Mr Bill Coombes retired in December 1973 after more than fifty years as a trade unionist. In 1917, he organised Hawke's Bay grocers in to a Branch of the Wellington Grocer's Union. In 1935, he went to Wellington as general secretary of the Wellington Union. In 1940, he was responsible for the merging the separate unions of the grocers and the shop assistants to form the Wellington Amalgamated Society of Shop Assistants. In that same year he was elected secretary of the Manawatu Trades Council and he moved to Palmerston North. Mr Coombe retired from the position in 1970. Bill had retired from from his Palmerston North job with the Shop Assistant's Union in 1958, but was later engaged by the Hotel Worker's Union secretary. With Mr E. J. Hemmingson. he worked for this union for twelve years.