Thomas William Kerry (3 June 1883 – 13 October 1967) 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 ...

, who served as chair of the

National Union of General and Municipal Workers The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 460,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National Health Service (N ...

(NUGMW). Kerry was born in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

on 2 June 1883. first began union activity when he was living in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

, becoming the full-time local secretary for the

National Union of General Workers The National Union of General Workers is the name of: * National Union of General Workers (Sohyo), a former trade union in Japan * National Union of General Workers (Zenrokyo) The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) is the shortened, Engl ...

. In 1923, he moved to

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

to become a district organiser for the union, working under district secretary R. H. Farrah, and he continued in this post when the union became part of the NUGMW. In 1926, Kerry was elected to

Hull City Council (Kingston upon) Hull City Council is the governing body for the unitary authority and city of Kingston upon Hull. It was created in 1972 as the successor to the Corporation of (Kingston upon) Hull, which was also known as Hull Corporation and fou ...

, representing the Labour Party in the West Central ward. He served as secretary of the Labour group on the council for much of the 1930s, and around the middle of the decade was appointed 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 ...

. Through his position on the council, he served on numerous committees; he also served on the Joint Industrial Committee for the gas, flour milling, and water industries through his trade union work. Farrah died in 1932, and Kerry replaced him as district secretary. In 1937, his district was enlarged to cover much of the Midlands, and in order to effectively administer it, he relocated to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. For the following year, he commuted back to Hull to attend council meetings, but he then stood down and focused on his union work. In 1946, Kerry was elected as the chair of the NUGMW. He retired a few years later, and died in

on 13 October 1967, at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerry, Thomas William 1883 births 1967 deaths Councillors in the East Riding of Yorkshire Labour Party (UK) councillors People from Lincoln, England Presidents of the GMB (trade union)