Arthur Deakin

The Right Honourable
Arthur Deakin
CH CBE
The Right Honourable Arthur Deakin CH CBE
Born	11 November 1890; Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, England
Died	1 May 1955 (aged 64); Leicester, Leicestershire, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Trade Union official

Arthur Deakin CH CBE PC (11 November 1890 – 1 May 1955) was a prominent British trade unionist who was acting general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union from 1940 and then general secretary from 1945 to 1955.

Background

Arthur Deakin was born at Holland Street, Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, on 11 November 1890, the son of a domestic servant, Annie Deakin. His birth certificate did not record the name of his father. At the age of ten he moved with his mother and stepfather to Dowlais in South Wales.^[1]

Career

Deakin began his working life at the age of 13 at the Dowlais Ironworks.^[2] https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/32761

In 1910, Deakin moved to Shotton in North Wales and took a job with another steel firm as a roll turner.^[3] He became an active trade unionist during the First World War and a full-time official in 1919.^[2]

In 1932, Deakin became national secretary of the General Workers National Trade Group within the TGWU. In 1935, he became assistant general secretary.

In 1940, Deaken effectively took over the position of general secretary, following the appointment of Ernest Bevin as a cabinet minister. Deakin's period as general secretary was marked by a consolidation of the powers of executive, occasional serious outbreaks of unofficial strike action among union members and a fierce anti-communist line.

During the 1950s he aligned with the right-wing Gaitskellite wing of the Labour Party, and favored expelling the leader of the left-wing faction Aneurin Bevan from the party. Although Bevan remained in the party, Deakin's union's endorsement was crucial for Hugh Gaitskell's victory over him in the 1955 Labour Party leadership election.^[4]

Death

Deakin was due to retire in November 1955 but on 1 May 1955 Deakin was addressing a Labour Day rally at the Corn Exchange in Leicester when he collapsed, he was dead on arrival at hospital.^[5] He was succeeded as general secretary by Jock Tiffin.

References

^ "Deakin, Arthur (1890–1955), trade unionist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32761. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ ^a ^b "Mr. Arthur Deakin." Times [London, England] 2 May 1955: 17. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 6 July 2013.
^ "Deakin, Arthur (1890–1955), trade unionist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32761. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ Thorpe, Andrew (1997). A History of the British Labour Party. London: Macmillan Education UK. pp. 139–142. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-25305-0. ISBN 978-0-333-56081-5.
^ "Mr. A. Deakin Dead." Times [London, England] 2 May 1955: 12. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 6 July 2013.

External links

Newspaper clippings about Arthur Deakin in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

Trade union offices
Preceded by William Devenay	Secretary of the General Workers' Group of the Transport and General Workers' Union 1932–1945	Succeeded by T. H. Hodgson
Preceded by John Cliff	Assistant General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union 1935-1945	Succeeded by Harold Clay
Preceded by Ernest Bevin	General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union 1945–1955 (acting 1940–1945)	Succeeded by Jock Tiffin
Preceded by Walter Citrine	President of the World Federation of Trade Unions 1946–1948	Succeeded by Giuseppe Di Vittorio
Preceded by Tom O'Brien and Sam Watson	Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour 1947 With: Robert Openshaw	Succeeded by Herbert Bullock and William Harold Hutchinson
Preceded by Alfred Roberts	President of the Trades Union Congress 1952	Succeeded by Tom O'Brien
Preceded by Robert Bratschi	President of the International Transport Workers' Federation 1954–1955	Succeeded by Hans Jahn

[1] "Deakin, Arthur (1890–1955), trade unionist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32761. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[obit-2] "Mr. Arthur Deakin." Times [London, England] 2 May 1955: 17. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 6 July 2013.

[3] "Deakin, Arthur (1890–1955), trade unionist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32761. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[4] Thorpe, Andrew (1997). A History of the British Labour Party. London: Macmillan Education UK. pp. 139–142. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-25305-0. ISBN 978-0-333-56081-5.

[times-5] "Mr. A. Deakin Dead." Times [London, England] 2 May 1955: 12. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 6 July 2013.

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v t e Transport and General Workers' Union
General Secretaries	1922: Ernest Bevin 1940: Arthur Deakin 1955: Jock Tiffin 1955: Frank Cousins 1969: Jack Jones 1978: Moss Evans 1985: Ron Todd 1992: Bill Morris 2004: Tony Woodley
Deputy General Secretaries	1974: Harry Urwin 1980: Alec Kitson 1986: Bill Morris 1992: Jack Adams 1999: Margaret Prosser 2002: Tony Woodley 2003: Jack Dromey
Assistant General Secretaries	1924: John Cliff 1935: Arthur Deakin 1940: Harold Clay 1948: Jock Tiffin 1955: Frank Cousins 1956: Harry Nicholas 1968: Harry Urwin 1974: Vacant 1985: Eddie Haigh and Larry Smith 1988: Eddie Haigh 1991: Vacant 1999: Barry Camfield and Jimmy Elsby 2000: Barry Camfield and Ray Collins
Chairs	1922: Harry Gosling 1930: Herbert Kershaw 1934: Harry Edwards 1948: Edgar Fryer 1960: Len Forden 1976: Stan Pemberton 1982: Walter Greendale 1986: Brian Nicholson 1988: Daniel Duffy 1996: Andy Smith 2002: Peter Landles 2004: Jimmy Kelly
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