Engines and Men/Chapter 15
Chapter XV
The 1912 Report was signed by Mr. Geo. Moore, with an expression of regret for its late arrival, and that for 1913 was signed by Mr. Moore as "Acting General Secretary." Mr. Fox had been obviously unwell for some months, his paleness being very marked, and early in 1913 he had to stand aside from the many activities he had tried to control personally.
The late General Secretary was 57 years old, and had held office for twelve years. He had joined the Society in 1886 at Mexborough, and was for many years secretary of that branch. He became E.C. representative for the Yorkshire district, as I have recorded, and in 1901 became President. When the crisis of 1911 came, and the companies remained obdurate to reason or appeal, it was Mr. Fox who moved, at Liverpool the dramatic resolution to give a general 24 hours notice. He was similarly stirred, despite his ill-health, over the Guard Richardson case, on the Midland, in 1913. When the funeral procession went to Woodhouse Cemetery, several veterans, like Messrs. Shuttleworth, Mogg, Duckworth, Dickinson, and Hatton were present, and a magnificent floral cross was placed by the American Brotherhood. Resolutions of condolence poured in from all quarters, fully indicating the place won in railway affairs by Mr. Fox.
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Mr. J. Bromley,
General Secretary from 1914.
"I am sorry to have to inform you that right in amongst the thick of business I was taken ill after arriving home; or rather I ought to say that the illness under which I have been suffering for some three years now arrived at a climax, and I had to go to bed. By the doctor's orders I was to stay there for a while, and this I hope to do. I am pleased to tell you that now I am feeling much better, and hope to continue to do so."
The General Secretary was able to attend the 1913 Conference, which voted him an increase of £50 in his salary, and three months leave of absence, as he had taken no holiday since 1910. The Executive relieved him of all duties, and insisted upon him taking leave of absence for the period. A letter to this effect was issued to leading members of those Conciliation Boards of which Mr. Fox was secretary. Branches were at the same time informed that:-
"It has been found necessary to relieve Mr. Fox of duty as General Secretary for three months. For some considerable time his continued ill-health has retarded the work of the organisation, not only through delay in dealing with outside work, but through inability to supervise the indoor or office work at Leeds. Whilst having every sympathy with Mr. Fox in his illness, and knowing he had also been worried by domestic troubles, we cannot allow his illness and other troubles to destroy the efficiency of the organisation. In these circumstances we were compelled to remove him as aforesaid stated."
That notification was, in fact, a patient and very guarded statement of the difficulties caused for the Executive. Mr. Fox had been a most strenuous, able, and earnest worker for the Society, but he lacked the gift of directing others to share the burden of great administration. The Head Office was steadily and essentially becoming sectionalised, its activities varying from heavy correspondence to the Editorship of the "Journal" and the direction of a big Approved Society. Over all these, as well as direction of office routine. Mr. Fox sought to exercise direct personal control, in addition to the Conciliation Board work, then in a state of flux, and all external negotiations with companies. The effort caused his life to be full of rush, with many night journeys and irregular and inadequate food. Over all this he frequently took the platform on the Amalgamation or Federation issue, and the effect of it all came suddenly. By December of 1912 he had ceased to be an effective force, and his ill-health was added to serious domestic trouble by the painful illness of his younger son Charles, who died in October of 1913. The Executive and Assistant Secretary had an anxious time up to December of 1913, when Mr. Fox again relapsed.
By September of 1913 the membership had passed 30,000, a very gratifying total, and the Executive had several new members—Messrs. J. Healey (Sheffield) for the North Midland; John Hunter (Southport) for Lancashire; W. Gamble (Derby) for the Midlands, and Geo. Wixson (Cardiff) for South Wales. The 1913 A.A.D., over which Mr. R. Hill, of Bradford, presided, had decided to take a ballot of all members on a payment of 1s. per year to a Political Fund, any member being able to sign an exemption clause from the payment. The result of this ballot was declared by Mr. Wride, the President, on October 7th, as follows:—For the payment, 7,839; against, 3,841. This was immediately followed by a startling and untrue article in the "Daily Express," alleging that £16,000 were missing and that the General Secretary had been relieved of duty for three months. Action was instantly taken by the Society's solicitors, and the "Daily Express," along with one or two journals which followed it, issued an apology and letter of explanation. The simple fact was that the Annual Report showed for the first time a deficit, which was £16,000, and the simple explanation was that the miners' strike of 1912 had cost the Society £24,000 in out-of-work pay, while the balance on the ordinary work of the year was £8,000. It had nothing whatever to do with the Secretary's illness and absence.
