Line 1:
Line 1:
{{Use British English|date=February 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox union
{{Infobox union
|name= National Union of Railwaymen
|name= 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]
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.
Election
Constituency
Candidate
Votes
% share
Position[ 6]
1918 general election
Cardiff East
Arthur James Williams
5,554
28.5
3[ 6]
Derby
J. H. Thomas
25,145
37.8
1[ 7]
Manchester Ardwick
Thomas Lowth
5,670
31.8
2[ 8]
Middlesbrough West
Charlie Cramp
5,350
32.8
2[ 6]
Newcastle-upon-Tyne East
Walter Hudson
5,195
34.7
2[ 6]
Reading
Thomas Charles Morris
8,410
29.8
2[ 6]
Wakefield
Albert Bellamy
5,882
33.7
2[ 9]
Warrington
Isaac Brassington
5,377
22.6
3[ 6]
1921 by-election
Dudley
James Wilson
10,244
50.7
1[ 9]
1921 by-election
Heywood and Radcliffe
Walter Halls
13,430
41.7
1[ 9]
1922 general election
Bolton
William James Abraham
20,156
15.8
4[ 10]
Bristol East
Luke Bateman
13,759
49.7
2[ 10]
Cardiff East
Arthur James Williams
7,506
31.4
3[ 10]
Derby
J. H. Thomas
25,215
27.0
1[ 10]
Dudley
James Wilson
8,522
39.8
2[ 9]
Heywood and Radcliffe
Walter Halls
15,334
44.6
2[ 10]
Leeds South
Henry Charleton
13,210
53.7
1[ 10]
Leyton East
William Carter
6,300
30.9
2[ 10]
Manchester Ardwick
Thomas Lowth
14,031
52.3
1[ 10]
Salford West
Arthur Law
8,724
32.3
2[ 10]
Wakefield
Albert Bellamy
9,798
48.5
2[ 10]
Wolverhampton East
William Thomas Augustus Foot
3,076
12.2
3[ 10]
1923 general election
Derby
J. H. Thomas
24,887
29.0
1[ 11]
Leeds South
Henry Charleton
11,705
44.2
1[ 11]
Manchester Ardwick
Thomas Lowth
15,673
60.4
1[ 11]
Heywood and Radcliffe
Walter Halls
15,273
47.1
2[ 11]
Rushcliffe
James Wilson
6,882
24.7
3[ 11]
1924 general election
Barkston Ash
William Dobbie
11,894
41.4
2[ 12]
Derby
J. H. Thomas
27,423
25.7
1[ 12]
Leeds South
Henry Charleton
12,799
46.3
1[ 12]
Manchester Ardwick
Thomas Lowth
15,941
54.9
1[ 12]
Oldham
James Wilson
22,081
18.4
4[ 12]
Paddington North
John William Gordon
10,481
38.1
2[ 12]
Wakefield
George Sherwood
10,192
47.9
2[ 12]
1928 by-election
Ashton-under-Lyne
Albert Bellamy
9,567
40.6
1[ 13]
1929 general election
Ashton-under-Lyne
Albert Bellamy
13,170
44.4
1[ 14]
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Henry Kegie
5,402
18.4
2[ 14]
Bethnal Green South West
Christopher John Kelly
6,849
38.7
2[ 14]
Clitheroe
William Dobbie
15,592
39.5
2[ 14]
Derby
J. H. Thomas
39,688
30.0
1[ 14]
Leeds South
Henry Charleton
18,043
52.5
1[ 14]
Lonsdale
Joseph Henderson
7,303
25.4
3[ 14]
Manchester Ardwick
Thomas Lowth
20,041
60.3
1[ 14]
Oldham
James Wilson
32,727
25.0
2[ 14]
Paddington North
John William Gordon
13,348
39.3
2[ 14]
Rossendale
Arthur Law
14,624
36.0
1[ 14]
Wakefield
George Henry Sherwood
13,393
48.8
1[ 14]
Westbury
George Ward
7,458
22.5
3[ 14]
York
Frederick George Burgess
20,663
45.0
1[ 14]
1931 by-election
Ashton-under-Lyne
John William Gordon
11,005
39.4
2[ 15]
1931 by-election
Manchester Ardwick
Joseph Henderson
15,294
50.5
1[ 15]
1931 general election
Ashton-under-Lyne
John William Gordon
11,074
37.1
2[ 16]
Leeds South
Henry Charleton
14,156
40.1
2[ 16]
Manchester Ardwick
Joseph Henderson
15,664
42.0
2[ 16]
Middlesbrough West
Henry Kegie
13,040
33.4
2[ 16]
Oldham
James Wilson
26,631
4[ 16]
Plymouth Sutton
George Ward
14,073
36.7
2[ 16]
Rossendale
Arthur Law
11,135
27.5
3[ 16]
Stalybridge and Hyde
William Dobbie
14,251
28.1
2[ 16]
Wakefield
George Sherwood
11,774
42.6
2[ 16]
York
Frederick George Burgess
16,310
35.1
2[ 16]
1933 by-election
Rotherham
William Dobbie
28,767
69.1
1[ 17]
1935 by-election
Edinburgh West
William McAdam
10,462
33.9
2[ 18]
1935 general election
Accrington
Frederick George Burgess
21,203
45.6
2[ 19]
Barrow-in-Furness
Percy Barstow
17,919
49.7
2[ 19]
Eccles
Jack Grierson
20,055
47.3
2[ 19]
Gateshead
James Wilson
25,804
47.3
2[ 19]
Leeds South
Henry Charleton
15,223
46.0
1[ 19]
Manchester Ardwick
Joseph Henderson
16,364
52.9
1[ 19]
Middlesbrough West
Henry Kegie
12,764
33.7
2[ 19]
Norwich
Christopher John Kelly
22,055
17.8
4[ 19]
Plymouth Sutton
George Ward
15,394
41.7
2[ 19]
Pontefract
Adam Hills
19,783
53.4
1[ 19]
Rotherham
William Dobbie
29,725
67.5
1[ 19]
Salford North
William McAdam
15,272
43.4
2[ 19]
1941 by-election
Pontefract
Percy Barstow
unopposed
N/A
1[ 20]
1944 by-election
Sheffield Attercliffe
John Hynd
unopposed
N/A
1[ 20]
1945 general election
Acton
Joseph Sparks
19,950
56.1
1[ 21]
Eccles
William Proctor
23,008
51.1
1[ 21]
Exeter
Reginald Travess
15,245
40.2
2[ 21]
Manchester Ardwick
Joseph Henderson
14,360
64.0
1[ 21]
Newcastle upon Tyne West
Ernest Popplewell
28,149
58.5
1[ 21]
Pontefract
Percy Barstow
24,690
60.6
1[ 21]
Rotherham
James Harrison
35,654
74.2
1[ 21]
Salford North
William McAdam
18,327
60.5
1[ 21]
Sheffield Attercliffe
John Hynd
23,468
81.4
1[ 21]
South Derbyshire
Arthur Champion
47,586
57.7
1[ 21]
The Hartlepools
D. T. Jones
16,502
41.2
1[ 21]
The Wrekin
Ivor Owen Thomas
22,453
56.3
1[ 21]
West Stirlingshire
Alfred Balfour
16,066
54.4
1[ 21]
1948 by-election
Glasgow Camlachie
John Inglis
10,690
42.1
2
1950 general election
Acton
Joseph Sparks
21,751
49.1
1[ 22]
Birmingham Perry Barr
Cecil Poole
23,178
56.6
1[ 22]
Eccles
William Proctor
27,409
50.7
1[ 22]
Manchester Wythenshawe
Charles Bridges
17,191
37.2
2[ 22]
Newcastle upon Tyne West
Ernest Popplewell
31,230
58.2
1[ 22]
Nottingham East
James Harrison
20,404
46.5
1[ 22]
Sheffield Attercliffe
John Hynd
30,726
71.6
1[ 22]
South East Derbyshire
Arthur Champion
30,039
49.1
1[ 22]
The Hartlepools
D. T. Jones
25,609
50.6
