Edward Tupper (12 April 1872 – 22 October 1942) was a British trade unionist active in the

National Sailors' and Firemen's Union The National Union of Seamen (NUS) was the principal trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990. In 1990, the union amalgamated with the National Union of Railwaymen to form the National Union of Rail, ...

, who was particularly prominent in the 1911 strike in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. Born in

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and H ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an a ...

, Tupper joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

in 1888, but was soon discharged on medical grounds. He joined the

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, and in 1903 was asked to be a Liberal-Labour candidate in

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

at the

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, but turned this down. In 1910, Tupper met

Havelock Wilson Joseph Havelock Wilson (16 August 1859 – 16 April 1929), commonly known as Havelock Wilson or J. Havelock Wilson, was a British trade union leader, Liberal Party politician, and campaigner for the rights of merchant seamen. Early life He w ...

, leader of the

(NSFU). Impressed by Tupper's skills, Wilson employed him as a

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

, and then in various union roles. Tupper was prominent in organising the 1911 seamen's strike."Captain Edward Tupper", ''Annual Report of the 1943 Trades Union Congress'', p.149 By this time, he had invented a colourful history for himself. In a newspaper article, Tupper claimed to have been born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

. However this and a number of other claims — that he had been a captain, that he was awarded the VC and that he had trained for the priesthood in a monastery – have not been substantiated and do not appear in his autobiography. Numerous travel logs for Tupper list his place of birth as England, and there is no record of his birth in Ontario.''Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913'' Tupper attended the

Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates The Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates was established on 3 June 1917 at the Leeds Convention held in Leeds, England. The founding conference was attended by 1,150 delegates. It was inspired by the events of the Russian February Revolut ...

held on 3 June 1917 in

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

. Tupper served as National Organiser of the union for many years, until his retirement in 1936.

References

1872 births 1942 deaths British trade unionists 20th-century British people {{Wales-bio-stub