Some readers may have heard of him, though most will not. So, I gave a talk about this remarkable famous long-time resident of Wembley Park (from 1935 to 1973 at 63 Kingsway) to the Wembley History Society at St Andrew's Church on Church Lane (marvellous but bitter cold).
Famous for what? He was the leader of the Trades Union Congress from 1926 to 1946, but he was much more than a run-of-mill union leader. He built up the authority and influence of the TUC with the unions, the government and the business community following the debacle of the General Strike of 1926, and together with another great union leader, Ernest Bevin, used it to great effect. He became the one Prime Ministers turned to when they wished to know what ordinary people thought of the big issues - the Abdication crisis 1936-7; the Nazi threat and rearmament; the war effort and especially the bombing of London. Four PMs - especially Winston Churchill, sought his advice. He was knighted in 1935, became a Privy Councillor in 1940 and chose the title Lord Citrine of Wembley in the County of Middlesex in 1946.
He retired from the TUC then, aged 59, but changed careers to become a leading figure in the new nationalised industries and he became Chair of the National Electricity Council (he had been an electrician - left school at 12). He travelled the world in various capacities with his wife, Doris (who died in 1973, after which he went to live in Devon). A truly remarkable man, he lived to be 95. He should be better known locally, but longevity sometimes dims the memory of remarkable people.
Cllr Jim Moher
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