James Smith, a lifelong trade unionist and a former councillor in Dundee has died, aged 88.
In his younger years he was a Labour activist but switched allegiance to the SNP when he felt his party had lurched to the right.
James, known as Jim, was famously arrested on the Timex picket line while serving as a councillor and Justice of the Peace.
During the 1960s he marched with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and in the 1980s raised funds to support striking miners.
Health service
Jim’s later life was spent as a porter at Ninewells Hospital and he continued union activity well in his 80s.
He was born in the Hawkhill area of Dundee in March, 1934 to James and Susan Smith.
His father had served with the 4th/5th Battalion of The Black Watch during the entire First World War.
James senior was wounded and went on to live with what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Family
His mother worked in the jute mills and young Jim had a brother, Tommy, who was five years younger and had a career as an engineer in the Merchant Navy.
When he left school, Jim followed his mother into the textile industry and trained as a tenter.
During this time he became active in both the Transport and General Workers’ Union and the Labour Party.
Jim met his future wife Alma (Cunningham) at a dance in the city and the couple married in St Luke’s Church, Lochee, in July 1957.
They went on to have two of a family, Caroline and Eileen. The family home was on the emerging Menzieshill but later, after their children were older, they moved to nearby Charleston.
When the jute industry collapsed, Jim went to work at the newly-opened Ninewells Hospital as a porter in the mid 1970s.
Union representative
He joined the NUPE union and later formed the local branch of the GMB.
Jim’s daughter, Eileen, said: “My father was always on the left of the Labour Party but left because he felt it had moved away from him.
“He joined the SNP and stood in Charleston. His election was close and it went to a number of recounts but he defeated the long-standing Labour candidate.
Assistance
“I think it was broadly a personal vote for my father because he was known in the area, especially through his union work which helped a lot of people.
“The phoned never stopped in our house for people asking for work-related help and that continued well after he had retired.”
Jim and Alma, who died six months ago, were married for 64 years.
Leisure
His hobbies included snooker, which he played at Broughty Ferry, supporting Dundee FC and visiting the Fairmuir Club.
Eileen said: “He was heavily involved with his grandchildren, took them skating and taught them to ride their bikes.”
Jim’s funeral will take place on Friday, April 22, at Dundee crematorium at 2.30pm.