Graham Stevenson’s death on 1 May has robbed Liberation of an outstanding officer who was beginning to rebuild the organisation’s links with the trade union and Labour movement.
Until his retirement in 2010 Graham had been the National Officer for Bus Transport with the TGWU/Unite for sixteen years and, in this capacity, had become President of the European Transport Workers Federation. This role enabled him to develop strong international links with trade unions across Europe as well as with other transport unions in Britain.
Graham was born in Coventry in 1950. Leaving school at 16, he quickly became involved in both the trade union movement and the Young Communist League. He had a deep interest in the history of the working class movement, both in Britain and internationally, and wrote a regular column for the Morning Star examining national and international events on the same day exactly 80 years before – often focussing on the liberation struggles then developing within Britain’s colonial empire and solidarity with them by the working class movement in Britain.
He was also for a long period Treasurer of Marx Memorial Library which houses the records of a number of movements for colonial freedom.
Liberation sends its condolences to his son, Ben, and daughter, Joanne, and other family members.