Frederick Frank JarvisCBE (8 September 1924 – 15 June 2020) was a Britishtrade union leader. He wasPresident of theNational Union of Students (NUS) from 1952 to 1954[1] andGeneral Secretary of theNational Union of Teachers (NUT) from 1975 to 1989.[2] Jarvis served asPresident of the Trades Union Congress in 1987,[3] the firstOxfordgraduate to hold that position.[4]
Jarvis was born inWest Ham, at that time inEssex but now part of theLondon Borough of Newham, into aworking class family.[5] He retained hisCockney accent as an adult.[6] As a child, he attendedPlaistow Secondary School[7][8] in what was then theCounty Borough of West Ham in Essex. His father worked in a flour mill.[5] His mother believed in the importance of education for her sons.[5] At the start ofWorld War II, the family moved toWallasey where he attendedWallasey Grammar School and joined the Progressive Youth Movement.[5][6]
Later in the war, he joined the Army, taking part in theNormandy landings.[6]
In 1947, he attendedUniversity of Liverpool for a Diploma in Social Sciences, and went on to obtain aBA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics atSt Catherine's College, Oxford.[1] He married Anne Colegrove, herself a vice-president of the NUS, in 1954.[4]
In1951, Jarvis fought the safely-Conservative seat ofWallasey on behalf of theLabour Party, and lost to the incumbent,Ernest Marples, by 15,705 votes.[5]
Jarvis was married to the former Anne Colegrove from 1954 to her death in 2007.[5] They had two children.[9]
Jarvis was a lifelong supporter ofWest Ham United Football Club.[4]
A keen photographer, Jarvis had an exhibition of his work at the TUC Centre in 2010 in aid of theNorth London Hospice.[10]
In 2014 he published his autobiographyYou Never Know Your Luck.[5]
Jarvis was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2015 New Year Honours.[11][12]
Jarvis died on 15 June 2020 at the age of 95.[5]
Named after Jarvis and his late wife, the Fred and Anne Jarvis Award was established in 2007 and presented annually by the NUT.[13] Originally for individuals outside the NUT who have campaigned tirelessly for children and young people, in 2017 the award was given to a NUT member. From 2019 the award has been presented by theNational Education Union, which has succeeded the NUT.
Winners include writersRobin Alexander,Melissa Benn,Alan Gibbons,Fiona Millar andOnjali Q. Raúf MBE, former child prodigy DrAnne-Marie Imafidon MBE, England internationalfootballerMarcus Rashford MBE, formerChildren's LaureateMichael Rosen andNobel Peace Prize laureateMalala Yousafzai.
| Trade union offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John M. Thompson | President of theNational Union of Students 1952–1954 | Succeeded by Frank H. Copplestone |
| Preceded by Ernest Naisbitt | Deputy General Secretary of theNational Union of Teachers 1970–1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | General Secretary of theNational Union of Teachers 1975–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Trades Union Congress 1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Trades Union Congress representative to theAFL-CIO 1987 | Succeeded by |