Graphical Association The National Graphical Association (NGA) was a trade union representing typographers and related workers in the United Kingdom. History The union was formed in 1964 by the merger of two long-term rival unions, the Typographical Association and ...

, of which he served as joint general secretary until 1969.Arthur Ivor Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions, Vol. 5'', p.43 He took a leave of absence from 1965 to 1967 to serve on the

National Board for Prices and Incomes The National Board for Prices and Incomes was created by the government of Harold Wilson in 1965 in an attempt to solve the problem of inflation in the British economy by managing wages and prices. The board's chairman was Aubrey Jones, formerl ...

References

External links

Catalogue of Willis' papers
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Bob 1904 births 1982 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members General Secretaries of the London Typographical Association General Secretaries of the National Graphical Association Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Presidents of the Trades Union Congress 20th-century British businesspeople