Andy Blake, a Marxist and militant trade unionist with the CWU, sadly passed away on Friday 16th January after a short illness. Rob Sewell, Editor of Socialist Appeal, remembers the life of this working class fighter and founding member of Socialist Appeal tendency.
Andy Blake sadly passed away on Friday 16th January after a short illness. Andy was a founding member of Socialist Appeal, and prior to that a staunch member of the Militant tendency.
Andy was born into a working class family in Kent on 11th May 1951. He grew up in Ashford and moved to London at the age of 16. He became a telegraph boy in the Post Office, but learned his trade in the building industry as a plasterer, a skill he put to good use from time to time in patching up our old premises.
He returned to the Post Office, where he spent most of his working life. As a life-long socialist and trade unionist, Andy took on different positions within the UCW and later the CWU. In later years he was the branch secretary of London 7 branch of the CWU. He always faithfully represented his branch at the union’s annual conference in Bournemouth.
Andy was a very modest and thoughtful man. Rather than do the speaking, he would prefer to do the organising, whether on the picket-line or in the workplace. He was the man everyone came to for advice and help. When I used to go to see him regularly at the East London Delivery Depot to give him his bundle of Socialist Appeal papers, he was always busy with union work and fighting this or that issue on behalf of members.
He was the salt of the earth; good natured and genuine from the day he was born. Politics was his life and he was very keen to hear about the progress of the IMT, of which he was extremely proud. He was convinced of the future success of Socialist Appeal and the victory of the working class in Britain and internationally. He was always first to put his hand in his pocket and was extremely generous in his regular contributions and donations.
Eventually, Royal Mail management closed the East London Depot and Andy took retirement. But this “retirement” did not prevent him from carrying on with his union duties, which he carried out even in hospital, up until the day he died.
Andy will be missed by all those who had the good fortune to have known him. We will, as Andy would have wished, keep the Red Flag flying and continue the fight for socialism.
Andy leaves behind a loving partner Vicky and his beloved son, daughter, and two small grandchildren.
The funeral will be held at 10.30am on Thursday 5th February 2015, at Green Acres Woodland Burials, Epping Forest, Kiln Road, North Weald, Epping, Essex, CM16 6AD
The reception will be held afterwards from 1pm onwards at The Hoe St Club, Hoe St , Walthamstow, E17 (opposite The Bell pub); parking at Trades Hall car park, Tower Hamlets Road, off Hoe St.
Andy had requested that all donations be made to Socialist Appeal.
