One of Heathrow's most prominent trade union leaders, Fred Gore, has died from a heart attack.

Fred Gore started out his airport career as an aircraft electrician for BEA in the early 1950s.

But it was in his role as a rep for the Electrician's Trade Union during the rollercoaster negotiations of the 1960s and 1970s that the Stanwell man gained notoriety.

His life was recorded by a Heathrow reporter Alan Gallop, in his book Time Flies.

In an interview, Fred told Alan: "Heathrow was a wonderful place to work at that time, but industrial relations left a lot to be desired."

As industrial relations broke down across the country, Heathrow was no different.

Fred's first memorable stand was leading a six-week strike by the electricians in 1961, which grounded the airline.

A few years later, Fred was involved in the infamous 1969 General Aviation Services strike that saw the airport shut down and BAA order injunctions on its own workforce.

"A mass meeting was called at Brentford Football Ground, probably one of the biggest ever seen in the Heathrow area," recalled Fred. "About 15,000 people walked out of the airport to attended and the stadium was full."

On retirement, Fred managed an unemployment centre in Hounslow and became a Labour councillor in Spelthorne Borough.

He recently moved from Long Lane, Stanwell, to the South Sussex Coast, where he died from a heart attack last weekend.

Despite the fraught relationship between the unions and the press, Alan said: "I got to know him as a kind and a caring man. 
"He cared about young people joining airlines as apprentices and was concerned that their training was not as good as it used to be years ago. 

"I'm sure he was able to look back on a good life, surrounded by lots of family and friends. 

"He will be sadly missed by his family and friends."