Graham Goddard

As many comrades will know by now our good friend and comrade Graham Goddard, Unite DGS passed away early on Monday morning.

Below is a copy of the memo sent to Unite officers by Derek Simpson.

I am sure all comrades would want to share our deep sorrow at Graham's death at such a young age and send sincere condolences to Siobhan and their son Ted and Graham's family who will be in all our thoughts at this time.

Monday, 19th October 2009

Dear Colleagues
It is with immense sadness that I write to inform you that our joint Deputy General Secretary, Graham Goddard, passed away early this morning.  Many of you will be aware that Graham, who was 51, had been ill for some time.
Graham joined the AEU as an apprentice engineer in Sheffield and soon became active in the Union.  He was employed at Shardlows, an automotive parts manufacturer. Although this was a highly organised workplace with an existing mature shop stewards committee, he was quickly elected Deputy Convenor and then Convenor.
He became a Regional Officer based in Sheffield, following which he became Amicus Regional Secretary for Yorkshire and Humberside and later for the North West.  Promoted to Deputy General Secretary, perhaps Graham's most notable achievement was the pensions campaign, of which he was at the forefront.  Based upon his own experiences from Sheffield, he played a leading part in the efforts towards the creation of the Pension Protection Fund and the Financial Assistance Scheme.  It is no exaggeration to say that thousands of workers and their families will benefit from Graham's work, now and in the future.
Graham also took over strategic management of the finance sector. Working with the senior lay leadership he led the unification of the insurance and banking sectors into a cohesive group, fit to fight on behalf of our many thousands of members right across the financial services industry.
More recently, Graham was involved in the detailed negotiations for the establishment of Unite's constitutional structures, to create a union that is fit to serve our members’ needs into the future.  Both within and outside Unite he leaves a long lasting legacy.
I am sure everyone will join with me in extending our most profound sympathies to Graham's family and in particular his partner, our colleague, Siobhan and their son Ted.
We have lost a valued colleague and dear friend.

Derek Simpson
Joint General Secretary