Anne Godwin

Dame Anne Godwin (1897–1992) was a British trade unionist.

Born in 1897 in Farncombe, Surrey as Beatrice Anne Godwin, the daughter of a draper, she attended the British School, Bridge Road, Godalming, until age 16, when she left school to start working as a counting house clerk in the West End of London.

In 1916 she moved to the Army Pay Office as a civilian clerk. Her pay was 16s per week.Some of the women working at the office organised to unsuccessfully request a higher salary from the Army Paymaster.^[1] Moving to an engineering office in 1920, she joined the Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries (AWCS). By 1928 she was a union organiser; at that time most temporary women civil servants were AWCS members until they were made permanent in 1930 and were required to join the National Association of Women Civil Servants (NAWCS). The two unions united as the Clerical and Administrative Workers Union in 1940.^[1] Following the amalgamation, one of Godwin's responsibilities as Assistant General Secretary was to edit the union's journal, The Clerk.^[1]

Godwin was the fourth woman to head a major British union -- the TUC (1961-62) -- following Margaret Bondfield, Anne Loughlin and Florence Hancock. Between 1966-70, Godwin served as a member of the Public Schools Commission, which was set up to consider the future of Britain's independent schools.

Honours

In 1962 Godwin was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Later years

Dame Anne Godwin was the guest speaker at the 1980 Conference when the union celebrated its 90th anniversary. She recalled the period when she and Helene Walker, working together as General Secretary and President, led the union through a period of growth and consolidation.^[1]

Death

Dame Anne Godwin died in 1992, aged 94.

References

External links

• Oxford Biography Index (subscription required)