John Cliff
John Cliff DL | |
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Deputy Chairman, London Transport Executive | |
In office 1948–1955 | |
Assistant General Secretary, Transport and General Workers' Union | |
In office 1924–1935 | |
Personal details | |
Born | (1883-03-07)7 March 1883 Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
Died | 18 October 1977(1977-10-18) (aged 94) Eastbourne, Sussex, England |
Occupation | Tram conductor and motorman, trade unionist |
John Cliff DL (7 March 1883 – 18 October 1977) was the first Assistant General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union and later a prominent London Transport board member.
Cliff was born in Leeds in 1883, the son of John Cliff and his wife Mary. He joined Leeds Corporation Transport Department on 18 July 1900 as a tram conductor and later became a tram motorman. He married Sarah Ann Scott, who was 19 years his senior, in 1906.
He joined the Amalgamated Association of Tramway and Vehicle Workers and later became the Leeds branch chairman and a member of the National Executive Council. When the National Joint Industrial Council for the Tramways Industry was established in 1919 he became Joint Secretary.
In 1922, the United Vehicle Workers, created in 1919 by amalgamation of the ATVW and the London and Provincial Union of Licensed Vehicle Workers, was one of the unions which merged to form the TGWU. Cliff was appointed National Secretary of the new union's Passenger Services' National Trade Group, overseeing members in the public transport sector throughout the country. In 1924, he became the first Assistant General Secretary of the TGWU, acting as deputy to General Secretary Ernest Bevin.
Cliff was appointed to the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee in 1924 and remained a member until July 1933, when he became a part-time member of the newly created London Passenger Transport Board. In 1935 he resigned from the TGWU to become a full-time member of the LPTB, with special responsibility for staff, welfare and medical services. In 1948, he became Deputy Chairman of the successor London Transport Executive, a post which he held until his retirement in 1955.
Cliff was also a member of London County Council for many years, being elected alderman in 1937 and Chairman in 1946. He was a Deputy Lieutenant of Middlesex from 1949. He was also a founder member of the British Institute of Management.
Cliff drove the last London tram into New Cross Depot in July 1952. He died at Eastbourne in 1977.
References
- Obituary, The Times
Trade union offices | ||
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Preceded by New position | National Secretary of the Passengers Services Group of the Transport and General Workers' Union 1922–1925 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by New position | Assistant General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union 1924–1935 | Succeeded by |
Civic offices | ||
Preceded by Charles Robertson | Chairman of the London County Council 1946–1947 | Succeeded by |
- v
- t
- e
- 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
- 1974: Harry Urwin
- 1980: Alec Kitson
- 1986: Bill Morris
- 1992: Jack Adams
- 1999: Margaret Prosser
- 2002: Tony Woodley
- 2003: Jack Dromey
- 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
- 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
- Amalgamated Society of Watermen, Lightermen and Bargemen
- Amalgamated Carters, Lurrymen and Motormen's Union
- Amalgamated Association of Carters and Motormen
- Associated Horsemen's Union
- Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union
- Labour Protection League
- National Amalgamated Labourers' Union
- National Union of Docks, Wharves and Shipping Staffs
- National Union of Ships' Clerks, Grain Weighers and Coalmeters
- National Union of Vehicle Workers
- National Amalgamated Coal Workers' Union
- North of England Trimmers' and Teemers Association
- North of Scotland Horse and Motormen's Association
- United Vehicle Workers