1[ 22]
The Wrekin
Ivor Owen Thomas
19,730
53.7
1[ 22]
Westbury
Reginald Travess
15,766
35.6
2[ 22]
West Stirlingshire
Alfred Balfour
19,930
55.6
1[ 22]
1951 general election
Acton
Joseph Sparks
23,287
52.2
1[ 23]
Birmingham Perry Barr
Cecil Poole
23,322
58.1
1[ 23]
Eccles
William Proctor
27,941
52.5
1[ 23]
Haltemprice
Charles Bridges
19,584
41.9
2[ 23]
Newcastle upon Tyne West
Ernest Popplewell
31,765
57.9
1[ 23]
Nottingham East
James Harrison
20,865
47.8
1[ 23]
Sheffield Attercliffe
John Hynd
29,958
71.1
1[ 23]
South East Derbyshire
Arthur Champion
33,020
52.7
1[ 23]
The Hartlepools
D. T. Jones
27,147
52.6
1[ 23]
The Wrekin
Ivor Owen Thomas
20,109
52.4
1[ 23]
Westbury
Reginald Travess
17,623
39.2
2[ 23]
1954 by-election
Haltemprice
Charles Bridges
9,974
38.2
2
1955 general election
Acton
Joseph Sparks
20,645
50.6
1[ 24]
Birmingham Perry Barr
Charles Howell
18,732
51.0
1[ 24]
Eccles
William Proctor
25,351
52.4
1[ 24]
Newcastle upon Tyne West
Ernest Popplewell
25,401
55.7
1[ 24]
Nottingham North
James Harrison
26,552
55.4
1[ 24]
Sheffield Attercliffe
John Hynd
33,071
71.0
1[ 24]
South East Derbyshire
Arthur Champion
25,620
51.6
1[ 24]
South Northamptonshire
Ronald Lewis
17,339
44.7
2[ 24]
The Hartlepools
D. T. Jones
25,145
51.6
1[ 24]
The Wrekin
Ivor Owen Thomas
18,541
49.4
2[ 24]
Westbury
Reginald Travess
16,295
37.8
2[ 24]
1958 by-election
St Helens
Leslie Spriggs
26,405
64.7
1[ 25]
1959 general election
Acton
Joseph Sparks
18,438
48.8
2[ 25]
Birmingham Perry Barr
Charles Howell
16,811
42.6
1[ 25]
Darlington
Ronald Lewis
19,901
39.7
2[ 25]
Eccles
William Proctor
25,566
52.0
1[ 25]
Newcastle upon Tyne West
Ernest Popplewell
28,956
54.8
1[ 25]
St Helens
Leslie Spriggs
35,961
62.1
1[ 25]
Sheffield Attercliffe
John Hynd
33,676
68.8
1[ 25]
South East Derbyshire
Arthur Champion
25,362
45.5
2[ 25]
The Hartlepools
D. T. Jones
25,281
49.8
2[ 25]
1964 general election
Birmingham Perry Barr
Charles Howell
18,156
49.5
2[ 26]
Carlisle
Ronald Lewis
19,169
45.6
1[ 26]
Glasgow Springburn
Richard Buchanan
16,828
65.3
1[ 26]
Newcastle upon Tyne West
Ernest Popplewell
29,603
58.3
1[ 26]
St Helens
Leslie Spriggs
34,137
67.0
1[ 26]
Sheffield Attercliffe
John Hynd
30,318
66.8
1[ 26]
Sunderland South
Gordon Bagier
25,900
51.6
1[ 26]
1966 general election
Carlton
Amos Lloyd Ramsden
24,589
39.2
2[ 27]
Carlisle
Ronald Lewis
22,565
56.1
1[ 27]
Glasgow Central
Thomas McMillan
11,673
74.8
1[ 27]
Glasgow Springburn
Richard Buchanan
15,998
67.8
1[ 27]
Nottingham South
George Perry
24,580
50.3
1[ 27]
St Helens
Leslie Spriggs
33,325
70.8
1[ 27]
Sheffield Attercliffe
John Hynd
32,336
77.3
1[ 27]
Sunderland South
Gordon Bagier
27,567
57.5
1[ 27]
1970 general election
Carlisle
Ronald Lewis
21,866
53.2
1[ 28]
Glasgow Central
Thomas McMillan
7,936
66.0
1[ 28]
