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 ...

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

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 {{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 hope ...

(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, ...

(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, ...

). 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 (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 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 transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

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 betwee ...

, 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 ...

) 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 ra ...

, 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. 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.

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1913: James Edwin WilliamsGeneral Secretaries of the National Union of Railwaymen, 1913-1990
, Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick. :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 Concemore Thomas Thwaites Cramp (19 March 1876 – 13 July 1933), known as Charlie Cramp, was a British trade unionist and political activist. Born in Staplehurst in Kent, Cramp worked as a gardener, before gaining employment with the Midland R ...

:1933:

John Marchbank John Marchbank (19 January 1883 – 25 March 1946) was a Scottish trade unionist. Born in Lambfoot in Dumfriesshire, Marchbank worked in his youth as an assistant to his father, who was a shepherd. He moved to work for the Caledonian Rai ...

: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

Presidents

:1913: Albert BellamyPhilip Sydney Bagwell, ''The National Union of Railwaymen, 1913-1963: A Half-century of Industrial Trade Unionism'', p. 2. :1918:

:1920: William James Abraham :1922:

:1925: William Dobbie :1928: J. Gore :1931: William Dobbie :1934: Joseph Henderson :1937: Walter T. Griffiths :1939: J. H. Potts :1942: Frederick Burrows :1945: Eddie Binks :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 :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 {{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