Obituary: Ronald Harris

An obituary in The Guardian written by his granddaughter, Sally Panter, said he was known for his grit, determination, intellect and good humour, all of which he used to improve the everyday lives of many.

Born in Manchester, Harris’s first real act of self-will came at the age of 12 when he defied his father, an ardent Manchester City fan, and began to support United, to which he became devoted. “My great-grandfather stopped his pocket money for good, but in typical style, Ron got a newspaper round to pay for the admission and walked each Saturday to Old Trafford,” she wrote.

His early career was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the navy as a telegrapher. Called up on Christmas Day 1942, he was assigned to HMS Offa, part of a destroyer flotilla on Arctic convoys escorting merchant shipping to Murmansk and Archangel.

“Ron was profoundly affected by his experiences of D-Day in 1944 and his time on the wartime Arctic convoys, and went on to become the chairman of the Russian Convoy Club in London,” his granddaughter said. After the war he told of the severe weather conditions, dangers from ice packs and German U-boats, and the poor prospects of survival if anyone went overboard. He returned to Normandy in 2009 for the 65th anniversary commemorations of the landings.

After the war Harris used his telegraphy skills at the Post Office in Manchester, where he became a trade union activist, going on to serve as a senior official at the National Graphical Association. “His move to Reuters in 1976 did not win him many friends in the unions, but at Reuters he was fair and caring with a passion for improving working conditions.” ■