On Sunday, October 19th of 1913, Mr. Fox resumed responsibility for the Society, but he had to again relinquish it in December. The Executive assembled on March 17th of 1914, and learned that the General Secretary had not been able to attend to the office during the year, except for a short time on two occasions, owing to his continued and now really serious illness. On Sunday, March 22nd, information was received at the office of the death of Mr. Fox that day, and the Executive rose as a mark of their deep sympathy. Votes of condolence and regret were carried, and it was arranged that Mr. Geo. Moore should undertake the duties of General Secretary until other arrangements were made. On Friday, March 27th, the Executive adjourned at 12 noon to attend the funeral. The offices were closed, and the staff also attended, along with representatives from nearly thirty branches, from the Leeds Trades Council, and the N.U.R. Members of the Executive acted as bearers.
"We have to place here on permanent record our regret at the loss we have sustained by the death of our late General Secretary, Mr. A. Fox, and realising the difficulties he has had to face in the past, we must give all credit to him for his efforts on our behalf as a Society."
Such was the first sentence of the 33rd Annual Report, issued in May of 1914. It continued that, "In the second place we have to rejoice at the continued success of the Society. We have again to report remarkable progress, and we represent a good majority of locomotive enginemen. We have not had a big industrial dispute, but we have had several strikes on a small scale." It reported for the year-during which Mr. Ivor Gregory was elected organiser that the membership had increased by 5,700, standing at 32,200, with total funds of £176,018.
Mr. Gregory had begun duty as organiser on February 1st, 1913, being elected with a vote of 5,700, the next highest being Mr. Hunter 2,018 and Mr. A. Mason 1,092. He had to reside in Leeds for a time to assist at Head Office, and then later moved to Carlisle. Shortly before, Miss Nicholson had joined the office staff as first lady typist, and an examination for clerical posts available to men from the footplate resulted in the appointment of Messrs. J. Wilson, Sowerby Bridge; A. E. Wintle, Doncaster; J. T. Crossland, Nottingham; A. C. Price, Birmingham; and Mr. Gosling, Bradford. The Head Office staff to-day includes some twenty members of the N.U.C., several of whom are ladies.
Edge Hill was disturbed over the case of Driver Gore, who was dismissed following a collision at Wavertree, and the demand for his reinstatement was in the hands of Mr. Bromley. Eventually, a Board of Trade Inquiry was conceded for January 10th, at the demand of the Society, the decision being sent to all branches on the L. & N.W. in view of the strike attitude being general. Members of the Executive were also deputed to attend meetings on Sunday, January 12th. This was hardly put right before, in February, came the case of Guard Richardson, of Normanton, who was dismissed for refusing to load his train beyond the brake power. He also was reinstated after a strike had become imminent. The Trade Union Act of 1913 had an important bearing on the Society, and the solicitors were instructed to revise the rules in accordance with that Act. The strike in Dublin also came into prominence in the Society, for several of the Welsh members refused to handle "blackleg" traffic. Engineman G. James, who felt very keenly the events transpiring in Dublin, refused on November 7th of 1913 to shunt a train partly composed of Dublin traffic, while he was occupied in shunting at Llandilo Junction. He was sent to the loco. depot, and on again reporting for duty he was suspended for ten days and sent home. On November 17th he was paid a week's wages in lieu of notice. On hearing of this dismissal, Engineman Reynolds reported himself off duty until James was allowed to resume. An open meeting was held at Llanelly on the following day, at which the reinstatement of James was demanded, and failing that reinstatement, they would withdraw their labour. Driver James was refused permission to accompany a deputation to Mr. Potter and Mr. Churchward, and on November 30th, at Swansea, a further mass meeting asked the E.C. to negotiate the reinstatement of James with the G.W.R., failing which they would withdraw their labour. Reynolds then decided to report for duty, but on doing so was told his services were no longer required. This looked like victimisation, and Driver Squance led the strike previously decided upon to challenge that arbitrary attitude. Complete reinstatement was secured, and views expressed about the limits of the sympathetic strike method. Generous funds were also raised by the Society and its members for the Dublin strikers. The Executive first contributed £200 and then £100 weekly until it sent £1,400, supplemented by over £600 given by the members in separate branch efforts.
The National Union of Railwaymen came into being on March 29th of 1913, the negotiations having proceeded during 1912. It comprised three of the four railway unions, the A.S.L.E. & F. adhering to the maxim, "Organise your trade, Federate your industry," an attitude which was perfectly consistent with Conciliation methods, and of great advantage to members. The avowed object of the N.U.R. is organisation by industry, a principle which in practice leads to many incongruities. The ballots to secure fusion were long drawn out, owing to the need of securing a two-thirds majority under the Act of 1876. As in our Society, the ruling body is the Annual General Meeting, the Executive Committee, consisting of the President, the General Secretary, and 24 other members, chosen by ballot on the single transferable vote system for six electoral districts. In each of these districts the members are classified into four groups: (1) Locomotive, (2) Traffic, (3) Goods and Cartage, (4) Engineering shops and permanent way. The 1912 Constitution has been several times revised, Mr. C. T. Cramp has become Industrial General Secretary, as chief lieutenant to Mr. J. H. Thomas, M.P., P.C., and the Executive cannot now conclude settlements without the sanction of a General Meeting.
