Sir Edward Louis Britton

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(4 December 1909 – 3 January 2005) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leader. Britton studied at Bromley Grammar School and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he edited the ''Cambridge Review''. On graduating, he was unemployed for six months. He found work as a teacher, and immediately joined the

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...

(NUT). He was exempted from military service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

due to his

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

.Sir Edward Britton
, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 7 January 2005 In 1951, he became head of

Warlingham School Warlingham School is a large secondary school with pupils aged 11–16, and also has a sixth form for 16- to 18-year-olds. The school is located in the village of Warlingham, in Surrey, England. It is one of three secondary schools in the distri ...

in Surrey,Tyrrell Burgess,
Obituary: Sir Edward Britton
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 7 January 2005 then in 1956 became national president of the NUT. In 1960 Britton was recruited as General Secretary of the Association of Teachers in Technical Institutions, during which time he worked with

Reg Prentice Reginald Ernest Prentice, Baron Prentice, PC (16 July 1923 – 18 January 2001) was a British politician who held ministerial office in both Labour and Conservative Party governments. He was the most senior Labour figure ever to defect to th ...

to challenge the outcome of the

Robbins Committee The Robbins Report (the report of the Committee on Higher Education, chaired by Lionel Robbins) was commissioned by the British government and published in 1963. The committee met from 1961 to 1963. After the report's publication, its conclusions w ...

, and successfully lobbied for the opening of polytechnics. He resigned his post in 1969, in order to become General Secretary of the NUT, which he immediately convinced to affiliate to the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

. In 1974, he won a 30% pay increase for teachers. He retired in 1975, becoming a lecturer at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

, and also worked at Canterbury Christ Church College and served on

Acas The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is a non-departmental public body of the Her Majesty's Government, Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and fa ...

' central committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Edward 1909 births 2005 deaths Academics of the University of Sheffield Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Comprehensive education General secretaries of the National Union of Teachers Knights Bachelor Presidents of the National Union of Teachers Schoolteachers from Surrey