Catalogue Number
NMLH.2011.2.5
Object Name
Medal
Title
'In action faithful and in honour clear'
Place
London
People
Jack Jones, Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), Queen Elizabeth II
Date
late 1970s
Description
A red ribbon with a large oval medal in the centre. The medal is topped by a crown with a green gem and red detailing. The silver centre of the medal shows a knight holding a lance, seated on a horse in a forest. The edge of the oval is blue and has the words 'In action faithful and in honour clear'.
This medal was presented to the British trade union leader, Jack Jones (1913-2009) in 1976 by Queen Elizabeth II. A Companion of Honour (CH) is a special award granted by the monarch to people who have made significant contributions to science, medicine, the arts or government. Unlike knighthoods or MBEs which can have unlimited recipients, the CH is restricted to 65 people at any time. The year following his induction into the Companions of Honour, a poll indicated that 54% of people believed Jones to be the most powerful man in the UK, outstripping both the Prime Minister and the monarch.
Jones was born in Liverpool, and became a docker after losing his job as an engineer during the Great Depression. He describes being a socialist after reading The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists after being passed the book in workplace. Jones describes this as the method through which many workers became convinced of the need to participate in an organised labour movement. Jones joined the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), became a shop steward, then joined the National Docks Group Committee, becoming general secretary of the entire TGWU in 1968. One of his achievements as a union leader was helping to establish the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) which acts as a neutral party to help solve disputes and grievances between workers and employers. A committed anti-fascist, Jones also fought in the British Battalion of the XV (Fifteenth) International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War, and was wounded during the Battle of the Ebro in 1938. PHM's
collection of medals from Jones are largely a mix of honours relating to his service in Spain, and acknowledgements of his service to the trade union movement.
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