An influential figure
DURING the 1960s the National Union of Leather Workers and Allied Trades was a force to be considered in the leather industry in Walsall.
As a young man I was obliged to join the union at the age of 16. The dues were collected every two weeks by the elected shop steward. In the Saddle Shop the prices of the various saddles which were produced had to be negotiated by the union and employers in a fair manner.
The Saddle Shop at Cliffs in the 1950s and ’60s was a closed shop, which meant one had to be a member of the union. Also only men who had served articles of indenture of apprenticeship were entitled to work as a fully qualified saddle maker. This was the custom over a long period of time.
For many years the local secretary of the Walsall branch of the union was Mr John Leese, who lived in West Bromwich Road, Walsall, and he visited most of the leather factories on foot to negotiate on behalf of the members.
Mr Leese was a small, stocky gentleman who always wore a grey trilby hat, which was typical at the time. The union represented the views of the ordinary working men and women in a positive and creative way.
I noticed at the Walsall Leather Museum in a booklet hanging up in the Saddle Shop, that John Leese’s name was mentioned as a negotiator, dated 1944. He was influential for a long time.
Michael Doyle, 26 Bernard Street, Walsall, WS1 2LE