Late in the year 1913 the Board of Trade wrote inviting suggestions from the Society for the prevention of railway accidents, Branches were communicated with at once, to secure all possible suggestions, and a deputation appointed to meet the Board of Trade, consisting of Messrs. G. Wride (who was re-elected President for 1914), Oxlade, Shipley, Stevenson and Moore. The points to be emphasised by this deputation were: (1) Heavy loading: (2) Better brake power; (3) Efficient signalling; (4) Timing of trains; (5) Practical locomotive men as Board of Trade Inspectors; (6) The impracticability of Rule 55. The Inquiry was proceeding, and evidence had been partly taken, when the European War broke out in August of 1914, and all proceedings were suspended for its duration.
In November of 1913 the N.U.R. gave notice of a desire to terminate the Conciliation Scheme of 1911, and the A.S.L.E. & F. sent in notice to secure amendments. In reply to these notices the companies appointed a Special Committee of seven members to meet the Societies jointly, an important action, because hitherto, except for urgent matters, on the North Eastern and Great Western lines, the companies had evaded direct recognition. The Executives of the two Societies met jointly to arrange a common policy, the points submitted being:-
Upon questions Nos. 2, 3, and 4 there was agreement, but on No. 5 the Conference broke up. It was the justifiable insistence by the A.S.L.E. & F. for a separate Board on each railway for locomotivemen, and the disagreement of the N.U.R. was complete. The Society has always recognised the important value attached to the long years of experience and training which go to the making of a driver, whose position can in no sense be likened to that of the goods porter or drayman. They could not, therefore, place their destiny in the hands of an all-grades meeting. This was a long and involved question, causing many special meetings, but eventually, in March of 1914, the efforts to develop a Joint Scheme broke down, and in April the two Executives met the Special Committee of the companies separately. On this matter, too, the war rang down the curtain for a time.
The nation was in a state of interesting confusion. The Titanic, the latest great liner, had struck an iceberg and gone down on her first voyage in 1912; motor cars were becoming popular, and aeroplanes were attaining success; there were suffragettes in nearly every gaol, and Ireland was full of trouble. The doctors had finished their protest against the Insurance Act, and were enrolling huge panels. It was found that 80 doctors had 2,000 to 3,000 patients each; twenty had 3,000 to 4,000; three had 4,000 to 5,000; and three others had 5,000 to 7,000 patients each. A train-ferry had been started across the Channel, destined to be greatly developed during the war. In August of 1913 came the Colchester disaster, an express being wrecked by running into a light engine on the line, while in September came a worse event at Aisgill, Driver Samuel Caudle, the driver of the second express from Carlisle, missed the danger signals at Mallerstang, and ran into an express timed a few minutes earlier, which had been brought to a stand at Aisgill for want of steam, owing to poor fuel on the long incline. Caudle had himself been in great difficulties from the same cause, and was too occupied with injector and pressure questions to "take a second look," as he usually did, at the signals. He was found guilty of culpable negligence, and sentenced to a term of imprisonment, but so strong was the feeling stirred over the case, and the hardship of the drivers, that the Home Secretary ordered his release. Cleaners' strikes at Bolton, Bury, and Blackburn, on the L. & Y., were keeping Mr. Bromley very busy, and it was found that many of these cleaners were firing passenger and other main line trains for 3s. 9d. daily. In this same period, the "Daily Citizen" was causing a good deal of anxiety, as it continued to do until its demise in 1915. The Society had loaned it a sum of £1,000, and gave over £500 in a year in the form of advertising. A ballot for or against the 8 hours day was returnable on March 19th of 1914, and it resulted in the demand which had its climax in February of 1919, to be referred to later.
On July 16th of 1914, the Exe cutive proceeded to London to again interview the General Managers respecting the Conciliation Scheme, and then returned to Leeds to check the ballot vote for the election of a new General Secretary. It was declared as follows:-J. Bromley, 5,235; G. Moore, 4,249; I. Gregory, 3,641; A. Mason, 1,347; W. W. Cooke, 622: B. Wild, 128; G. Wride, 76; W. J. Jones, 49; G. James, 35. It was thereupon decided that ballot papers be issued at once, in accordance with Rule 13, to secure a decision between the two highest candidates, Messrs. Bromley and Moore, the second ballot to be returnable not later than October 7th. This final ballot was checked on October 9th and 10th, and
| Mr. J. Bromley (Longsight) | 7,942 |
| Mr. Geo. Moore (Leeds No. 2) | 6,438 |
Mr. J. Hunter, President of the Election Committee, thereupon declared Mr. Bromley to be the duly elected General Secretary, and Mr. Geo. Wride, President of the Executive, congratulated Mr. Bromley, followed by Mr. Moore, who supplemented these remarks, and assured Mr. Bromley of hearty co-operation. Returning his thanks to members, through the "Journal." for his election, Mr. Bromley wrote: "I will earnestly endeavour to prove myself worthy of that confidence, and will try by strict and earnest attention to my duty, with all the energy I possess, to safeguard the very important interests entrusted to my care."
