Engines and Men/Chapter 5
Chapter V
In the good year 1835, when railways were beginning to boom, medical men declared that "Travelling in cars drawn by a locomotive ought to be forbidden in the interests of the public health. The rapid movement cannot fail to produce amongst passengers a mental affection known as delirium furlosum. A single glance at the locomotive rapidly passing is sufficient to cause the same cerebral derangement. Consequently, it is absolutely necessary to build fences ten feet high on each side of the railway!"
A nice state of affairs that would have caused. Fancy a driver travelling every day with high wooden fences on each side, fancy the amount of good timber needed to block the open view, fancy the agony of travelling by train, and then fancy the great silliness of doctors talking like that. By the year 1880 all the nation must have got over its delirium furlosum, but similar objection, equally stupid, was being taken to the organisation of men. Things are very different now to what they used to be, and as a striking illustration of the change let me quote the very meek and humble memorial presented late in 1879 by the men of the G.W.R. to the directors thereof, about the harsh circular I have previously referred to. Here is the document:— The Memorial of the Enginemen and Firemen of the Great Western Railway.
To the Honourable Board of Directors,
Humbly Sheweth,
That your Memorialists approach your Honourable Board by lay before you the desire of your Memorialists, and regret that they should be compelled to make this third appeal to you for the withdrawal of Circular 3,478, issued by Mr. Dean. October 1st, 1879, which increases the hours of labour, and in many cases reduces the wages of your Memorialists, and ask your Honourable Board for ten hours per day booking on and off duty, also 150 miles for passenger and 120 miles for goods to constitute a day's work. That no man receive less than six days if able to perform his duty; and we consider classification as put in Circular 3,478 a very unfair thing between master and man; and being undismayed by the opposition you gave to our second appeal, we, as workmen in whose hands the lives and property of yours and the public are placed, are convinced that, in justice to our employers and ourselves, we are entitled to a more merciful consideration from your Honourable Board, and for further justification we may mention that the increased anxiety, excessive speed, and the additional number and weights of the trains, additional signals, and night duty we have to perform, alone is sufficient to lay claim to the suggestions in this Memorial, and which is necessary for the safety of ourselves and the benefit of our employers, and we also ask your Honourable Board to receive a deputation of the men to state their grievances, and place your Memorialists in the position they now seek, to obtain direct from the Board, as your Memorialists are at all times agreeable to accept any reasonable terms issued direct from you, otherwise would feel extremely grieved to state that we cannot possibly accept Circular 3,478.
And in conclusion your Memorialists ask for scale of wages to remain as in 1874 Circular, and express their gratitude for all past favours.
Hoping you will give this Memorial your favourable consideration, with a view that the harmony that has hitherto existed may be strengthened, and that we may ever endeavour to merit the same, is the desire of your Memorialists.
We beg to remain your humble servants
Signed by the delegates on behalf of the men.
That abject tone reads very sadly. 1t is still more sad to reflect that the deputation came, some of them very nervously, as if they were going to trial by Assize, and they went empty away. What would you do now, my hearties, in this year 1921, if a reduction of wages and increase of hours were imposed? Would you very humbly petition and most respectfully submit certain things, or would you speak directly to the point and call for a ballot vote? I fancy I know also how the ballot would go, The difference is just that made by the start of the Associated Society in 1880, with its strike emergency and victimisation funds. It began the new trail, and we have not yet completed the journey.
Let us look then at the work being done by the local committee at Leeds in those early years, I have before me the first Minute Book, covering the years 1880 to 1890, and I have read every line with interest. Its first page is inscribed in capital letters:—
Executive Minute
Book Of
Associated Locomotive
Engineers and Firemen's
Trades Union Sick And
Friendly Society,
Established
January 1st, 1881.
The first meeting elected Joseph Brooke as first secretary, called for a levy of 5s. per member to meet present obligations, and instructed the secretary to telegraph Mr. Dauncey, solicitor, of Newport, not to proceed with the rules until the executive had decided whether to register under the Trade Union Act of 1871 or the Friendly Society Act of 1875, but not under both. On April 17th the draft rules of the Society were signed by seven members of the executive, after being altered by Mr. Dauncey in accordance with the wishes of the Registrar, and it was resolved "that twenty copies be struck off, for each branch to have a copy." It was resolved to arrange with Mistress Pickersgill, at the Commercial Inn, Sweet Street, Leeds, for a room to be fitted and made the chief office of the Society. On July 17th Messrs. William Collier, Nelson Smith, and James Atkey were elected to the executive, with George Bamforth as chairman, H. Shuttleworth as vice-chairman, and Joseph Brooke, as secretary, The Leeds, Skyrack & Morley Bank were appointed bankers for the funds under the charge of the Executive Committee.
