The Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association (PTCA) 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 ...

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 ...

for workers in the

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

and

telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

s industries.

History

The union was founded in 1881 as the Postal Telegraph Clerks' Association, amalgamated with the United Kingdom Postal Clerks' Association in 1914 to form the Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association, and in 1919 amalgamated with the Postmen's Federation and the Fawcett Association to form the Union of Post Office Workers. It achieved official recognition, and as a result, in 1920 the London Postal Porters' Association, Central London Postmen's Association, Tracers' Association, Tube Staff Association, Messengers' Association and Sorters' Association all merged with it.

Leadership

Notable figures in the leadership of the union included the women's officer, Edith Howse.

General Secretaries

:1881: T. Wilkinson :1881: T. Morris :1886: J. E. Scott :1890: T. D. Venables :1898: C. E. Hall :1903: Thomas McKinney :1906: William Johnson :1910: E. R. Tuck :1914: J. G. Newlove :1917: Albert Lynes (acting) :1917: Frederick Fox Riley (acting) Lynes was elected as general secretary in 1919, but before he could take up the post, the union was merged.

Organising Secretaries

:1914: Fred Richardson :1918: Horace Nobbs

References

External links

Catalogue of the PTCA 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 ...

Catalogue of the UKPCA archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Communications trade unions 1881 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1881 Trade unions disestablished in 1919 {{UK-trade-union-stub