Richard B. Seabrook (1910 – 31 January 1986) 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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

and politician.

Early life

Seabrook grew up in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Lond ...

, and worked repairing shoes for the

Chelmsford Star Co-operative Society The Chelmsford Star Co-operative Society is an independent consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. Registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, the Society is a member of Co-operatives UK, the Co-operative ...

. He joined the

National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers The National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers (NUDAW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1921, when the Amalgamated Union of Co-operative Employees merged with the National Union of Warehouse and Ge ...

(NUDAW) in 1926, and in 1931 he also joined the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

(CPGB). He was highly active in the party and the associated

National Unemployed Workers' Movement The National Unemployed Workers' Movement was a British organisation set up in 1921 by members of the Communist Party of Great Britain. It aimed to draw attention to the plight of unemployed workers during the post First World War slump, the 1926 ...

. With his brother, Alfred, in 1932, he led five hundred unemployed workers invading the Shire Hall chamber. Also with Alfred, he revived Chelmsford

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

in 1932, it having been dormant for several years. In 1937, Seabrook began working full-time for NUDAW as an area organiser. Ten years later, NUDAW became part of the new

Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) is a trade union in the United Kingdom, consisting of around 360,000 members. Usdaw members work in a variety of occupations and industries including: shopworkers, factory and warehouse wo ...

(USDAW). Seabrook remained an area organiser, but was relocated to

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

. He remained active in the CPGB, serving as district chairman and treasurer during the early 1950s. Seabrook was elected to the executive council of USDAW in 1957. When union president Walter Padley was made a government minister in 1964, Seabrook won the election to succeed him, but he then lost the regularly scheduled election the following year, defeated by Rodney Hanes. In 1967, there was a further presidential election, and Seabrook won the position back, on this occasion serving until defeated by Jim D. Hughes in 1973. Seabrook opposed the

Soviet invasion of Hungary The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

in 1956, and resigned from the CPGB, later becoming associated with the Chartist group. Despite not being a member of

Norwich City Council Norwich City Council is the city council for the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. It consists of 39 councillors, elected to represent 13 ward (politics), wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under Labour Party (UK), Labour con ...

, in 1972/73 he served as

Lord Mayor of Norwich This is a list of mayors and the later lord mayors of the city of Norwich. Norwich had elected a mayor since 1403 when a Charter of Henry IV allowed the Freemen of the City to elect Councillors, Aldermen, Sheriffs and a Mayor serving for one ...

, the last non-council member to hold the post. He was described by Patrick Palgrave-Moore as "one of the most controversial figures in recent times to hold office".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seabrook, Dick 1910 births 1986 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members Mayors of Norwich People from Chelmsford Presidents of British trade unions