Obituary
John Kelly-Chandler
WORKERS, NOV 2007 ISSUE
It is with great sadness and loss that the death of Comrade John Edward Kelly-Chandler is announced. John had been suffering from terminal lung cancer during the last 12 months and though stoically bearing through the treatment and ravages of the illness, he succumbed while on holiday in Ravello, Italy, on 9 October 2007.
John, who had been a Party member for nearly 20 years, was a larger than life character both physically and in generosity of human spirit, whose working life had spanned numerous occupations. From flour milling to merchant marine, from baker to selling cosmetics, from shoe salesman to the Electricity Generating Board, John had been there and done it.
His employment with the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) saw his involvement with the white-collar union Nalgo, later Unison. From being a shop steward at West Ham Power Station he rose to become Branch Secretary, then a member of the National Electricity Committee and finally Nalgo"s National Executive Council – the picture above shows him in action at a meeting. In 1991 he became a member of the union"s staff, a position he held as Regional Organiser in Greater London until his death.
John maintained a loyalty and discipline to his union and members, ranging from fighting for a remote working allowance covering the then power stations on the Thames in the 1970s, to leading solidarity work in the CEGB during the 1984–85 Miners" Strike, through all the convulsions of trying to resist the privatisation of the electricity supply industry under Thatcher and Parkinson. In recent years he worked predominantly with Unison health branches in southeast London and built a stewards" network which has consistently produced new leaders and activists in and for the union. Grudgingly respected and feared by the employers as "that bearded grumpy bastard from Region", he was known as a negotiator who delivered and seen as a friend and mentor by members and stewards alike.
Born in Hastings, adopted by Hartlepool becoming a staunch and dedicated Hartlepool United fan, lifelong resident of London, latterly Charlton, buried in his beloved Ravello, our condolences reach out to his wife Jean and family.