Hardie Ratcliffe

Hardie Ratcliffe (1906–1975) was an English musician, and General Secretary of the United Kingdom Musicians' Union from 1948.[1][2]

Ratcliffe was born in 1906 in Liverpool, and named after Keir Hardie.[1] In childhood, he played saxophone and flute,[1] and by the age of 17, when he joined the union, was already performing theatre orchestras in various towns and cities.[1] He established several branches of the union, and eventually gave up playing music, to devote all his energies to its administration, accepting a post as a full-time official in 1937. Although he gave notice of resignation in August 1962, during a dispute over internal policy matters, he was persuaded to withdraw it, and continued as General Secretary until his eventual retirement in 1971.[1]

He appeared as a "castaway" on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 9 November 1964,[3] and died in 1975.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Musicians' Union History - Hardie Ratcliffe". Musicians' Union. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  2. ↑ Ford, C. (13 August 1971). "Leader of the Band". The Observer. p. 8.
  3. ↑ "Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Hardie Ratcliffe". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
Trade union offices
Preceded by
Fred Dambman		 General Secretary of the Musicians' Union
1948–1970		 Succeeded by
John Morton
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