Bernard Goulson obituary

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/feb/14/bernard-goulson-obituary

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My father, Bernard Goulson, who has died aged 82, worked in the aviation industry for more than 40 years and was active as a trade unionist. He began in 1949 with Fairey Aviation at Manchester airport and, after national service, moved in 1955 to Avro, which became Hawker Siddeley, then British Aerospace. He became an aircraft inspector working on Vulcan and Victor bombers, Nimrod and the 748 aircraft.

Son of Benjamin, a clerk, and Marion, a housewife, Bernard was born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, into a large family of nine siblings. At the age of 11 he won a scholarship to attend Manchester Central high school. During his youth, Bernard joined the Woodcraft Folk, where he gained a love of nature and the countryside that stayed with him throughout his life. There, too, the seeds were sown for Bernard’s political leanings, which were philosophically socialist.

At Avro, he was very active within his trade union, the AUEW (Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers), serving as chairman of the works committee, deputy convener, branch chairman and member of the district committee. He believed that everybody had the right to be represented and heard. He was involved in many campaigns, including one that resulted in the introduction of sick pay. He retired in 1991 from a much fairer workplace than the one he had joined.

In retirement, Bernard found immense enjoyment in flying model aircraft and the new friends he made as a consequence, even though 99% of his time was spent on repairing the aeroplanes and only 1% doing the flying.

Bernard had met the love of his life, Barbara Green, in 1952 and they married two years later. The marriage was the rock on which everything else was built – Bernard was a family man above all. He is survived by Barbara, their children, Linda and me, and five grandchildren.