Preceded by Sir Vincent Tewson Name George Woodcock Role Trade unionist | Preceded by Vincent Tewson Education Ruskin College Alma mater Ruskin College Succeeded by Vic Feather | |
Born 20 October 1904
Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, England ( 1904-10-20 ) Relations married Laura McKernan. Laura had a brother Francis. They were brought up by Francis McKernan and his wife Louisa Conway nee Ratcliffe who was previous married to Martin Conway.(He died). The son Francis married Nellie Roberts and they represented the North West in the Come Dancing Competition on the TV in the '60s and '70s. Children Velja who lived in Mexico City Died October 1979, Epsom, United Kingdom Books Medical Research Council | ||
General Secretary Sir Vincent Tewson | ||
George Woodcock, (20 October 1904 – 30 October 1979) was a British trade unionist and general secretary of the Trades Union Congress from 1960 to 1969.
Born and brought up in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, he started work at age 12 in the local cotton mill. He became, in 1924, an official of the Bamber Bridge and District Weavers' Union. He was also active in the Independent Labour Party and the Labour Party. In 1929 he won a TUC scholarship to Ruskin College, Oxford, in 1929. Having distinguished himself at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and following two years in the civil service, Woodcock joined the TUC in 1936 as head of the research and economic department. Here, Woodcock was much influenced by leading moderates in the trade union movement, such as Walter Citrine and Ernest Bevin, and also by the economic ideas of John Maynard Keynes.
In 1947 he became the TUC's Assistant General Secretary and in 1960, was appointed General Secretary, serving in that position until 1969. In 1970 Woodcock was a candidate for the Chancellorship of the University of Kent at Canterbury, but lost to Jo Grimond.