Following are the names and addresses of the first Executive Council:—
- Geo. Bamforth, 4, Alpha Avenue, Hunslet, Leeds (Chairman).
- Hy. Shuttleworth, 11, Rothsay Street, Elland Road, Leeds (Vice-Chairman).
- Geo. Rushworth, 17, Oldfield Lane, New Wortley, Leeds (Treasurer).
- Saml. Holland, 9, Bismarck Place, Bismarck Street, Lady Pit Lane, Leeds (Trustee).
- Chas. Woodhead, 6, Third Avenue, New Wortley, Leeds (Trustee).
- Saml. Lester, 43, Algeria Street, Malvern Road, Leeds.
- Thos. Sunter, 91, Bewerley Street, Beestan Road, Leeds.
- Walter Arnold, 6, Redshaw Terrace, Tong Road, New Wortley.
- Nelson Smith, 18, Ashford Street, Beeston Road.
- Wm. Collier, 9, Dunstan Street, Bewerley Street.
- Benj. Fielding, 7, Gladstone Street, Cemetery Road, Beeston Hill.
- Jas. Atkey, 6, Waverley Mount, Lady Pit Street, Leeds.
The Society’s registered number was 348. At the meeting on August 8th it was resolved to write the Earl de la Warr, who had interested himself in the passage of the Employees' Liability Act, as to the restriction of the speed of trains. A circular was prepared for the enginemen and firemen of the whole country, 5.000 copies being ordered, and it was decided to abandon the idea of starting a new paper: "providing the one due to come out will advocate the interests of the Society." The secretary was deputed to visit branches, and Messrs, Perry and Ingram to visit the general meeting at Bristol with a view to opening a new branch. "We must wait a year," Perry had written in February of 1880, and the facts proved him right. At the close of 1881, after two years hard work and great daring, the Associated Society contained 68]. members. Its total receipts had been £1,371 19s., and at the beginning of the year it had in hand from the pioneer members joining in 1880 a sum of £551 8s. 93d. The total expenditure had been £436 19s. 44d., leaving in hand a sum of £1,496 8s. 5d. Readers will notice how big the funds were compared to the membership, roughly 45s. per head. It was explainable by the big membership fees paid, some paying £2 and even £3 on joining. They meant having a fund for drivers and firemen, and they sacrificed to get it.
I turn to the beautifully-written first general register of the Society, to find how William Ullyott was the first to join up at Sheffield on February 7th, 1880, and how fifty-five other drivers and firemen did the same, following his lead the same night. At Pontypool a week later, February 15th, 1880, Charles H. Perry led the way, supported the same night by fifty-six others. Tondu enrolled a dozen on April 4th, £880, and Liverpool came along with a big consignment of thirty on May 23rd. The next night, May 24th, Leeds took up the strain, and we get a dozen entrants for the new Society. Neath added half-a-dozen on May 30th, and 38 more on Junenb13th, including Mr. Henry Parfitt (membership No. 229). There follow additions from Leeds, Liverpool, Neath, Pontypool, and then on June 28th Bradford weighs in with sixteen or more, Carnforth forwards a batch of entrants for July 4th, and during 1880 these towns augment their numbers. June 13th of 1881 sees Gloucester joining up its battalion of 41 members, and another big consignment from Neath, Leeds and Liverpool. Llanelly appears on July 22nd, 1861, with seventeen entrants, and the original branches continue to augment their numbers. Exeter falls into line on October 2nd, 1882, with thirty members, considerably increased during 1883. Nottingham comes in with forty or more on April 20th of 1883, and Bristol presents a score on August 23rd of the same year. By October 1st Swansea is in the moving tide, and Nottingham presents a new contingent. January of 1884 has carried the call into the West and Plymouth enrols, whilst in the next month York and Paddington add their strength to the new organisation. Next Cardiff and New Swindon (April 1884) need a page of the register, and Oxford comes into view with thirty men (April 8th). Paddington gave the thousandth member, and Newport contributed nearly thirty in 1884.
