Ernest Geoffrey Beynon (4 October 1926 – 21 October 2012) was a British

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. Born in

Sheerness Sheerness () is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

,Meryl Thompson,
Geoff Beynon obituary
, ''

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 ...

'', 17 December 2012 Beynon attended Borden Grammar School, then the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, from which he received a degree in mathematics. After completing

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

with the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, he returned to Bristol where he qualified as a teacher. He worked at Thornbury Grammar School and then St George Grammar School (near St George's Park) in Bristol. He joined the Assistant Masters' Association (AMA), and from 1964 worked as its full-time Assistant Secretary. In 1978, the AMA merged with the Association of Assistant Mistresses to form the Assistant Masters and Mistresses Association, and Beynon became its joint general secretary the following year.Beynon, Ernest Geoffrey
, ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

'' As joint leader of the union, Beynon championed the introduction of a "conscience clause", meaning that even if the union voted to take

industrial action Industrial action (British English) or job action (American English) is a temporary show of dissatisfaction by employees—especially a strike or slowdown or working to rule—to protest against bad working conditions or low pay and to increas ...

, individual members could decide not to take part. In 1986, he signed the Teachers' Pay and Conditions Bill, which removed union negotiating rights and introduced performance-related pay, something he described as one of his "most difficult decisions". He represented the union on the Burnham Committee for many years, and was its chair from 1985 until it was abolished in 1987. During his time as joint general secretary, membership of the union increased from 80,000 to 120,000, principally through efforts being made for the first time to recruit primary school teachers. Beynon retired in 1987, thereafter serving on a number of committees, including the executive of the

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second Garden city movement, garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first New towns in the United Kingdom, new towns (designated 1948). It is ...

Society.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beynon, Geoff 1926 births 2012 deaths 20th-century British Army personnel Alumni of the University of Bristol General secretaries of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers People educated at Borden Grammar School People from Sheerness Royal Artillery personnel Military personnel from Kent Schoolteachers from Kent