Jim Matthews

James Matthews (1903 or 1904 – 11 March 1969) was a British trade union leader, known for his anti communism. Born in Bristol, Matthews began working in his youth in a tinplate works. At the age of fifteen, he lost his job, and so joined the British Army as a bandboy. He was posted to the Mountain Artillery, and served for twelve years, the last nine as an artilleryman, mostly based on the Northwest Frontier of India. On leaving the army, Matthews found work as an assistant in a mental hospital in England. While working there, he joined the National Union of General and Municipal Workers (NUGMW), and rapidly came to prominent in the union. In 1935, he began working for the union full-time as its Bristol branch secretary, and in 1942 he became a district organiser. In 1944, he became a national industrial officer, with responsibility for the engineering industry, and four years later was relocated to work in London. Matthews was appointed as the union's representative on the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU), and in 1960 served as president of the CSEU. He also became president of the International Federation of Industrial Organisations and General Workers' Unions, chaired the joint industrial council for the chemical industry, and was secretary of the National Council for Civil Air Transport.