Les Cannon
Sir Les Cannon (1920-1970) was a British trade unionist.[1]
As a young man, Cannon was a keen supporter of the Communist Party. From 1948 to 1954, he was an executive councillor in the Electrical Trades Union (ETU). he left the Communist Party in 1956, disillusioned by the Soviet invasion of Hungary.[1]
He subsequently began campaigning against Communist attempts to rig ETU elections. This led to a high-profile trial in 1961, that resulted in the resignation of the ETU General Secretary.[1]
Cannon himself became ETU general secretary in 1963. He presided over the 1968 merger with the Plumbing Trades Union, which created the EETPU.[1]
Cannon died in 1970, shortly before he was awarded a knighthood.[1]