So progressed the first five years, but to complete the picture of this starting period it is necessary to turn from the Register to the Minute Book. The Committee resolved, in January of 1882, to buy a fireproof safe to keep valuables in, and to have a small stamp for the Society, "to consist of engine with name of Society round it." Auditors were appointed from Sheffield, Pontypool, and Liverpool South End according to rule, to examine accounts at head office. In the following month it was resolved that the secretary give up his present employment as engine driver, and devote his time to the interests of the Society, also that he be paid £50 for his services in the first year, and Mr. Rushworth £30 for his assistance. In July of 1882 it was resolved that £1,000 of executive funds be transferred to the Investment Department at the bank, and that receipt books be ordered for sums of money paid in benefits.
Then we come to the first little rift within the lute, reference to an unpleasant episode which continued for some months. The brief records are as follow:—
September 17th, 1882. "The whole of the evening spent in debating what the Treasurer termed irregularities of the executive management,"
October 1st, 1882. “That each member of the Executive receive 1s. for expenses when attending meetings.”
October 15th. "That all enginemen up to 40 years of age be allowed to join the Society at an entrance fee of 10s., and all firemen at a fee of 5s., in accordance with the views of the majority of branches, and be in operation during the pleasure of the Executive."
November 26th. "That Thomas Sunter be appointed Assistant General Secretary."
December 3rd. "That the keys of the General Office be given to T. Sunter, to act instead of J. Brooke, according to Rule 7."
February 4th; 1883. "That a delegate meeting be held at Leeds the first Monday in September."
June 3rd. "Mr. Clement Hazledine made an assertion that the General Secretary was not doing his duty, that it was entirely his fault that the branch balance sheets were not to hand, and he knew blooming well I could not mix the business of a publican and the secretaryship as well, but he was not able to state where or when the Secretary had neglected any part of the Society's business.
"Mr. Shuttleworth stated that the Society was paying a lot of money for a Secretary who had no influence and was simply a nonentity."
What had happened? The fact was that the Society was growing bigger and more important than its originators realised, and Joseph Brooke, having a personal interest in the welfare of the Commercial Inn, was not exclusively devoted to the Society. The Leeds Executive was quite resolved that the movement must progress in spite of individuals who might not have their souls in it. They had elected, in 1863, Mr. Samuel Holland as Chairman of the Executive; they had bought a brass enamelled plate to indicate the head office; they had visited branches and seen the growth of the spirit of unity and brotherhood, and were resolutely determined that the head office should be a worthy centre of that spirit. They had paid back to members scores of fines for paltry faults on duty, and had paid wages and half wages in numberless cases of suspension. The Society was growing and being talked about, and a leader of men was needed as the central pivot.
At a special meeting held on July 15th the Secretary was instructed to wait upon the Chief Constable to ask permission to hold an executive during the whole day on Sunday. July 15th, at the Commercial Inn. Permission was given, and the meeting was continued from 9.30 a.m, to 9.20 p.m., "going through rules and suggesting alterations for consideration of delegate meeting in September." On September 2nd, a Mr. Banning declared that the General Secretary was paid too much by one half. It was decided in November of 1883 that the General Secretary take steps to bring about an amalgamation between this Society and the old Enginemen & Firemen's Society. A ruling was laid down that all letters on Society business be copied, and that all correspondence be read at the executive meetings by Mr. Webb. On April 6th of 1884 Messrs. Ford and Warren were appointed solicitors to the Society, and thus began an association which has been most honourably conducted to mutual advantage ever since. On May 4th of 1884 a hammer was bought for the chairman's use, and this hammer, after over 36 years' use at important meetings during those changing times, was presented to Mr. W. A. Stephenson, the retiring president, in November of 1920.
In June of 1884, after the payment of large numbers of fine and suspension costs to members working on the M.S. & L., it was resolved "That the Secretary write the members of the Sheffield branch respecting the general disregard of the Company's rules and signals by the members of this Society belonging to the Manchester. Sheffield & Lincoln Railway, and trust that, in the interests of the Society and their own future welfare, they will pay more respect to these rules, which have been framed by the Company for their guidance, as there is about 75 per cent, more of these misfortunes happen amongst members of the M.S. & L, than any other _(page_89_crop).jpg)
Address presented by the Society to Mr. Clement E. Stretton, the Consulting Engineer.
At the beginning of 1885 the Secretary visited Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth and Pontypool, and all branches were supplied with lists of benefits and unjust and arbitrary fines paid back to members. There were cases of M.S. & L. men being suspended for being away from home when called upon for duty, and others for refusing to go on duty after insufficient rest. In all of these pernicious cases wages were made good by the Society.
The year 1885 brought a return and a completion of the friction with the first General Secretary, referred to earlier in this chapter.
