George Woodcock (trade unionist)

This article is about the British trade unionist. For the Canadian writer, see George Woodcock. For the English cricketer, see George Woodcock (cricketer).

The Right Honourable George Woodcock CBE
Woodcock in March 1965
General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress
In office 6 September 1960 – 26 February 1969
Preceded by	Sir Vincent Tewson
Succeeded by	Vic Feather
Assistant General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress
In office 1947–1960
General Secretary	Sir Vincent Tewson
Preceded by	Vincent Tewson
Succeeded by	Vic Feather
Personal details
Born	20 October 1904 (1904-10-20) Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, England
Died	30 October 1979 (1979-10-31) (aged 75) Epsom, Surrey, England
Spouse	Laura Mary McKernan ​ (m. 1933)​
Children	2
Alma mater	Ruskin College
Occupation	Trade unionist

George Woodcock, CBE (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. In 1933 he married Laura McKernan. 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.

External links

• Catalogue of Woodcock's papers, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick