Godric Bader Obituary | Business

My father, Godrich Bader, who has died aged 98, was a staunch supporter of collective ownership in industry. Guided by his faith as a Quaker, he sought a complete transformation of industry to bring peace and justice to the world. For him, collective ownership means that businesses are run for the benefit of all employees and operate according to clear ethical, spiritual, social and environmental values.

Goderich was born in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, one of five children of Dora (née Scott) and Ernest Bader. His father, a Swiss émigré, had moved to the United Kingdom in 1912. He settled in East London and began work as sole agent for a Swiss celluloid manufacturer. In the year The business expanded in 1926 when he acquired chemical manufacturing facilities in Stratford. In the year In 1941 these places were bombed. The business, Scott Bader, has now moved to a site in Wollaston, Northamptonshire.

Goderich was educated at Friends’ School, Saffron Walden and Queen Mary College, London. He followed his father’s example by declaring conscientious objection to military service during wartime. He was sent to the west country for agricultural work, but later he chose to enter the ambulance department of friends in medical order.

Considering and rejecting a career in medicine, he decided to work with his father as a polymer chemist in the family business. Soon he was drawn into a discussion with his father regarding the ownership of the company. Ernst grew the company into a very successful enterprise, but became fearful of the power he had over the lives of the people he hired to be “wage slaves.” This concern led Ernst and Godrich to establish company ownership in 1951 under a visionary constitution – the Scott Bader Commonwealth – which saw workers as equal and important business partners.

In the year In 1956, Ernest appointed Scott Bader as managing director of Godric, remaining until 1966 when he took over the chairmanship of the company from his father. This was the period when Scott Bader was an international pioneer in development and use. Unsaturated polyester resins.

In the year In 2014, Goderich and Scott Bader were jointly awarded the Commonwealth of Nations Gandhi Foundation International. Peace Prize in recognition of their alternative business model. In the year Scott Bader’s centennial celebrations in 2021 mark 70 years of joint ownership.

Godric was a very gentle, kind and caring man. His hobbies were skiing and swimming, but his hobby horse was always around anything that made the world a better place.

His first wife (my mother) Doreen (nee Cox) died in 2000. He married Ann Atkinson-Clarke in 2004. Godrich is survived by Anne and me and his grandson Harry.