Frank Chapple

Who was Frank Chapple?

Frank Chapple, Baron Chapple of Hoxton was general secretary of the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union, a leading British trade union.

Frank Chapple was born in the slum area of Hoxton, east London, in a flat above his father's shoe-repair shop. There was no bath or running hot water in the Chapple home. A Communist Party member early in his adult life, Chapple left the party over the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

Frank Chapple was a member of the TUC general council for 12 years to 1983, having first joined the union in 1937, and he served at every level in the electricians' union.

He was general secretary of EETPU from 1966 to 1984. After his retirement, he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Chapple of Hoxton. His successor was Eric Hammond. One of Chapple's sons, Barry Chapple, is a regional official of Amicus, which succeeded the EETPU.