compete with the major broadsheet supplements, and all on a shoestring budget. Cliff, who died from cancer and Covid in


Cliff Cocker


Cliff Cocker was already in his seventh decade when he became the Morning Star’s culture and books editor in 2010. Over the next 11 years, he would reshape the paper’s arts coverage to


August, had worked as an editor on the English language Soviet Weekly in the 1980s and returned to journalism as a sub on the Star in 2009. An active member of the NUJ, he was political education officer for the Star chapel in his later years and would end diatribes about stalled pay negotiations with the verbal sign-off ‘Disappointed, of Dollis Hill’. His first and enduring love was the theatre. Born to Communist parents in Liverpool in 1949, Cliff took the starring role in school productions at Alsop High. He spotted the talents of a younger boy, Alexei Sayle, and would invite him to perform at impromptu shows in the sixth form common room. The pair formed an enduring friendship. Some years after leaving school, Cliff invited Sayle to join his Threepenny Theatre company, which put on Brechtian cabaret in trade union halls and community centres across Britain. Delivering a funeral tribute, Sayle said he owed his successful comedy career to Cliff. Cliff and his wife Mary Adossides later directed,


performed and taught drama in 1970s Paris and 1980s Addis Ababa, where he worked closely with ANC activists exiled from South Africa. After his


Mitzi Bales


With the passing of Mitzi Bales, who died in May at the age of 93, book branch has lost its most remarkable and best-loved activist. Mitzi was one of five sisters born and raised in Wheeling, West Virginia, during the Great Depression. Their parents kept a store and, even though money was tight, tried to help their impoverished local community. Mitzi’s strong sense of solidarity against social injustice stemmed from these early experiences. After majoring in journalism at West Virginia


University, Mitzi went to Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labour Relations. Thereafter, her career combined journalistic work and trade unions in one way or another. After spells in Tokyo and Brussels, Mitzi


moved to Washington, DC, to work for the Washington Post, then to New York City. Finally, she moved to London to work for a union as newsletter editor and, although she continued to travel for interest, London was her home for


22 | theJournalist


the rest of her life. Mitzi joined the NUJ in 1968 and, having found her way into book publishing, where unionisation was developing rapidly, became a founder member of the book branch in 1973. She remained an essential part of the branch’s infrastructure for the rest of her life, occupying most branch offices at one time or another – except treasurer, for which she declared herself dangerously unqualified. From her time starting a chapel at Aldus Books to her last staff job at HarperCollins, she was a mainstay of grassroots union organisation. When she eventually went freelance and much of her union activity moved to branch level, her sociable and empathetic personality made her brilliant at chapel liaison work. The 1970s and 1980s saw many fierce battles for trade union rights. Mitzi was always up for solidarity work and picket line attendance, putting in early-morning stints on the suburban Grunwick picket line or visiting in her lunch hour if the dispute was in central London. One of the hardest-fought struggles in the


NUJ’s books sector was the series of three strikes between 1979 and 1992 in defence of trade union recognition at Robert Maxwell’s Pergamon Press in Oxford – the first two being the only strikes ever won against this notorious bully. Mitzi was steadfast in her support, often turning up unexpectedly just when the NUJ strikers were most in need of sustenance and encouragement. Mitzi was also active in the wider union. She


spell at Soviet Weekly ended with the abrupt dissolution of the USSR, Cliff returned once again to teaching. He developed a pioneering drama course at the College of North West London, which spawned a number of alumni who went on to successful acting careers. At the Morning Star, Cliff would regale


younger colleagues with story upon story of political struggles and gargantuan boozing sessions. Though not averse to grumpiness and even shouting matches, more often he could be heard declaiming Shakespeare’s soliloquies as he entered or exited the building. Continually lobbying to expand the


paper’s culture pages, he developed dozens of new writers into astute reviewers, while publishing contributions from established writers as varied as Attila the Stockbroker and Jonathan Meades. Cliff had explored travelling to Cuba for pioneering cancer treatment, but died before he could realise his hope to ‘support the revolution and all that’. He is survived by Mary, daughters Jane and Lizzie, and grandchildren Millie, Orla and Arin – and the many, many artists and writers he encouraged and inspired.


Conrad Landin


served for many years on the appeals tribunal, where she is remembered as diligent, committed and always seeking to be fair to all parties. She was also an elected trustee of NUJ Extra from 2014 to 2020 and was valued there as compassionate but level-headed in casework, as well as an enthusiastic informal fundraiser. In 1999, Mitzi became a member of honour of the NUJ. She had contributed richly in her 30 years of membership, but still had 20 years of service to give. Outside her NUJ work, Mitzi had a rich political and cultural life. A life-long socialist and internationalist, she was an active supporter of Musicians for Peace and Disarmament, helping to promote their concerts. She loved travel, art and design, and read


voraciously. She liked beautiful things but felt no need to own them long term – her distinguished collection of studio pottery was eventually presented to the Paisley Museum. Perhaps Mitzi’s most outstanding feature was her gift for friendship. People were immediately drawn to her liveliness, warmth and interest in them and, once in her circle, usually remained in touch with her. She is much missed and will be remembered with love by her family in the US, her NUJ colleagues and her myriad friends in the UK and across the world.


Annie Pike


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