United_Digital1_8:Activist issue 7 12/06/2009 13:25 Page 31
united digital obituary
31
A great man in total
JAMES LARKIN ‘JACK’ JONES: March 29, 1913 to April 21, 2009
Jack Jones, former general secretary of the Transport and General Workers
Union from 1969 to 1978 has died, aged 96
The story of Jack Jones, born in Liverpool, is national executive and in 1964 was appointed the lives of fellow workers.
truly remarkable. Leaving school at 14 to work deputy to Harry Nicholas, the acting general
as an engineering apprentice at five shillings a secretary. When Frank Cousins retired in 1969 He organised the national pensioners’
week (25p) he quickly followed his father into Jack was elected his successor – precisely as movement of which he became president,
the docks. That is where he cut his political Cousins had planned. leading the organisation until he was 90
teeth and joined the TGWU in 1927. years old.
From that moment Jack’s influence
He became a TGWU docks shop steward and developed and he soon became the most Jack Jones remained a man of steely socialist
by 1930, was a member of the TGWU docks’ prominent leader on the TUC general principles, immovable honesty and integrity,
branch committee. In 1934 he helped organise council. When Harold Wilson returned to sustained a vision about what could be
a Merseyside contingent for one of the hunger office in 1974 Jack persuaded the achieved through committed trade unionism
marches on London. government to create new bodies including allied to socialist principles and a simple
ACAS and the health and safety executive. ambition for improving the human condition.
In 1936 he was elected a Labour city He was a great trade union leader; more so,
councillor in Liverpool and remained one until By the time of his retirement in 1978 Jack he was a great man in total.
1939 even though he volunteered to fight in Jones was a household name. But he wanted
Spain for the International Brigade and by none of the many titles he was offered. He • Taken from Geoffrey Goodman’s
1937 was fighting against Franco’s fascists. chose to spend his retirement years as he appreciation. To read the full document
had spent all his life – helping to improve please click here
Toward the end of 1938 he was badly
wounded (in the shoulder) while fighting on
the Ebro front – a critical Spanish Civil War
battle in which many of Jack’s closest friends
and comrades were killed.
At the outbreak of World War Two Jack was
appointed TGWU Coventry district organiser
– an appointment, personally approved by
Bevin. And it was in that job during war time
that Jack established himself as a union official
of exceptional ability.
By the end of the war Jack had established a
strong trade union base in Coventry as well as
being instrumental in boosting war production
in the factories. He had also laid the
foundations of what became a powerful shop
stewards’ movement in the Midlands car and
engineering industries.
Yet, despite all this Jack was blocked from
promotion within the union because of his
radical politics and his commitment to shop
steward-led shop floor democracy. The then
TGWU general secretary, Arthur Deakin,
believed him to be an under-cover
Communist.
But this was dramatically transformed when
Frank Cousins became general secretary in
1956. Jack was elected to the Labour Party’s
Jack Jones
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