National Union of Railwaymen

The National Union of Railwaymen was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom. The largest railway workers' union in the country, it was influential in the national trade union movement.[1]

National Union of Railwaymen
Merged intoNational Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
Founded29 March 1913 (29 March 1913)[1]
Dissolved1990
HeadquartersUnity House, Euston Road, London
Location
Members
408,900 (1945)
PublicationTransport Review[1]
AffiliationsTUC, Labour

History

The NUR was an industrial union founded in 1913 by the merger of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (founded 1872), the United Pointsmen and Signalmen's Society (founded 1880) and the General Railway Workers' Union (founded 1889).[2]

The NUR represented the majority of railway workers, but not white-collar workers, who were members of the Railway Clerks' Association (founded 1897, later the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association). NUR membership was open to drivers and firemen but most chose instead to be members of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (founded 1880).

In 1914 the NUR joined forces with the National Transport Workers' Federation and Mining Federation of Great Britain to form the Triple Alliance – perhaps an unfortunate name, as the same year the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia and the Triple Alliance of Germany, and Austria-Hungary (albeit without Italy) went to war.

In 1919 the NUR and ASLEF jointly organised the 1919 United Kingdom railway strike, which prevented a proposed wage reduction and won an eight-hour maximum working day.[3] The NUR formed Federation agreements with ASLEF in 1903[4] and 1982 but both were short-lived.

The NUR had 408,900 members in 1945, making it the fifth largest union in Britain. Its membership fell to 369,400 in 1956 and 227,800 in 1966.[5]

Following the formation of British Rail, the majority of NUR members worked for the nationalised organisation. However, other members worked for London Transport, the National Freight Corporation and various smaller companies. It also recruited British Rail workers in associated industries, such as its hotels, docks and harbours, and on the Sealink ferries.[1]

In 1990 the NUR merged with the National Union of Seamen to form the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and ceased to exist as a separate union.

Election results

The union sponsored numerous Labour Party Parliamentary candidates, many of whom won election.

ElectionConstituencyCandidateVotes % sharePosition[6]
1918 general electionCardiff EastArthur James Williams5,55428.53[6]
DerbyJ. H. Thomas25,14537.81[7]
Manchester ArdwickThomas Lowth5,67031.82[8]
Middlesbrough WestCharlie Cramp5,35032.82[6]
Newcastle-upon-Tyne EastWalter Hudson5,19534.72[6]
ReadingThomas Charles Morris8,41029.82[6]
WakefieldAlbert Bellamy5,88233.72[9]
WarringtonIsaac Brassington5,37722.63[6]
1921 by-electionDudleyJames Wilson10,24450.71[9]
1921 by-electionHeywood and RadcliffeWalter Halls13,43041.71[9]
1922 general electionBoltonWilliam James Abraham20,15615.84[10]
Bristol EastLuke Bateman13,75949.72[10]
Cardiff EastArthur James Williams7,50631.43[10]
DerbyJ. H. Thomas25,21527.01[10]
DudleyJames Wilson8,52239.82[9]
Heywood and RadcliffeWalter Halls15,33444.62[10]
Leeds SouthHenry Charleton13,21053.71[10]
Leyton EastWilliam Carter6,30030.92[10]
Manchester ArdwickThomas Lowth14,03152.31[10]
Salford WestArthur Law8,72432.32[10]
WakefieldAlbert Bellamy9,79848.52[10]
Wolverhampton EastWilliam Thomas Augustus Foot3,07612.23[10]
1923 general electionDerbyJ. H. Thomas24,88729.01[11]
Leeds SouthHenry Charleton11,70544.21[11]
Manchester ArdwickThomas Lowth15,67360.41[11]
Heywood and RadcliffeWalter Halls15,27347.12[11]
RushcliffeJames Wilson6,88224.73[11]
1924 general electionBarkston AshWilliam Dobbie11,89441.42[12]
DerbyJ. H. Thomas27,42325.71[12]
Leeds SouthHenry Charleton12,79946.31[12]
Manchester ArdwickThomas Lowth15,94154.91[12]
OldhamJames Wilson22,08118.44[12]
Paddington NorthJohn William Gordon10,48138.12[12]
WakefieldGeorge Sherwood10,19247.92[12]
1928 by-electionAshton-under-LyneAlbert Bellamy9,56740.61[13]
1929 general electionAshton-under-LyneAlbert Bellamy13,17044.41[14]
Berwick-upon-TweedHenry Kegie5,40218.42[14]
Bethnal Green South WestChristopher John Kelly6,84938.72[14]
ClitheroeWilliam Dobbie15,59239.52[14]
DerbyJ. H. Thomas39,68830.01[14]
Leeds SouthHenry Charleton18,04352.51[14]
LonsdaleJoseph Henderson7,30325.43[14]
Manchester ArdwickThomas Lowth20,04160.31[14]
OldhamJames Wilson32,72725.02[14]
Paddington NorthJohn William Gordon13,34839.32[14]
RossendaleArthur Law14,62436.01[14]
WakefieldGeorge Henry Sherwood13,39348.81[14]
WestburyGeorge Ward7,45822.53[14]
YorkFrederick George Burgess20,66345.01[14]
1931 by-electionAshton-under-LyneJohn William Gordon11,00539.42[15]
1931 by-electionManchester ArdwickJoseph Henderson15,29450.51[15]
1931 general electionAshton-under-LyneJohn William Gordon11,07437.12[16]
Leeds SouthHenry Charleton14,15640.12[16]
Manchester ArdwickJoseph Henderson15,66442.02[16]
Middlesbrough WestHenry Kegie13,04033.42[16]
OldhamJames Wilson26,6314[16]
Plymouth SuttonGeorge Ward14,07336.72[16]
RossendaleArthur Law11,13527.53[16]
Stalybridge and HydeWilliam Dobbie14,25128.12[16]
WakefieldGeorge Sherwood11,77442.62[16]
YorkFrederick George Burgess16,31035.12[16]
1933 by-electionRotherhamWilliam Dobbie28,76769.11[17]
1935 by-electionEdinburgh WestWilliam McAdam10,46233.92[18]
1935 general electionAccringtonFrederick George Burgess21,20345.62[19]
Barrow-in-FurnessPercy Barstow17,91949.72[19]
EcclesJack Grierson20,05547.32[19]
GatesheadJames Wilson25,80447.32[19]
Leeds SouthHenry Charleton15,22346.01[19]
Manchester ArdwickJoseph Henderson16,36452.91[19]
Middlesbrough WestHenry Kegie12,76433.72[19]
NorwichChristopher John Kelly22,05517.84[19]
Plymouth SuttonGeorge Ward15,39441.72[19]
PontefractAdam Hills19,78353.41[19]
RotherhamWilliam Dobbie29,72567.51[19]
Salford NorthWilliam McAdam15,27243.42[19]
1941 by-electionPontefractPercy BarstowunopposedN/A1[20]
1944 by-electionSheffield AttercliffeJohn HyndunopposedN/A1[20]
1945 general electionActonJoseph Sparks19,95056.11[21]
EcclesWilliam Proctor23,00851.11[21]
ExeterReginald Travess15,24540.22[21]
Manchester ArdwickJoseph Henderson14,36064.01[21]
Newcastle upon Tyne WestErnest Popplewell28,14958.51[21]
PontefractPercy Barstow24,69060.61[21]
RotherhamJames Harrison35,65474.21[21]
Salford NorthWilliam McAdam18,32760.51[21]
Sheffield AttercliffeJohn Hynd23,46881.41[21]
South DerbyshireArthur Champion47,58657.71[21]
The HartlepoolsD. T. Jones16,50241.21[21]
The WrekinIvor Owen Thomas22,45356.31[21]
West StirlingshireAlfred Balfour16,06654.41[21]
1948 by-electionGlasgow CamlachieJohn Inglis10,69042.12
1950 general electionActonJoseph Sparks21,75149.11[22]
Birmingham Perry BarrCecil Poole23,17856.61[22]
EcclesWilliam Proctor27,40950.71[22]
Manchester WythenshaweCharles Bridges17,19137.22[22]
Newcastle upon Tyne WestErnest Popplewell31,23058.21[22]
Nottingham EastJames Harrison20,40446.51[22]
Sheffield AttercliffeJohn Hynd30,72671.61[22]
South East DerbyshireArthur Champion30,03949.11[22]
The HartlepoolsD. T. Jones25,60950.61[22]
The WrekinIvor Owen Thomas19,73053.71[22]
WestburyReginald Travess15,76635.62[22]
West StirlingshireAlfred Balfour19,93055.61[22]
1951 general electionActonJoseph Sparks23,28752.21[23]
Birmingham Perry BarrCecil Poole23,32258.11[23]
EcclesWilliam Proctor27,94152.51[23]
HaltempriceCharles Bridges19,58441.92[23]
Newcastle upon Tyne WestErnest Popplewell31,76557.91[23]
Nottingham EastJames Harrison20,86547.81[23]
Sheffield AttercliffeJohn Hynd29,95871.11[23]
South East DerbyshireArthur Champion33,02052.71[23]
The HartlepoolsD. T. Jones27,14752.61[23]
The WrekinIvor Owen Thomas20,10952.41[23]
WestburyReginald Travess17,62339.22[23]
1954 by-electionHaltempriceCharles Bridges9,97438.22
1955 general electionActonJoseph Sparks20,64550.61[24]
Birmingham Perry BarrCharles Howell18,73251.01[24]
EcclesWilliam Proctor25,35152.41[24]
Newcastle upon Tyne WestErnest Popplewell25,40155.71[24]
Nottingham NorthJames Harrison26,55255.41[24]
Sheffield AttercliffeJohn Hynd33,07171.01[24]
South East DerbyshireArthur Champion25,62051.61[24]
South NorthamptonshireRonald Lewis17,33944.72[24]
The HartlepoolsD. T. Jones25,14551.61[24]
The WrekinIvor Owen Thomas18,54149.42[24]
WestburyReginald Travess16,29537.82[24]
1958 by-electionSt HelensLeslie Spriggs26,40564.71[25]
1959 general electionActonJoseph Sparks18,43848.82[25]
Birmingham Perry BarrCharles Howell16,81142.61[25]
DarlingtonRonald Lewis19,90139.72[25]
EcclesWilliam Proctor25,56652.01[25]
Newcastle upon Tyne WestErnest Popplewell28,95654.81[25]
St HelensLeslie Spriggs35,96162.11[25]
Sheffield AttercliffeJohn Hynd33,67668.81[25]
South East DerbyshireArthur Champion25,36245.52[25]
The HartlepoolsD. T. Jones25,28149.82[25]
1964 general electionBirmingham Perry BarrCharles Howell18,15649.52[26]
CarlisleRonald Lewis19,16945.61[26]
Glasgow SpringburnRichard Buchanan16,82865.31[26]
Newcastle upon Tyne WestErnest Popplewell29,60358.31[26]
St HelensLeslie Spriggs34,13767.01[26]
Sheffield AttercliffeJohn Hynd30,31866.81[26]
Sunderland SouthGordon Bagier25,90051.61[26]
1966 general electionCarltonAmos Lloyd Ramsden24,58939.22[27]
CarlisleRonald Lewis22,56556.11[27]
Glasgow CentralThomas McMillan11,67374.81[27]
Glasgow SpringburnRichard Buchanan15,99867.81[27]
Nottingham SouthGeorge Perry24,58050.31[27]
St HelensLeslie Spriggs33,32570.81[27]
Sheffield AttercliffeJohn Hynd32,33677.31[27]
Sunderland SouthGordon Bagier27,56757.51[27]
1970 general electionCarlisleRonald Lewis21,86653.21[28]
Glasgow CentralThomas McMillan7,93666.01[28]
Glasgow SpringburnRichard Buchanan14,96864.31[28]
Nottingham SouthGeorge Perry23,03146.32[28]
St HelensLeslie Spriggs31,58765.71[28]
Sunderland SouthGordon Bagier26,84056.41[28]
Feb 1974 general electionCarlisleRonald Lewis23,11955.21[29]
ExeterGraham Powell17,68631.22[29]
Glasgow CentralThomas McMillan9,40058.71[29]
Glasgow SpringburnRichard Buchanan18,06753.71[29]
St HelensLeslie Spriggs32,62159.01[29]
Sunderland SouthGordon Bagier28,29649.61[29]
West Bromwich EastPeter Snape21,89552.81[29]
Oct 1974 general electionCarlisleRonald Lewis21,07951.21[30]
Glasgow CentralThomas McMillan9,23163.61[30]
Glasgow SpringburnRichard Buchanan17,44454.61[30]
St HelensLeslie Spriggs32,62064.11[30]
Sunderland SouthGordon Bagier28,62355.01[30]
West Bromwich EastPeter Snape19,94250.51[30]
1976 by-electionNewcastle upon Tyne CentralHarry Cowans4,69247.61
1979 general electionCarlisleRonald Lewis21,34349.71[31]
Derby NorthPhillip Whitehead28,79744.91[31]
Edinburgh CentralRobin Cook12,19147.91[31]
Glasgow CentralThomas McMillan8,54272.51[31]
Holborn and St Pancras SouthFrank Dobson12,02649.31[31]
Huddersfield WestRichard Faulkner16,99640.62[31]
Islington NorthMichael O'Halloran12,31752.61[31]
Newcastle upon Tyne CentralHarry Cowans10,39567.31[31]
St HelensLeslie Spriggs32,48959.61[31]
Sunderland SouthGordon Bagier29,40353.11[31]
Swansea EastDonald Anderson31,90969.91[31]
West Bromwich EastPeter Snape19,27947.01[31]
West LothianTam Dalyell36,71354.91[31]
1983 general electionCarlisleRonald Lewis15,61837.51[32]
Crewe and NantwichGwyneth Dunwoody22,03141.11[32]
Derby NorthPhillip Whitehead18,79736.82[32]
Glasgow GarscaddenDonald Dewar19,63556.21
Holborn and St PancrasFrank Dobson20,48647.51
LinlithgowTam Dalyell19,69445.11
LivingstonRobin Cook14,25537.71
Sunderland SouthGordon Bagier22,86945.71
Swansea EastDonald Anderson22,29754.41
Tyne BridgeHarry Cowans21,12756.51
West Bromwich EastPeter Snape15,89438.11
WrexhamJohn Marek16,12034.31
1987 general electionCrewe and NantwichGwyneth Dunwoody25,45744.01[33]
Derby NorthPhillip Whitehead20,23637.22
Glasgow GarscaddenDonald Dewar18,92064.41[33]
Holborn and St PancrasFrank Dobson22,96650.61[33]
LinlithgowTam Dalyell21,86947.41[33]
LivingstonRobin Cook19,11045.61
Swansea EastDonald Anderson27,47863.71
West Bromwich EastPeter Snape18,16242.61[33]
WrexhamJohn Marek22,14443.91[33]