The records are in this manner:—
March 29th. “Special sub-committee appointed to find a more suitable place for a general office; Messrs. Brooke, Holland, Sunter, Lester, and Webb appointed for this purpose.”
April 26th. "Proposed that the General Secretary write all branches, requesting them to return the circular letter re action of Executive Committee respecting removal of general office."
April 26th. “Proposed by Thomas Sunter and seconded by William Webb, that the General Secretary be suspended for—{here another hand takes up the record)—for persistently opposing the wishes of the Executive Committee by refusing to carry out their instructions in writing to branches for circular relating to letters respecting the removal of the general office, stating that he would write what he thought proper to branches."
"That Mr. Samuel Holland and Mr. Samuel Lester take charge of the general office and effects."
April 27th. "Agreement entered into between Joseph Brooke on the one part and Messrs. Holland, Lester, Amey, and Shuttleworth on the other part, that the question of removal of the office be waived till the assembly of delegates, and that the Secretary. Mr. Brooke, agrees to write the Secretary of each branch to return the circular or letter re removal of the office, and state that the E.C. wish this to be done, and further agrees to make no comment thereon; in fulfilment of this agreement the aforesaid allow the Secretary to follow his duty."
On May 10th the Secretary agreed to conform with the rules and to carry out the authority of the Executive. June 28th. "Mr. Joseph Brooke refuses to sit at this meeting on account of the presence of William Webb, one of the members of the Executive, his reasons for so doing not being satisfactory."
"Proposed by J. T. Christian and seconded by William Webb, that Mr. T. G. Sunter carry on the duties of General Secretary until further notice. That the keys of the general office be given to Mr. Sunter."
July 19th. "That Mr. Sunter write all branches denying the statements made by the General Secretary to branches by his letter of July 4th (copy received from Pontypool)."
A delegate meeting was called for August 18th to decide the difficulty existing by the action of the General Secretary.
August 9th. "Resolved that all members of the Executive who cannot attend the delegate meeting send a written statement of their views of the dispute with the General Secretary to Mr. T. G. Sunter, who shall hand them to the Chairman of the Conference unopened."
The Delegate Meeting was held at the Commercial Inn on August 18th, 19th, and 20th, 1885.
August 30th. "That Mr. Brooke be asked to attend to this meeting, and attend his duties as General Secretary. Mr. Brooke agreed to do so. Also asked to withdraw his resignation to the delegates, and to continue to be General Secretary."
Nomination forms were sent out for the election of a General Secretary, the issue being settled by the members. Twelve hundred voting papers were ordered, and candidates were notified to attend the counting of the votes on Sunday, October 11th. Mr. Brooke was allowed to remain in the room if he desired.
Mr. T. G. Sunter was elected by a six to one majority, and the Committee resolved that he be accepted as General Secretary, and that he present his resignation as driver, to take up duty as soon as possible. A letter was sent out to all branches asking for the return of correspondence during the two months when none was copied, and a letter was sent to Mr. Brooke asking him to refund two months' salary during the time he refused to do the work of the Society-£26.
Thus ended, in the election of Mr. Sunter as General Secretary, and in the removal of the office and effects to Mill Hill, that very difficult internal struggle of 1885.
We shall be able in subsequent chapters to take up the story of conferences and delegate meetings, but for the present let us consolidate our gains up to the year 1885, by looking at the annual reports, before we pass on to some of the big events of the eighties—like the Hexthorpe Trial and the Midland Strike.
The report for the year 1882 showed total receipts in that year to have been £1,652 17s. 6d., and the expenditure £873 2s. 7½d., the funds at the end of the year standing at £2,266 3s. 3½d., and the membership at 671, with new branches opened at Gloucester and Sandhills. During the year 1883 the receipts totalled £1,901 3s. 10d., the expenditure £910 18s. 10d., and the funds at December 31st were £3,256 8s, 3½d., with a membership of 801. The balance sheet covering the year 1884 showed receipts to be £2,341; expenditure £1,177 7s. 5½d,, and the funds in hand £4,420 9s. 9d., for a membership of 1,017. New branches had been opened at Llanelly, Swansea, Exeter, Nottingham, Bristol, Plymouth and Cardiff. Growth continued very slowly during 1885, at the end of which the head office had been moved to 17, Mill Hill Chambers, Leeds. The total receipts that year were £7,074 9s. 5½d., including the sum of £4,420 9s. 9d. in hand at the beginning of the year. The expenditure was £1,307 1s. 4½d., and the funds in hand at the end of the year £5,767 8s. 1d., for 1,073 members.