Davey Ayre, who has passed away aged 90, was a greatly respected and much loved trade unionist and activist.
Like trade unionists and socialists across our region and further afield, everyone at the Durham Miners’ Association is greatly saddened by his passing. Davey was a wonderful man who dedicated his life to his community and his class.
Davey is pictured above with the DMA area banner and his friend Kathyrne Wray campaigning for Durham's Teaching Assistants.
Please see below for funeral details.
David Lewis Ayre was born on 3 August 1931.
With the exception of a short period of National Service, Dave worked as a bricklayer from finishing his apprenticeship until he retired at 65. Sworn in as a member of Crook AUBTW union branch (later known as Crook UCATT UB145), aged 17, in 1948, Dave would later go on to became branch secretary for the duration of his working life.
Despite retiring, Dave continued in this role for nearly another quarter of a century, as well as administering the local union led Retired Members Association and virtually single handedly, he kept the local union together.
Dave lived by his father’s advice throughout his life: “Make sure you pay your union money and your rent – in that order – because if you don’t pay your union money you’ll never be able to pay your rent”.
Dave never lectured and was always prepared to listen, looking after the best interests of his members, without financial reward, or favour. Thanks to Dave, many local building workers won claims for accidents and illness. Dave supported national health and safety campaigns Hazards and Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) and organised many International Workers Memorial Day marches and meetings at St Thomas’s Church, Stanley Crook to raise awareness of death and injury in the workplace and in memoriam of workers unlawfully killed at work.
Dave was also secretary of Wear Valley Trades Council for more than 25 years and was an active member of the later County Durham Trades Union Council, helping to raise tens of thousands of pounds for workers in dispute or struggle.
During the Miners' Strike 1984-1985, when he personally raised thousands of pounds, including large donations from trade unions in France and Germany.
Dave played a key role in the Building Workers Strike of 1972 and was a stalwart member of the Construction Safety Campaign, set up when several building workers would be killed every week due to appalling health and safety standards on construction sites across the UK. As a result, Dave was illegally blacklisted by employers for most of his working life and denied work because of this on many occasions.
Dave helped organise the national campaign against the blacklist and eventually won some justice when blacklisting was declared illegal by the High Court. Dave and many other trade unionists in the building industry won compensation, after major construction firms admitted they had unlawfully blacklisted. He has also fought for almost 50 years to get the convictions overturned for building workers Des Warren and builder turned actor Ricky Tomlinson, the so-called Shrewsbury Two, who were jailed following the 1972 building workers' strike. Dave would go on to co-author ‘The Flying Pickets’ – a book detailing the 1972 builders’ strike and the Shrewsbury trials, published 2008.
Dave was an avid life-long learner and studied at the Open University for several years whilst working as a bricklayer and would often be found completing his essays in the bait cabin. He was fascinated by sociology and psychology, as well as all things related to the trade union movement and was a working class intellectual. He was a prolific reader on a vast range of subjects, including politics, philosophy and environmental studies and passionate about art and music – particularly abstract expressionism and jazz.
An accomplished athlete in his youth, both as a cyclist and cross-country runner, in later life he was a keen fell walker. However, he will be mostly remembered as a keen cyclist by local people as he climbed the steep Billy Row Bank on his push bike without gears until he was past the age of 80.
Dave never sought the limelight, never looked for advancement or promotion and was quite prepared to allow others to take undeserved credit for his hard work. Dave never gave up and despite being in his late 80s he continued to support workers in dispute, never missing a 6 am picket line during the 30 week long 2015 Teesside Construction Activists #PayTheRate campaign. Dave also put his heart and soul into winning justice for the Durham Teaching Assistants in their dispute with Durham County Council. On his 90th birthday in his care-home when asked to send a message to his friends and comrades, Dave said: “keep up the struggle”.
Dave was an internationalist and a man of the people in the truest sense. He dedicated his life to help others. His sharp political mind and mischievous sense of humour gained him many friends and some foes, but he will always be remembered with great affection by trade unionists not only in County Durham and across the North East, but also nationally and internationally. He was a great teacher, friend and an inspiration to future generations.
Davey Ayre 03/08/31 – 29/10/21
FUNERAL DETAILS:
A funeral service will take place on Monday 15 November 2021 at 1.30 pm at The Church of St Thomas, Wolsingham Road, Stanley Crook, County Durham, DL15 9RN.
Dave’s cremation will take place following the church service, at Durham Crematorium, South Road, Durham, DH1 3TQ.
Family and friends are invited to attend both, or either service and then a gathering at Crook Golf Club Crook Golf Club Low Jobs Hill, Crook DL15 9AA.
As the Golf Club is not on a bus route it would be really helpful if anyone driving would be willing to car share if possible (it’s approximately 2.5 miles from the church and 5 mins in a car).
Sympathy cards can be sent to Mr and Mrs Paul Ayre, 18 South Acre, Oakenshaw, Crook, DL15 0SZ.
There is no dress code for the service and donations to the family’s chosen charity on the day is preferred rather than flowers.