Leadership

General Secretaries

James Edwin Williams
1913: James Edwin Williams[34]
1916: James Henry Thomas[34]
1931: Charlie Cramp[34]
1933: John Marchbank[34]
1943: John Benstead[34]
1948: Jim Figgins[34]
1953: Jim Campbell[34]
1957: Sidney Greene[34]
1975: Sidney Weighell[34]
1983: Jimmy Knapp[34]

Presidents

1913: Albert Bellamy[35]
1918: Charlie Cramp[35]
1920: William James Abraham[35]
1922: John Marchbank[35]
1925: William Dobbie[35]
1928: J. Gore[35]
1931: William Dobbie[35]
1934: Joseph Henderson[35]
1937: Walter T. Griffiths[35]
1939: J. H. Potts[35]
1942: Frederick Burrows[35]
1945: Eddie Binks[35]
1948: William Tindall Potter[35]
1951: Harry Franklin[35]
1954: Jim Stafford[35]
1957: Tom Hollywood[35]
1958: Charles W. Evans[35]
1961: Bill Rathbone[35]
1964: Frank Donlon
1967: Frank Lane
1970: George Chambers
1972: Harold McRitchie
1975: Dave Bowman
1978: Alun Rees.
1982: Tom Ham
1984: George Wakenshaw
1987: Alan Foster
1990: John Cogger

See also

References

  1. Eaton, Jack; Gill, Colin (1981). The Trade Union Directory. London: Pluto Press. pp. 38–42. ISBN 0861043502.
  2. Raynes, 1921, p. 165.
  3. Raynes, 1921, p. 269.
  4. Raynes, 1921, p. 124.
  5. Marsh, Arthur (1979). Trade Union Handbook: A Guide and Directory to the Structure, Membership, Policy and Personnel of the British Trade Unions. Westmead, Hants.: Gower Press. p. 14. ISBN 0-566-02091-2. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  6. Labour Party, Report of the Executive Committee (1918), p. 115.
  7. Tanner, Duncan (1990). Political change and the Labour Party 1900-1918. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 330–331. ISBN 0521329817.
  8. McHugh, Declan (2006). Labour in the City: The Development of the Labour Party in Manchester 1918-31. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 58. ISBN 0719072581.
  9. Howell, David (2017). Respectable Radicals: Studies in the Politics of Railway Trade Unionism. Routledge. ISBN 978-1351903769.
  10. Labour Party, Report of the Twenty-second Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 255–272. Note that this list is of the sanctioned candidates as of June 1922, and there were some changes between this date and the general election.
  11. "Only five railway union candidates". Manchester Guardian. 19 November 1923.
  12. "Labour's candidates". Manchester Guardian. 11 October 1924.
  13. Report of the Annual Labour Party Conference: 15–19. 1929. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. "List of Labour Candidates and Election Results, May 30th, 1929". Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 24–44. 1929.
  15. "Parliamentary by-elections". Report of the Annual Labour Party Conference: 16–28. 1931.
  16. "List of Endorsed Labour candidates and election results, October 27, 1931". Report of the Annual Labour Party Conference: 11–27. 1931.
  17. "Parliamentary by-elections". Report of the Annual Labour Party Conference: 38–41. 1933.
  18. "Parliamentary by-elections". Report of the Annual Labour Party Conference: 30–34. 1935.
  19. "List of Endorsed Labour Candidates and Election Results, November 14, 1935". Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 8–23. 1935.
  20. Labour Party, Report of the Annual Labour Party Conference (1945). Affiliations are those as of mid-1945; it is possible that some MPs may have had different sponsors at the time of their election.
  21. Labour Party, Report of the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 232–248.
  22. "List of Parliamentary Labour candidates and election results, February 23rd, 1950". Report of the Forty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 179–198. 1950.
  23. "List of Parliamentary Labour candidates and election results, 25th October, 1951". Report of the Fiftieth Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 184–203. 1951.
  24. Labour Party, Report of the Fifty-Fourth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 255–275.
  25. Labour Party, Report of the Fifty-Eighth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 179–201.
  26. Labour Party, Report of the Sixty-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 158–180.
  27. Labour Party, Report of the Sixty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 308–330.
  28. Labour Party, Report of the Sixty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 289–312.
  29. Labour Party, Report of the Seventy-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 371–390.
  30. Labour Party, Report of the Seventy-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 391–411.
  31. Labour Party, Report of the Seventy-Eighth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 406–431.
  32. General Election Guide. BBC Data Publications. 1983. ISBN 094635815X.
  33. "Election 87 Results". The Times. 13 June 1987.
  34. "General Secretaries of the National Union of Railwaymen, 1913-1990", Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick.
  35. Philip Sydney Bagwell, The National Union of Railwaymen, 1913-1963: A Half-century of Industrial Trade Unionism, p. 2.

Sources and further reading

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