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Cliff Comer

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Clifford Frank Comer (22 April 1896[1] – 22 January 1978) was a British trade unionist.

Born in Weston-super-Mare, Comer began working as a mental health nurse at Wells Hospital. He joined the Mental Hospital and Institutional Workers' Union (MHIWU), and was a branch secretary by the mid-1920s.[2]

In 1932, Comer began working full-time for the union as its first national organiser, based in Manchester. He was transferred to London as Southern Organiser in 1938, replacing Stanley Morgan.[3][2] The MHIWU became part of the Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) in 1946, and Comer was appointed as its first assistant general secretary and Southern National Organiser.[3][4] In 1948, he was elected as general secretary of the union, serving until 1953.[3] He resigned, claiming it was for "purely personal" reasons, although Mick Carpenter claims that he was frustrated by conflicts within the union and its failure to grow as expected.[4]

Comer was a supporter of the Labour Party, which he represented as a member of Somerset County Council.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ 1939 England and Wales Register
  2. ^ a b Walker, Michael. "Cliff Comer General Secretary 1948-1953". COHSE. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d "Obituary: Clifford Comer". Annual Report of the Trades Union Congress: 359. 1979.
  4. ^ a b Carpenter, Mick (1988). Working for Health. Lawrence and Wishart.
Trade union offices
Preceded by General Secretary of the Confederation of Health Service Employees
1948–1953
Succeeded by
Jack Waite