Date of Birth: 
About Tom Yates
- Thomas Yates (26 September 1896 – 27 May 1978) was a British trade unionist. Born in Wallasey, Yates studied locally at St Mary's School before, at the age of seventeen, going to sea, working as a steward.
- With the First World War ongoing, he joined the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment.
- He married in 1918 and had four children, soon returning to sea, eventually becoming a head waiter and librarian for the Cunard Line.
- He became involved in the National Union of Seamen (NUS), and was made an official in 1928, then a district secretary in 1940, firstly for the south west coast, then a year later for Scotland.
- In 1942, he was promoted to National Organiser, then the following year to Assistant General Secretary.
- Finally, in 1947, he was elected to the top job of General Secretary of the NUS.
- In this post, he was known for his anti-communism,Yates was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1951, and was then knighted in 1959.
- In 1957/8, he served as President of the Trades Union Congress.
- He retired from his union post in 1960, the same year that his wife died.
- He remarried in 1962 and the year after was appointed to the Southern Region Railway Board.
- Among his many other appointments were chairing the Merchant Seamen's War Memorial Society, and serving on the Coastal Advisory Committee, Merchant Navy Training Board and Seamen's Welfare Board.
- In old age, he retired to Sydney in Australia.
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