Patrick Laurence (Paddy) Troy, trade unionist, was born on 17 January 1908 in South Melbourne. Troy’s family moved to Fremantle, Western Australia, during World War I. He signed up in 1924 as a seaman in the State Shipping Service. In 1934 he joined the Communist Party of Australia and in this capacity he led a strike in 1936 at the Youanmi gold-mine, where he worked as a rigger and safety officer. Imprisoned for three months after the Communist Party was banned in May 1940, Troy returned to the maritime industry at the port of Fremantle and obtained a master's certificate. In 1944 he was elected an official of the Coastal Dock, Rivers and Harbour Works Union of Workers. Troy became the union’s secretary from 1948-1952. In 1955 he helped establish the State branch of the Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union, and in 1963, the new Western Australian Trades and Labour Council. Troy retired in 1973 and later died on 19 April 1978 in Perth.