James Oswald Noel Vickers

James Oswald Noel Vickers (6 April 1916 – 1 June 2008), known as Jon Vickers from his initials, was a British trade union leader.

Born in London 6 April 1916, Vickers was educated at Stowe School and Cambridge where he studied History and English. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain, influenced by the death of school contemporary, John Cornford, in the Spanish Civil War in 1937. It was here he met fellow Cambridge Communist Party member Winifred 'Freddie' Mary Lambert, later to become his wife.

At the outbreak of war he was called up in 1939, joining the Royal Army Service Corps as 2nd Lieutenant. He was posted to the 5th brigade of the BEF. Whilst on leave in February 1940 he married 'Freddie' Lambert in Cambridge. A few months later, in May 1940, Vickers was wounded and captured shortly before Dunkirk. He subsequently spent five years in Prisoner of War Camps including a period at Stalag XXI-D in Poznań, Poland.

Towards the end of the war, as prisoners were moved ahead of the retreating German army, he managed to escape in woods near Kassel and a few days later made contact with an American tank crew.

In 1942, Freddie was injured by falling timbers in a bombed house in Cambridge and she subsequently had to have both legs amputated below the knee. James and Freddie were finally reunited at Baker Street tube station.

In 1946, Vickers was appointed warden of Wedgwood Memorial College where he worked until, in 1949, he was forced to resign following complaints of 'communist bias'. His next job was with the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) research department and he went on to become its education officer. One of his achievements with the ETU was the establishment of Britain's first residential trade union training facility at Esher Place in 1953. During his time with the ETU, he became increasingly disillusioned with the Communist Party and, following the Soviet invasion of Hungary in response to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, both he and Freddie left the CP, and both joined the Labour Party soon after.

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