Wilfred Blackwell Beard (18 January 1891 – 14 December 1967) 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 ...

. Born in

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 ...

, Beard worked as a patternmaker and became active in the

United Patternmakers Association The United Patternmakers Association (UPA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The association was founded in 1872 to represent skilled patternmakers in England, following a strike by patternmakers along the River Tyne and River Wea ...

, first as a local organiser, then as secretary of its Lancashire and Cheshire district. In his early life, he was also involved in amateur dramatics.''

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 ...

'', 18 December 1967 In 1912, he became a full-time union official. He was elected as general secretary of the Patternmakers in 1941, serving until his death in 1967, in which role he was known for his interest in trade union education, and his opposition to

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. He also served on the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trade Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

(TUC) from 1947, and was

President of the TUC The President of the Trades Union Congress is a prominent but largely honorary position in British trade unionism. History Initially, the post of president was elected at the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC) itself, and would serve just for the d ...

in 1955/56. In addition, he chaired the TUC's Education Committee for many years, and served on a number of government commissions."Wilfred Beard", ''Fact: a Socialist Digest'', vols.13-15, p.54 He served on the

Iron and Steel Board The Iron and Steel Board was a governmental body, originally established in 1946, to supervise the work and development of the United Kingdom iron and steel industry. It was reestablished in 1953 and was abolished in 1967. Iron and Steel Board 1 ...

in the early 1950s, but resigned in 1953 following pressure from his union. In 1958/59, he was 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 ...

. Beard was made an

OBE 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 1948. However, it is recorded that in 1959 he declined the higher award of a CBE. Beard stood down from the TUC General Council at its 1967 Congress, and died unexpectedly before the end of the year."Wilf Beard", ''Labour: TUC information sheet'' (1967), p.26

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Wilfred 1891 births 1967 deaths General Secretaries of the United Patternmakers' Association Trade unionists from Manchester Presidents of the Trades Union Congress Officers of the Order of the British Empire