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Albert Edward Fair (1888–1976)

This article was published:

This entry is from People Australia

Albert Fair, caricature by Dick Ovenden, 1924

Albert Fair, caricature by Dick Ovenden, 1924

Labor Call (Melbourne), 28 February 1924, p 11

Albert Edward Fair (1888- 1976) iron turner, motor mechanic, trade union header 

Birth: March 1888 at Woolwich, England, son of Benjamin Charles Fair, labourer in Royal Arsenal, and Eliza Ann, née Russell (-1971). Marriage: 1923 in Victoria to Adelaide Myrtle Talent. Death: 19 November 1976 at Brighton, Melbourne, Victoria. 

  • Served apprenticeship in England, joining Amalgamated Engineering Union.
  • To Australia, 1911 where worked at Kelly & Lewis, Melbourne.
  • Enlisted in Australian Imperial Force in February 1915, served in the 22nd Battallion, saw active service at Gallipoli from August to December 1915. Was wounded in action in France in July 1916. Returned to Australia from England in December 1916. Discharged in Melbourne on 27 May 1917. His gunshot wound to his right shoulder prevented a return to engineering trade. Granted a pension of £3 per fortnight. His younger brother Harold William Fair (1893-1967) also served in the AIF.
  • 1918 was elected bookkeeper of Amalgamated Engineering Union. From 1920 to 1953 was Victorian district secretary — conservative trade union leader who was ‘a restraining influence on those who desired to “pull the place down”’.
  • Australian Labor Party member who comfortably held power until retirement despite internecine hostility in union and branch.

Sources
Labor Call
, 22 January 1953; Tom Sheridan, Mindful militants: the Amalgamated Engineering Union in Australia, 1920-1972 (Cambridge, England, 1975).

Additional Resources

Related Entries in NCB Sites

Citation details

'Fair, Albert Edward (1888–1976)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://labouraustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/fair-albert-edward-32680/text40586, accessed 19 March 2024.

© Copyright Labour Australia, 2012

Albert Fair, caricature by Dick Ovenden, 1924

Albert Fair, caricature by Dick Ovenden, 1924

Labor Call (Melbourne), 28 February 1924, p 11

More images

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Life Summary [details]

Birth

March, 1888
Woolwich, Kent, England

Death

19 November, 1976 (aged 88)
Brighton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

Occupation
Military Service
Key Organisations
Political Activism
Workplaces