Glasgow Springburn
Richard Buchanan
14,968
64.3
1[ 28]
Nottingham South
George Perry
23,031
46.3
2[ 28]
St Helens
Leslie Spriggs
31,587
65.7
1[ 28]
Sunderland South
Gordon Bagier
26,840
56.4
1[ 28]
Feb 1974 general election
Carlisle
Ronald Lewis
23,119
55.2
1[ 29]
Exeter
Graham Powell
17,686
31.2
2[ 29]
Glasgow Central
Thomas McMillan
9,400
58.7
1[ 29]
Glasgow Springburn
Richard Buchanan
18,067
53.7
1[ 29]
St Helens
Leslie Spriggs
32,621
59.0
1[ 29]
Sunderland South
Gordon Bagier
28,296
49.6
1[ 29]
West Bromwich East
Peter Snape
21,895
52.8
1[ 29]
Oct 1974 general election
Carlisle
Ronald Lewis
21,079
51.2
1[ 30]
Glasgow Central
Thomas McMillan
9,231
63.6
1[ 30]
Glasgow Springburn
Richard Buchanan
17,444
54.6
1[ 30]
St Helens
Leslie Spriggs
32,620
64.1
1[ 30]
Sunderland South
Gordon Bagier
28,623
55.0
1[ 30]
West Bromwich East
Peter Snape
19,942
50.5
1[ 30]
1976 by-election
Newcastle upon Tyne Central
Harry Cowans
4,692
47.6
1
1979 general election
Carlisle
Ronald Lewis
21,343
49.7
1[ 31]
Derby North
Phillip Whitehead
28,797
44.9
1[ 31]
Edinburgh Central
Robin Cook
12,191
47.9
1[ 31]
Glasgow Central
Thomas McMillan
8,542
72.5
1[ 31]
Holborn and St Pancras South
Frank Dobson
12,026
49.3
1[ 31]
Huddersfield West
Richard Faulkner
16,996
40.6
2[ 31]
Islington North
Michael O'Halloran
12,317
52.6
1[ 31]
Newcastle upon Tyne Central
Harry Cowans
10,395
67.3
1[ 31]
St Helens
Leslie Spriggs
32,489
59.6
1[ 31]
Sunderland South
Gordon Bagier
29,403
53.1
1[ 31]
Swansea East
Donald Anderson
31,909
69.9
1[ 31]
West Bromwich East
Peter Snape
19,279
47.0
1[ 31]
West Lothian
Tam Dalyell
36,713
54.9
1[ 31]
1983 general election
Carlisle
Ronald Lewis
15,618
37.5
1[ 32]
Crewe and Nantwich
Gwyneth Dunwoody
22,031
41.1
1[ 32]
Derby North
Phillip Whitehead
18,797
36.8
2[ 32]
Glasgow Garscadden
Donald Dewar
19,635
56.2
1
Holborn and St Pancras
Frank Dobson
20,486
47.5
1
Linlithgow
Tam Dalyell
19,694
45.1
1
Livingston
Robin Cook
14,255
37.7
1
Sunderland South
Gordon Bagier
22,869
45.7
1
Swansea East
Donald Anderson
22,297
54.4
1
Tyne Bridge
Harry Cowans
21,127
56.5
1
West Bromwich East
Peter Snape
15,894
38.1
1
Wrexham
John Marek
16,120
34.3
1
1987 general election
Crewe and Nantwich
Gwyneth Dunwoody
25,457
44.0
1[ 33]
Derby North
Phillip Whitehead
20,236
37.2
2
Glasgow Garscadden
Donald Dewar
18,920
64.4
1[ 33]
Holborn and St Pancras
Frank Dobson
22,966
50.6
1[ 33]
Linlithgow
Tam Dalyell
21,869
47.4
1[ 33]
Livingston
Robin Cook
19,110
45.6
1
Swansea East
Donald Anderson
27,478
63.7
1
West Bromwich East
Peter Snape
18,162
42.6
1[ 33]
Wrexham
John Marek
22,144
43.9
1[ 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
^ a b c d Eaton, Jack; Gill, Colin (1981). The Trade Union Directory . London: Pluto Press. pp. 38–42. ISBN 0861043502 .
