The Fawcett Association was a

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 ( ...

representing postal clerks in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

History

The union was founded in 1890. It was named after

Henry Fawcett Henry Fawcett (26 August 1833 – 6 November 1884) was a British academic, politician, statesman and economist. Background and education Henry Fawcett was born in Salisbury, and educated at King's College School and the University of Cambri ...

, who it considered had been sympathetic to workers when he was

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official respons ...

. For most of its existence, the union's general secretary was Wallace Bligh Cheesman, and its chairman was William E. Clery. They were sacked from the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

after they circulated information about candidates in the 1892 general election, and attempted to get them to express support for the union. However, Cheesman remained the union's secretary throughout its existence. Cheesman decided to work closely with other unions, and in 1893, the Fawcett Association became the first clerical union to affiliate to the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

. It also joined the United Government Workers' Federation, and formed the National Joint Committee of Postal and Telegraph Associations in 1897, with the

Postmen's Federation The Postmen's Federation was a trade union representing postal workers in the United Kingdom. In 1889, a "Postmen's Union" was founded in Clerkenwell by Tom Dredge and John Lincoln Mahon. This dissolved after many of its members were sacked, bu ...

Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association The Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association (PTCA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. History The union was founded in 1881 as the Postal Telegraph Clerks' Association, am ...

and United Kingdom Postal Clerks' Association. The union was represented at the founding meeting of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC). Clery was adopted as an LRC candidate in 1901, but was also adopted as a Liberal-Labour candidate for

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

. This proved controversial, and he did not ultimately stand under either label. Membership of the union grew steadily, reaching 3,750 by 1904. The Postal Bagmen's Association and the Women Sorters' Association affiliated to the Fawcett Association in 1906. In 1919, it merged with the

and the

, forming the

Union of Post Office Workers The Union of Communication Workers (UCW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. History The union was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) by the merger ...

Election results

The union co-sponsored a Labour Party candidate at the

1918 UK general election The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sent ...

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1889: L. Leader{{cite book , last1=Clinton , first1=Alan , title=Post Office Workers , date=1984 , publisher=George Allen and Unwin , isbn=0043310869 :1890: William E. Clery :1890: H. Hall :1890: William E. Clery :1891: J. Guest :1892: Wallace Bligh Cheesman

Chairs

:1889: J. H. Williams :1893: William E. Clery :1903: G. W. Gains :1905: A. J. Mosedale :1908: E. J. Nevill :1911:

Charles Ammon Charles George Ammon, 1st Baron Ammon, PC, DL, JP (22 April 1873 – 2 April 1960) was a British Labour Party politician. Background and education The son of Charles George and Mary Ammon, he was educated at public elementary schools. He was ...

Treasurer

:1889: H. Groves :1899: W. E. Smith :1902: J. Fitzgerald :1917: C. P. Randall

References

Trade unions established in 1890 Trade unions disestablished in 1919 Postal trade unions