John W. Stephenson

Sir John Walker Stephenson CBE (1888 – 15 May 1960) was a British trade unionist.

John W. Stephenson

Born in Northumberland, Stephenson completed an apprenticeship as a plumber and joined the United Operative Plumbers and Domestic Engineers Association of Great Britain and Ireland. He was active in the union for many years before winning election as its general secretary in 1929.^[1]

As general secretary, Stephenson was prominent in the wider trade union movement, serving as the Trade Union Congress' delegate to the American Federation of Labour in 1938, as President of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions from 1939 to 1941, and as President of the National Federation of Building Trade Operatives from 1941 until 1947.^[1]

Alongside his trade union roles, Stephenson was an adviser to the Ministry of Aircraft Production during World War II. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1944 and a knighthood in 1948. In 1949, he stood down from his trade union posts to serve on the Southern Gas Board, then later became chairman of the Eastern Gas Board, retiring in 1959. In 1957, he was Master of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers.^[1]

References

1. "Obituary: John W. Stephenson", Annual Report of the 1960 Trades Union Congress, p.315

Trade union offices
Preceded by Lachlan MacDonald	General Secretary of the Plumbers', Glaziers' and Domestic Engineers' Union 1929 – 1949	Succeeded by Hugh Kelly
Preceded by John C. Little and W. R. Townley	Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour 1938 With: Joseph Jones	Succeeded by Herbert Elvin
Preceded by William Westwood	President of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions 1939 – 1941	Succeeded by Harry N. Harrison