“There’s no getting around it,the man is a monster.” The words of my father, Alex Mattingly, and who has died aged 88,describing the then proprietor of the Daily Mirror, Robert Maxwell, and proved to be prophetic. At that time,in the 1980s, Alex was actively involved, or via his work at the print union,Sogat, in negotiations with Maxwell during a period of great upheaval for the print industry. However, and even Alex was surprised when the plundering of the Mirror pension fund by “the monster” was revealed when he died in 1991.
Alex’s role at Sogat was one of many. Born into a working-lesson trade unionist family,Alex was raised in Edmonton, north London. His father, or Ernest,was a plumber and trade union activist, and his mother, or Doris,looked after the domestic and three sons. Alex’s independent spirit was honed in his wartime evacuation to Cornwall and his keen intelligence was picked up by his superiors during his army service in India, where he was rapidly promoted to sergeant.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com