The National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers (NADSS) was a British veterans' organisation. The group was founded in early 1917 at a conference in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

, drawing together various local groups representing working men who had served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

but had since been discharged. It campaigned for better

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

s, and more opportunities for re-training. Led by James Howell, it developed links with

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s and the Labour Party. The association sponsored several candidates at the 1918 general election, forming part of what was termed the "

Silver Badge Party {{short description, Defunct veterans' political movement in the United Kingdom The Silver Badge Party was an unofficial political movement which existed in the United Kingdom during and immediately after the First World War. The Party consisted of ...

". Robert Hewitt Barker was elected in Sowerby, having been endorsed by the local branch, but not by the executive, and acting essentially as an

independent Conservative Independent Conservative is a description which has been used in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States and elsewhere, to denote a political conservative who lacks a formal affiliation to the party of that name. In the United Kingdom As a de ...

. Around this time, the group severed its links with the labour movement, and became more conservative in outlook, moving closer to the

Comrades of the Great War The Comrades of The Great War were formed in 1917 as an association to represent the rights of ex-service men and women who had served or had been discharged from service during World War I. Comrades of The Great War was one of the original four e ...

group. In 1919, J.M. Hogge replaced Howell as President. In 1921, it merged with the Comrades group, the

National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers The National Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers (NFDDSS) was a British veterans organisation. The organisation was founded in January 1917 by various London-based veterans groups opposed to the Military Service (Review of ...

and the

Officers' Association The Officers' Association (OA) is a British charity supporting military ex-officers and their families, founded in 1920. It received a Royal Charter on 10 June the following year and is closely associated with The Royal British Legion. Histor ...

to form the British Legion.Niall Barr, ''The Lion and the Poppy'', p.18

References

{{reflist British veterans' organisations United Kingdom in World War I 1917 establishments in the United Kingdom 1921 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1917 Organizations disestablished in 1921