^ Raynes, 1921, p. 165.
^ Raynes, 1921, p. 269.
^ Raynes, 1921, p. 124.
^ 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 .
^ a b c d e f Labour Party , Report of the Executive Committee (1918), p. 115.
^ Tanner, Duncan (1990). Political change and the Labour Party 1900-1918 . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 330–331. ISBN 0521329817 .
^ 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 .
^ a b c d Howell, David (2017). Respectable Radicals: Studies in the Politics of Railway Trade Unionism . Routledge. ISBN 978-1351903769 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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.
^ a b c d e "Only five railway union candidates". Manchester Guardian . 19 November 1923.
^ a b c d e f g "Labour's candidates". Manchester Guardian . 11 October 1924.
^ Report of the Annual Labour Party Conference : 15–19. 1929.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "List of Labour Candidates and Election Results, May 30th, 1929". Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party : 24–44. 1929.
^ a b "Parliamentary by-elections". Report of the Annual Labour Party Conference : 16–28. 1931.
^ a b c d e f g h i j "List of Endorsed Labour candidates and election results, October 27, 1931". Report of the Annual Labour Party Conference : 11–27. 1931.
^ "Parliamentary by-elections". Report of the Annual Labour Party Conference : 38–41. 1933.
^ "Parliamentary by-elections". Report of the Annual Labour Party Conference : 30–34. 1935.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "List of Endorsed Labour Candidates and Election Results, November 14, 1935". Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party : 8–23. 1935.
^ a b 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.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Labour Party , Report of the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party , pp. 232–248.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "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.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k "List of Parliamentary Labour candidates and election results, 25th October, 1951". Report of the Fiftieth Annual Conference of the Labour Party : 184–203. 1951.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k Labour Party , Report of the Fifty-Fourth Annual Conference of the Labour Party , pp. 255–275.
^ a b c d e f g h i j Labour Party , Report of the Fifty-Eighth Annual Conference of the Labour Party , pp. 179–201.
^ a b c d e f g Labour Party , Report of the Sixty-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party , pp. 158–180.
^ a b c d e f g h Labour Party , Report of the Sixty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party , pp. 308–330.
^ a b c d e f Labour Party , Report of the Sixty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Labour Party , pp. 289–312.
^ a b c d e f g Labour Party , Report of the Seventy-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party , pp. 371–390.
^ a b c d e f Labour Party , Report of the Seventy-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party , pp. 391–411.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Labour Party , Report of the Seventy-Eighth Annual Conference of the Labour Party , pp. 406–431.
^ a b c General Election Guide . BBC Data Publications. 1983. ISBN 094635815X .
^ a b c d e f "Election 87 Results". The Times . 13 June 1987.
^ a b c d e f g h i j "General Secretaries of the National Union of Railwaymen, 1913-1990 ", Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Philip Sydney Bagwell, The National Union of Railwaymen, 1913-1963: A Half-century of Industrial Trade Unionism , p. 2.
Sources and further reading
Bagwell, Philip S. (1963). The Railwaymen . London: George Allen & Unwin .
Bagwell, Philip S. (1982). The Railwaymen – Volume 2: the Beeching Era and After . London: George Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-04-331084-2 .
Bagwell, Philip. "Transport" in Chris Wrigley, ed. A History of British industrial relations, 1875-1914 (Univ of Massachusetts Press, 1982), pp. 230–52.
Griffiths, Robert (2005). Driven by Ideals . London: Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen .
McKillop, Norman (1950). The Lighted Flame; a History of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen . London & Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd .
Raynes, J. R. (1921). Engines and Men; the History of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen . Leeds: Goodall & Suddick (1916) Ltd.
External links
General Secretaries Senior Assistant General Secretaries Predecessors Other topics