THE LATE JOE SIMPSON, DEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY

The membership will have received notification of the death, on Friday 27 September, of Deputy General Secretary Joe Simpson. This was extremely upsetting for his family and partner, but also for those POA members and employees who had known Joe for many years. Joe Simpson was more than just a Deputy General Secretary to me; he was a man whom I considered to be a long-time friend and I will miss him.

TRIBUTE TO JOE

Joe was an immense character; a man who was kind, humorous, caring and intelligent. I was immensely proud of him when he became Deputy General Secretary and I loved working with him. He used to call me ‘gaffer’ because he knew it wound me up. A gaffer was far from it. We were a team who talked every day about the POA and work streams. We also talked out of work about everyday things. We bounced ideas off each other and, as stated, he wasn’t only an employee, he was my right-hand man. In fact, he was the glue that held all the FTOs together. I have worked with many people over the years, but I trusted Joe as the Deputy General Secretary. He worked hard on behalf of the POA, and the number of members he assisted on pensions and other matters is hard to quantify.

MEETING JOE SIMPSON

I first met Joe when he was a young branch official at Holme House and I was a young branch official at Chelmsford. We hit it off at annual conference and there began a lifelong friendship that I will treasure. And of course, the rest is history. Like me, he became a national official and our friendship became even stronger.

ILL HEALTH AND HIS STRENGTH

When Joe first became ill, and ultimately had to have his eye removed due to cancer and the need to try to prevent it spreading to other organs, he took it on the chin. His humour helped him through some dark times, during which life dealt him some cruel blows. He kept me updated on his progress and, during that time, we talked about it most days. I thought, as he did, that the treatment would mean the end of his cancer but, unfortunately, it came back earlier this year. He was told it had spread and was terminal. I thought further treatment might help to give him many more years, but that is not the way it played out. Throughout his treatment and his struggles, Joe continued as if nothing was wrong. He worked his way through it, to the benefit of POA members. He truly was magnificent and I cannot think of a braver person.

DURHAM MINERS GALA 2024

Joe had always wanted to be on the platform at the Durham Miners Gala but had never had the chance. He had attended the gala or the ‘big meeting’ since he was a boy. I arranged for him to be on the platform and I am grateful to Durham Miners Association for making his dream come true. He had a wonderful day and, again, I will treasure that memory of him looking down from the balcony waving to all the people marching with their banners. It was a great day for him and he enjoyed it immensely.

JOE SIMPSON DEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY

His work ethic, including the way he ran his training sessions, was brilliant. His tutoring skills have given so many of our branch officials knowledge, and his briefings on pensions have helped many national officials and POA members. He held surgeries at local level on pensions and helped and supported many. But it was not only his work for the POA that stood out. He was a terrific trade unionist and was highly respected in the entire trade union movement. He was also respected by employers and political figures. He was a great negotiator with a great attitude. Joe Simpson may not be here anymore but his legacy will go on and he will not be forgotten. Rest in peace my good friend.