Helen Connor, who passed away in June, was a long-time EIS member and a strongly committed trade unionist. Originally trained as a primary teacher, Helen also worked in the Secondary sector later in her career as a transition teacher.

Having trained at Jordanhill College, Helen spent some time in London where she became treasurer of the National Union of Students, where she worked closely with the future chair of the Commission for Racial Equality Trevor Phillips and future Times journalist David Aaronovitch.

Returning to Scotland in the early 1980s, Helen spent the prime of her teaching career in North Lanarkshire schools and lived in the same Council house that her family had occupied for decades.

Helen wasn’t just committed to the principles of socialism, she actually lived them.

Helen became heavily involved in EIS activism during the 1990s, motivated by a desire to stand up for colleagues against poor treatment by management and employers. She was elected to the EIS Executive and Council, and served on a number of EIS committees, most notably the Salaries Committee (where she would later serve as Convener) and as Convener of the Strategy Sub-Committee. Helen was elected as President of the EIS in 2009.

Outside the EIS, Helen was heavily involved with the work of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, and was elected as STUC President in 2016, using this platform to speak out in opposition to issues such as Standardised Testing in schools and UK welfare policy, including the horrors of the Tory-era ‘Rape Clause’, a policy which she described as “abhorrent.”

Colleagues most often described Helen as a “force of nature”, and recall tales of her booming voice – she famously often said that she would not require the microphone when making conference speeches – and her ability to destroy statements or policy with which she did not agree through the power of her debating ability.

Helen experienced health issues later in life, and overcame cancer though her determination and fighting spirit. So formidable was Helen that, even despite her health problems, that many friends and colleagues expressed shock at the news of her death, believing her to be indestructible.

A dearly loved teacher and friend to many, the outpouring of loving tributes on social media following Helen’s death was clear confirmation of the high esteem in which she was held by pupils, parents and colleagues alike. The EIS offers its condolences to all who knew and loved Helen.