Mr. Geo. Moore, in returning his thanks to his many supporters, said: "I shall support Mr. Bromley, in his difficult position as General Secretary, to the utmost of my ability. I am hoping we shall be able to work together to the advantage of our organisation." Looking back now, after seven years experience of Messrs. Bromley and Moore, as General and Assistant Secretaries respectively, we can bear faithful witness to the fact that both of them have amply fulfilled their pledges, and done more still. It is largely due to their zeal, loyalty, and co-operation that the Society, in the seven years 1914-1921, made history in lumps. Much became possible that was not possible before, and membership, funds, and prestige grew apace.
Mr. Bromley was born at Hadnall, near Shrewsbury, on July 16th, 1876, and was therefore still a young man, bringing the priceless assets of a strong physique, a clear mentality, and a class conscious mind to bear upon a great task in which he was destined to have need of all of them. The General Secretary of the new and greater era began his railway life as a cleaner at Shrewsbury in 1890, and was doing much spare firing and some main line work at the age of sixteen. He was registered fireman in March of 1896, and so became qualified to join the Society of which he was destined to become the central figure. Within two months we find him in branch meetings, serving as fireman and enthusiastic but unofficial organiser at Shrewsbury, Gobowen, Aberdare, and Worcester, on the Great Western. He was promoted driver in 1905, and removed from Worcester to Southall (London), between which two branches he put in eight years service as branch secretary. He first attended the Triennial Conference in 1903, and in the same year was elected a member of the G.W.R. deputation. When the Conciliation Board Scheme was launched he was elected representative of the locomotivemen in the London District. He was President of the memorable Triennial Conference of 1909, and elected Organising Secretary in 1910, being also Secretary of the Locomotive Conciliation Boards on the Hull and Barnsley and the North Staffordshire Railways. Thereafter his activities knew no pause. I can trace his new lead through the last eleven years, first inspiring a campaign for 30,000 members, for 35,000 when that was accomplished, for 40,000 immediately after, for 50,000 the next year, and so up the ladder to 60,000, and eventually and most successfully to 75,000. It was his hand pointed the way, and his example of hard work that inspired all the rest. Silver medals for securing 25 new members went out constantly, hundreds of them, Locomotivemen knew that in every sense their Society was firm as a rock, and general managers learned a deeper respect for the footplate fraternity.
It was singular that just as the Society launched away upon a new and really great era, its first member, William Ullyatt, of Sheffield, No. 1 on the register of branch No. 1, should pass away. Ullyott died on September 27th of 1914, aged 72 years, full of honour, and proud of the fame of the Society he nursed in its infancy. Its funds were a shade and protection to him during his declining years. Charles Perry, who had written him the historic letter which finds its place in this volume, had died some years earlier, leaving his son a full benefit member of Paddington branch. Ullyott had begun his railway life at York in 1853.
Now to pick up one or two pre-war matters of history, just trifles not connected with the bigger movements that continued through years. On Friday, July 14th of 1913, Mr. Moore and Mr. W. Hudson, M.P., interviewed Lord Bessborough, Chairman of Directors, and the General Manager of the L.B. & S.C. Railway, to demand the front end of the trains on the newly electrified system for locomotivemen exclusively. The men made a firm stand in support of the deputation named, and Lord Bessborough signed the agreement which gave to locomotivemen the exclusive option on the electric motorman's position. The company sought to get six men from the traffic department, who had been trained, accepted for the positions, but the delegates refused to do that. The position carried the steam drivers' rate of wages, and the agreement thus secured formed a precedent, followed later by the L. & N.W. and other electrified lines. On the L. & N.W., too, the agreement included high rent allowances, and a guaranteed week on the average basis of 240 hours for each four weeks.
Sir Albert Stanley was knighted on June 22nd of 1914, and 20,000 employees of the T.O.T. concerns (trains, omnibuses and trams) subscribed to a gift of a silver tea and coffee service. The Triple Alliance of the Miners' Federation, the Transport Workers' Federation, and the N.U.R. was being launched, and it came in for very sharp criticism by the National Federation of Enginemen assembled at Chester, at which our delegates were Messrs. Wride, Moore, and Cooke.
Then the clouds of war lowered in the sky and darkened all Europe. We had better close the chapter.