Overview

'This fascinating biography sets the record straight on a giant of the Labour movement... and contains many lessons for us today.' - Frances O' Grady, TUC General Secretary 'Like many trade unionists, Walter Citrine was crucial to my education. A major political figure of the 20th century, Citrine deserves the great biography that Jim Moher has given him.' - Alan Johnson, former Home Secretary and union leader The forgotten story of a Liverpool lad who rose from the squalor of Edwardian Merseyside's bustling docks to become the confidant of Churchill and Roosevelt as leader of Britain's trade unions during the Second World War. Walter Citrine's life spanned the late-nineteenth and most of the twentieth centuries. During his leadership of the Trades Union Congress, the unions progressed from impotent grandstanding to effective lobbying, influencing governments and employers to transform deplorable working conditions and elevate the worker's place in society. Through Citrine's life, readers will revisit the key historical episodes in which his work was so influential - the General Strike of 1926, the 'Great Depression' of 1928-34, the rise of Hitler and Fascism, the challenge of Stalin and Communism, the Second World War and the reconstruction afterwards. At a time when trade unions are once again being consulted by governments on their plans to revive the economy, never has Citrine's story been so relevant.

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9780955710728

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Reviews

'This fascinating biography sets the record straight on a giant of the Labour movement who helped create the modern TUC. It is a wonderful personal story and contains many lessons for us today, not least the need for unity, hard work and organisation.' - Frances O' Grady, TUC General Secretary 'Like many trade unionists, Walter Citrine was crucial to my education. A major political figure of the 20th century, Citrine deserves the great biography that Jim Moher has given him.' -Alan Johnson, former Home Secretary and union leader 'A lively account and sparkling analysis of the life of an underappreciated great trade union man of the 20th century. At last, Citrine has the biography he deserves.' - Lord John Monks, former General Secretary of the TUC 'An important and much needed book. Walter Citrine was the most influential trade unionist in Britain between the wars. He made the TUC into a powerful industrial and political force. Churchill admired him, Roosevelt was grateful for his help and trade unionists honoured his leadership. A fascinating biography.' - John Edmonds, former General Secretary of the GMB union and President of the TUC 'The Forgotten Statesman is an important, long overdue study of a key but neglected figure in 20th century British history. [Moher's] biography is rich with new insights into the mainstream moderate labour movement.' - Professor Peter Ackers, Emeritus Professor in the History of Industrial Relations, Loughborough University 'Highly readable and expert... An excellent work that does complete justice to a great trade unionist.' - Dr John Lloyd, author of Light and Liberty 'Jim Moher's lively biography places Citrine at the heart of many of the major political debates concerning the class struggle, Labour's socialism and Anglo-Soviet relations. It is a valuable source of information that greatly furthers our understanding of one of the most important trade unionists of the twentieth century.' -Jonathan Davis, Associate Professor in Modern European History, Anglia Ruskin University

Author Information

Dr Jim Moher was a national union official (T&GWU and CWU) for much of his career. While still working full-time, in 1989 he presented an original thesis on the history of the early engineering and millwrights' trade combinations, for which he received a London University Ph D. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Contemporary British History at Kings College, London since 2008. He was also a founder member of the History & Policy Trade Union Forum, which examines the history of industrial relations and employment to inform current policy development. Jim was, until recently, chair of the Wembley History Society and he lectures frequently on Citrine's Wembley, Harrow and Liverpool connections. With this first complete biography of Walter Citrine, Jim aims to recover the remarkable achievements and public service contributions of an important British and international union and Labour movement figure.

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