The National Union of Railwaymen 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 ( ...

of railway workers in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The largest railway workers' union in the country, it was influential in the national trade union movement.

History

The NUR was an

industrial union Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...

founded in 1913 by the merger of the

Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal ** Pan am ...

(founded 1872), the

United Pointsmen and Signalmen's Society {{short description, Former trade union of the United Kingdom The United Pointsmen and Signalmen's Society was a union representing railway workers in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1880 in Bolton, when it was known as the Pointsmen' ...

(founded 1880) and the

General Railway Workers' Union The General Railway Workers' Union was a trade union representing low-paid workers on railways of the United Kingdom. Following the London Dock strike of 1889, a group of low-paid railway workers were inspired to join a trade union. They hoped ...

(founded 1889). The NUR represented the majority of railway workers, but not white-collar workers, who were members of the

Railway Clerks' Association The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) is a trade union for workers in the transport and travel industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head office is in London, and it has regional offices in Bristol, Derby, Dublin, Manche ...

(founded 1897, later the

Transport Salaried Staffs' Association The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) is a trade union for workers in the transport and travel industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head office is in London, and it has regional offices in Bristol, Derby, Dublin, Manche ...

). NUR membership was open to drivers and

firemen A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

but most chose instead to be members of the

Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) is a British trade union representing train drivers. It is part of the International Transport Workers' Federation and the European Transport Workers' Federation. At the end of ...

(founded 1880). In 1914 the NUR joined forces with the

National Transport Workers' Federation The National Transport Workers' Federation (NTWF) was an association of British trade unions. It was formed in 1910 to co-ordinate the activities of various organisations catering for dockers, seamen, tramwaymen and road transport workers. Histor ...

and Mining Federation of Great Britain to form the Triple Alliance – perhaps an unfortunate name, as the same year the

Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and the Triple Alliance of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(albeit without

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

) 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. The NUR formed Federation agreements with ASLEF in 1903Raynes, 1921, p. 124. 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. Following the formation of

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

, the majority of NUR members worked for the nationalised organisation. However, other members worked for London Transport, the

National Freight Corporation The National Freight Corporation was a major British transport business between 1948 and 2000. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and at one time, as NFC plc, was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was established ...

and various smaller companies. It also recruited British Rail workers in associated industries, such as its hotels, docks and harbours, and on the

Sealink Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland. Ports served by the company included: Dover, Folkesto ...

ferries. In 1990 the NUR merged with the

National Union of Seamen The National Union of Seamen (NUS) was the principal trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990. In 1990, the union amalgamated with the National Union of Railwaymen to form the National Union of Rail ...

to form the

National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (commonly known as the RMT) is a British trade union covering the transport sector. Its current President is Alex Gordon and its current General Secretary is Mick Lynch. The RMT is on ...

(RMT) and ceased to exist as a separate union.

Election results

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

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1913: James Edwin WilliamsGeneral Secretaries of the National Union of Railwaymen, 1913-1990
, Modern Records Centre,

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

. :1916:

James Henry Thomas James Henry Thomas (3 October 1874 – 21 January 1949), sometimes known as Jimmy Thomas or Jim Thomas, was a Welsh trade unionist and Labour (later National Labour) politician. He was involved in a political scandal involving budget leaks. ...

:1931: Charlie Cramp :1933: John Marchbank :1943: John Benstead :1948: Jim Figgins :1953: Jim Campbell :1957:

Sidney Greene Sidney Francis Greene, Baron Greene of Harrow Weald, (12 February 1910 – 26 July 2004) was a trade union leader in the United Kingdom, serving as general secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen from 1957 to 1975. He promoted close ties be ...

:1975:

Sidney Weighell Sidney Weighell (pronounced "weal"; 31 March 1922 – 13 February 2002) was a British footballer, trade unionist and the General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen from 1975 to 1983. Early life He was born at 25 Gladstone Street, ...

:1983:

Jimmy Knapp James Knapp (29 September 1940 – 13 August 2001) was a British trades unionist. He was successively General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) from 1983, and then of the merged National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transpo ...

Presidents

:1913:

Albert Bellamy Albert Bellamy (1870 – 26 March 1931) was an English trades unionist and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. Bellamy was born in Wigan, Lancashire and took up employment as an engine-driver for the London and North Western Railway. He ...

Philip Sydney Bagwell, ''The National Union of Railwaymen, 1913-1963: A Half-century of Industrial Trade Unionism'', p. 2. :1918: Charlie Cramp :1920: William James Abraham :1922: John Marchbank :1925:

William Dobbie Lieutenant General Sir William George Shedden Dobbie, (12 July 1879 – 3 October 1964) was a British Army officer who served in the Second Boer War and the First and Second World Wars. Early life William was born in Madras to a civil servant ...

:1928: J. Gore :1931:

:1934: Joseph Henderson :1937: Walter T. Griffiths :1939: J. H. Potts :1942:

Frederick Burrows Sir Frederick John Burrows GCSI, GCIE (3 July 1887 – 20 April 1973) was a British politician who served as the last British Governor of Bengal during the British Raj in India. He was Governor of Bengal from 19 February 1946 to 14 August 1947. ...

:1945:

Eddie Binks John Edward Binks (3 May 1887 – 18 July 1963) was a British trade unionist and politician, who served as President of the National Union of Railwaymen, and as an alderman on the London County Council. Born in Islington, Binks' father died wh ...

:1948: William Tindall Potter :1951: Harry Franklin :1954: Jim Stafford :1957: Tom Hollywood :1958: Charles W. Evans :1961: Bill Rathbone :1964: Frank Donlon :1967:

Frank Lane Frank Charles Meyers LaneCorbett, Warren: ''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

References

Sources and further reading

* * * Bagwell, Philip. "Transport" in Chris Wrigley, ed. ''A History of British industrial relations, 1875-1914'' (Univ of Massachusetts Press, 1982), pp. 230–52. * * *

External links

Catalogue of the NUR archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

{{Authority control Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Railway unions in the United Kingdom 1913 establishments in the United Kingdom Industrial unions Trade unions established in 1913 Trade unions disestablished in 1990 Defunct transport organisations based in the United Kingdom Trade unions based in London