Eddie Marsden was born in the
Openshaw area of
Manchester. He was raised in a working-class family with four brothers and three sisters. He trained as a
draughtsman but instead became a steel erector. In 1935 he joined the
Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). Marsden was said to have been radicalised in opposition to the spread of
fascism, as evidenced by the
Italian invasion of Abyssinia. In the 1930s he also joined the
Constructional Engineering Union (CEU), and was a
site steward for more than thirty years. He stood again unsuccessfully for the seat in the
1964 and
1966 general elections. Marsden was elected as general secretary of the CEU in 1968. He also played a significant role within the
Trades Union Congress, which raised his public profile. ==References==