Enoch Humphries

Enoch Humphries OBE (25 September 1922 – 1 July 2009) was a Scottish trade unionist and President of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and the Scottish Trades Union Congress.

Early life

Humphries was born in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire. He attended St David's Primary school and Townhead secondary school in Glasgow until he left school aged 14. He worked several jobs, the last as a cellarman for a whisky firm, before entering war service with the Royal Air Force He soon became a delegate to the area committee and was elected Glasgow area sector secretary in 1949.

He was greatly influenced by the General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, John Horner. Horner was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, which Humphries had joined in 1948. Humphries resigned from the Communist Party in 1956 during the Hungarian Revolution.

He was appointed OBE in the 1977 New Year Honours.

Retirement During retirement, Humphries served as Vice-Chair of the Scottish Pensioners Forum.

On the day of his death, all of Strathclyde's fire stations flew their flags at half staff. He donated his body to medical science.