The Associated Blacksmiths, Forge and Smithy Workers' Society (ABFSWS) was a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing metalworkers 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

History

The union was founded in 1857 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

as the Scottish United Operative Blacksmiths Protection and Friendly Society. In 1872, it became the Associated Blacksmiths of Scotland, but then decided to organise throughout the UK, in 1885 becoming the Associated Blacksmiths' Society. Around 1910s, it became the Associated Blacksmiths and Iron Workers' Society.John B. Smethurst and Peter Carter, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.6, pp.314-320 Membership was around 3,000 for many years, but grew rapidly under the leadership of John Thomson in the 1910s. He focused on mergers with smaller unions, bringing in the Combined Smiths of Great Britain and Ireland, the Co-operative Society of Smiths, the National United Society of Smiths and Hammermen, and the United Smiths Trade Union of Ireland. This brought membership up to 13,500 by 1915, and made it the largest union of blacksmiths in the country, ahead of the Amalgamated Society of Smiths and Strikers. In 1963, the union merged with the Shipconstructors' and Shipwrights' Association into the

United Society of Boilermakers, Shipbuilders and Structural Workers The Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers, Shipwrights, Blacksmiths and Structural Workers (ASB) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. Many of its members worked in shipbuilding, in which industry it was the leading trade union, while over tim ...

, which renamed itself as the "Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers, Shipwrights, Blacksmiths and Structural Workers".

Election results

The union sponsored a Labour Party candidate in 1929.

General Secretaries

:1857: James M'Lean :1859: David Stuart :1863: John Inglis :1907: John Thomson :1919: William Lorimer :1948: William J. Michael :1960: Jimmy Jarvie

References

External links

Catalogue of the ABFSWS 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 collect ...

{{Authority control 1857 establishments in the United Kingdom Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Metal trade unions Trade unions established in 1857 Trade unions disestablished in 1963