Edward James Hill, Baron Hill of Wivenhoe (20 August 1899 – 14 December 1969), known as Ted Hill, 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 Employee ben ...

. Known as a shrewd negotiator, Hill frequently succeeded in "wresting many concessions from unwilling employers." Born in

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Hill was one of 12 children in a family with strong socialist traditions. He served with the Royal Marine Engineers during

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 ...

, joining the

United Society of Boilermakers and Iron and Steel Shipbuilders The Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers, Shipwrights, Blacksmiths and Structural Workers (ASB) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. Many of its members worked in shipbuilding, in which industry it was the leading trade union, while over tim ...

in 1916."Obituary: Lord Hill of Wivenhoe", ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 16 December 1969, p. 7 He spent time mending boilers for P&O, and in his spare time was a

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

. In 1934, he worked alongside Anuerin Bevan to organise a national

hunger march Hunger marches are a form of protest, social protest that arose in the United Kingdom during the early 20th century. Often the marches involved groups of men and women walking from areas with high unemployment, to London where they would protest ou ...

.Tom Parkes,
At last, researcher goes public with Cold War list naming lord as KGB spy
, ''

Daily Gazette ''The Daily Gazette'' is an independent, family-owned daily newspaper published in Schenectady, New York. ''The Daily Gazette'' also owns and operates ''The Amsterdam Recorder'', ''The Gloversville Leader-Herald'' and ''Your Niskayuna''. Hist ...

'', 29 June 2009 By 1939, Hill was the London delegate to the executive committee of the Boilermakers, and in 1948 he was elected to the General Council of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

(TUC). In 1949, he was elected as General Secretary of the union, and soon acquired a reputation as a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

er, aligned with the Labour Party but often critical of its policies – a supporter of

unilateral disarmament Unilateral disarmament is a policy option, to renounce weapons without seeking equivalent concessions from one's actual or potential rivals. It was most commonly used in the twentieth century in the context of ''unilateral nuclear disarmament'', a r ...

and generally an opponent of militarism. In 1953, he was censured by the TUC for making a speech contrary to its policies, the first occasion on which the body is known to have censured one of the members of its General Council. During the

UK engineering strike, 1957 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, he famously asked "what's in this productivity for my members?" Hill was a colourful and larger-than-life figure, weighing in more than . According to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', Hill was a "constant source of anxiety and embarrassment to his more orthodox T.U.C. colleagues. The cloth cap "image" he created did not fit into their concept of responsible and respectable trade unionism and they regarded his ideas of class warfare as an anachronism in the mid-twentieth century." In 1961, Hill served as President of the TUC. Following a succession of

demarcation dispute A demarcation dispute is a dispute between (usually) two trades unions as to whose members should do a particular job, and is associated with multi-unionism in an enterprise, where two labour unions claim the right to represent the same class or g ...

s, Hill led a 1962 merger with two other unions with large presences in

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

s, the

Associated Blacksmiths, Forge and Smithy Workers' Society The Associated Blacksmiths, Forge and Smithy Workers' Society (ABFSWS) was a trade union representing metalworkers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. History The union was founded in 1857 in Glasgow as the Scottish United Operative Blacksmiths Pr ...

and the

Shipconstructors and Shipwrights' Association The Shipconstructors' and Shipwrights' Association (SSA) was a trade union representing shipbuilders in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1882 as the Associated Society of Shipwrights, by eleven local unions in Scotland and No ...

, remaining leader of the renamed "Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers, Shipwrights, Blacksmiths and Structural Workers". He also became President of the

Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU), often known as the Confed is a trade union confederation in the United Kingdom. History The confederation was founded in December 1890 as the Federation of Engineering and Shipbuil ...

. In 1965, he retired from all his union posts, joining the Central Training Council. Two years later, on 21 September 1967 he accepted a

life peerage 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 Ac ...

, taking the title Baron Hill of Wivenhoe, of Wivenhoe in the County of Essex, having taken his title from the town of

Wivenhoe Wivenhoe ( ) is a town and civil parish in north-eastern Essex, England, approximately south-east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two ...

, where he lived in a

terraced house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

. He died in hospital in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, aged 70. After Hill's death, Josef Frolik claimed that he had been a

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

informer; Hill's widow strongly denied the claim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Ted 1899 births 1969 deaths Life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Military personnel from London Royal Marines ranks English male wrestlers General Secretaries of the Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People from Wivenhoe Presidents of the Trades Union Congress Royal Marines personnel of World War I British boilermakers