IN PUBLISHING a series of short books on great men and women who feature prominently in the history of Unite and its predecessor unions, the hope is that they’ll inspire the current and future generations of trade unionists to take up the struggle on behalf of working people.

There is certainly a lot to fight for. We are facing a difficult future in which the division between rich and poor is growing ever wider. The constant attacks on trade unionists in Britain, Ireland and abroad are expected to intensify. So education has be viewed in the context of equipping members to understand and fight back.

That’s why we are producing these booklets — so far we’ve published works on Tom Jones, Julia Varley and a biography of Benny Rothman is out in April. Tony Hall: Trade Unionist, Anti-racist and Radical Cartoonist focuses on a determined and lifelong fighter for liberty, justice, equality and socialism.

After studying painting at Hornsey School of Art and the Royal College of Art, Tony Hall decided he would prefer not to work as a portrait painter for the wealthy.

Instead, he concentrated on political cartoons, illustration, photography and graphic design. He did factory and labouring jobs before starting work as a newspaper artist in Fleet Street.

Hall was employed at The Evening News and the Sun/News of the World, during which time he was an active member of his union branch.

He produced free cartoons for the labour movement, particularly the Labour Herald and Newsline. Outside work, he risked injury and imprisonment by physically fighting fascism in east London and throughout his life he was a passionate anti-racist and anti-fascist.

When Hall was on strike during the Wapping Dispute of the mid-1980s, he and other artists from Murdoch’s papers formed Strike Graphic to produce posters, postcards, mugs, badges and T-shirts in support of the 5,500 sacked print workers.

He did not, of course, get his job back but did not regret standing up for his rights.

Thereafter, he continued producing cartoons, graphic designs and photography for trade unions, the broad left and numerous justice campaigns including Hackney Community Defence Association and the Campaign against Racism and Fascism.

Born in 1936, he had lived in Hackney since 1967 with his wife Libby and their family and a succession of much-loved dogs until he died at home from lung cancer in February 2008.

This booklet commemorates his life and his great contribution to the labour movement.

• Tony Hall: Trade unionist, Anti-racist and Radical Cartoonist is published by Unite Education and is available as a free download from
  unitetheunion.org/growing-our-union/education