Jack Richard Boddy (23 August 1922 – 9 March 2004) 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 union 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 ...

leader. Born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

to a Quaker family, Boddy was educated at the

City of Norwich School The City of Norwich School, more commonly known as CNS, is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Norwich, England. History In 1910, the Education Committee decided to merge the King Edward VI Middle School in ...

. He hoped to become a

veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/urogenital/ ...

, but his parents could not afford the tuition, so he instead became a cowhand on a local farm. He also became active in the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers (NUAAW), and in 1943 he was promoted to become farm supervisor.Barry Leathwood,
Obituary: Jack Boddy
, ''

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'', 15 March 2004 In 1953, Boddy was appointed as the NUAAW's full-time organiser for

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

. In 1960, he moved to become the Norfolk district organiser, serving until 1978, when he was elected as the union's general secretary, defeating Arthur Leary, Len Pike and Jim Watts in a keenly-fought contest.Jack Boddy
, ''

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'', 24 March 2004 In contrast to his predecessors, he was seen as a left-winger. On taking over, he realised that the union was close to financial collapse. He initially focused on recruiting new members while cutting costs without laying off staff. However, these measures were insufficient, and he negotiated a merger with the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

; although this was highly controversial, it was ultimately approved by members, with a landslide majority. During this period, Boddy was also active in local politics, representing the Labour Party on

Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is the top-tier local government authority for Norfolk, England. Its headquarters are based in the city of Norwich. Below it there are 7 second-tier local government district councils: Breckland District, Broadland Distr ...

. 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 ...

from 1978 until 1983, on the

European Economic and Social Committee The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative body of the European Union (EU) established in 1958. It is an advisory assembly composed of "social partners", namely: employers ( employers' organisations), employees (trade ...

, and on the Industrial Injuries Advisory Committee.Boddy, Jack Richard
, ''

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'' The merger took place in 1982, and Boddy became the Group Secretary of the TGWU's new Agricultural and Allied Workers Trade Group. He retired in 1987, returning to local politics by serving on

Breckland District Council Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a l ...

and

Swaffham Swaffham () is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District and English county of Norfolk. It is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 6,9 ...

Town Council. He served as Mayor of Swaffham in 1991/1992, and only retired from the council in 2003. Disillusioned by the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

, he then resigned from the Labour Party. He died the following year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boddy, Jack 1922 births 2004 deaths Councillors in Norfolk Labour Party (UK) councillors General Secretaries of the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Members of Norfolk County Council People educated at the City of Norwich School Union leaders from Norwich English Quakers