decades of struggle and devotion to the working class movement came with the death on 28 February of Bob Fryer at the age of 70.
Fryer worked for 43 years at the Cowley car assembly plant. He was one of a small group of militant workers who organised the semi-skilled and production workes into the cavyu in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Right until his untimely death from a heart attack, he remained an active and committed socialist, campaigning on the issues of the day against the Tories and the employers. He had continued to and the Labour Party.
Bob Fryer was born in 1923 in Budapest to a Jewish family. His father was the treasurer of the Budapest Communist Party, and fought in the Bela Kun revolution of 1919.
Given the defeat of the revolution, the family were Forced out of Hungary in the late 1920s, and moved to Vienna where Bob's father continued as a CP activist. Bob was a member of the communist youth movement.
Bob took an active part in the resistance when filler mar ched into Austria; when just 15, after the defeat of the resistAt the high point of union power in the plant: Fryer speaks at a 1970 mass meeting ance, he was arrested with his brother while trying to cross into Switzerland.
By a 100-1 chance he was detention, thanks to the intervention of Quakers, and brought to Britain. the rest of his family perished in the HoAfter the start of the war he enlisted in the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders, and survived being blown up on the beaches during the Anzio landings.
He was transferred to army intelligence because of his language skills, and given the job of interrogating captured Nazi officers, many of whom had been involved in war crimes.
He settled in Oxford after the war. but never ioined the British Communist Party, despite his family traditions.
He embraced Trotskyism in the mid-1960s, and worked with the Socialist Labour League in Cowley, and in the wider labour movement.
As convenor during the 960s and early 1970s, Frye vithstood many attacks fron management, our was burt aucratically removed from office by TGWU national officials in 1974 during a national press witch-hunt following my own victimisation as deputy convenor.
The TGWU imposed elections by secret shop-floor ballot as a means to instal their chosen hard-right wing leadership, headed by one-time left-winger Reg Parsons.
Unlike most other convenors in such situations, mans of whom would take voluntary redundancy, Fryer remained in the plant, returned to his old job in the paint hop, and joined the righ ack by the lef This led by 1977 to Fryer's re-clection as convenor, a remarkabic, and possibly unique achievement. The response from the TGWU was to institutr a renewed witchhunt early in 1978, which aimed to remove Fryer from office once more and bar him wing stewards from all office in the union.
This witch-hunt was only TGWU General Secretary Jack Jones was replaced by Voss Evans, Who did not share his single-minded commitment to smashing the left at Cowley.
Fryer remained as convenor until 1987, When he was succeeded by Ivor Braggins, who was elected on a left platform, but swiftly moved to the hard right.
For a further year before his retirement Fryer again went back to mus physicany demanding job in the paint shHis remarkable record as the convenor of the most militant car plant in the country was a major contribution to the strensun of the unions in the car industry in the 1960s and "70s.
He was the kind of militant workers' leader who is extremely hard to replace. Indeed one of the key problems of the trade union movement today is that in the absence of major mass struggles, new rank-and-file leac ers are not being forged to replace the likes of Bob Fryer, ana the immense contribution which he made.
Alan Thornett Alan Thomett worked with Bob Fryer in Cotley for 25 years, more than half of them as sis deputy contenor. for Paris on the weekend of 12/13 June. Signatories to the appeal for • the conterence ready include leaders of the Party of Communist Refoun. dation in Italy, the Workers Commissions in Spain, the erman Pari of Democratic ocialism and the Green It is expected that several thoucand activists from acrose the continent will attend the conference.
In future issues Socialist Outlook will publish details of se Appeal for the conferenc ference agenda and travel