Author: ian wright

The National Union of Railwaymen came into being on 29th March 1913, the result of the amalgamation of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS), the General Railway Workers Union (GRWU) and the United Pointsmen’s and Signalmen’s Society UPSS).

The new union immediately attracted new members – with membership rocketing from 159,261 at the time of amalgamation to 267,611 by the end of 1913.

Discussions on amalgamation grew out of the 1911 national railway strike, which saw four key railway unions: the ASRS, GRWU, UPSS and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF)) combine in a dispute for the first time. ASLEF was also involved in the first post-strike discussions on fusion, but left the talks after its proposals for a looser federation were not adopted.

For the duration of the First World War and its immediate aftermath, the railways were removed from the control of private companies and managed by the National Government. During the war, the NUR and ASLEF negotiated jointly with the government to win wage increases for railway workers, although at levels below the high rate of inflation. In March 1919 the government announced its plans to standardise and reduce the wartime rates of pay and, after failed negotiations with the unions, the second national rail strike began at midnight on 26-27 September 1919.

A key feeling during the strike was that sacrifices made during the war had not been acknowledged by the government – in the words of the NUR General Secretary, J.H. Thomas,

“the short issue is that the long made promise of a better world for railwaymen which was made in the time of the nation’s crisis, and accepted by the railwaymen as an offer that would ultimately bear fruit has not materialised”.

After nine days of strike action by the NUR and ASLEF, the government agreed to maintain wages at existing levels for another year. Subsequent negotiations resulted in the standardisation of wages across the railway companies and the introduction of a maximum eight-hour day.

The following is a list of some of the main characters in the early years of the ASRS and NUR in the Forest of Dean. Most of them are from Lydney which was at the time primarily a railway town with docks on the River Severn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The National Union of Railwaymen came into being on 29th March 1913, the result of the amalgamation of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS), the General Railway Workers Union (GRWU) and the United Pointsmen’s and Signalmen’s Society UPSS).

The new union immediately attracted new members – with membership rocketing from 159,261 at the time of amalgamation to 267,611 by the end of 1913.

Discussions on amalgamation grew out of the 1911 national railway strike, which saw four key railway unions: the ASRS, GRWU, UPSS and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF)) combine in a dispute for the first time. ASLEF was also involved in the first post-strike discussions on fusion, but left the talks after its proposals for a looser federation were not adopted.

For the duration of the First World War and its immediate aftermath, the railways were removed from the control of private companies and managed by the National Government. During the war, the NUR and ASLEF negotiated jointly with the government to win wage increases for railway workers, although at levels below the high rate of inflation. In March 1919 the government announced its plans to standardise and reduce the wartime rates of pay and, after failed negotiations with the unions, the second national rail strike began at midnight on 26-27 September 1919.

A key feeling during the strike was that sacrifices made during the war had not been acknowledged by the government – in the words of the NUR General Secretary, J.H. Thomas,

“the short issue is that the long made promise of a better world for railwaymen which was made in the time of the nation’s crisis, and accepted by the railwaymen as an offer that would ultimately bear fruit has not materialised”.

After nine days of strike action by the NUR and ASLEF, the government agreed to maintain wages at existing levels for another year. Subsequent negotiations resulted in the standardisation of wages across the railway companies and the introduction of a maximum eight-hour day.

The following is a list of some of the main characters in the early years of the ASRS and NUR in the Forest of Dean. Most of them are from Lydney which was a railway and port town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

William Darters (1858-1931) was born in Whitercroft. As a young man, he gained work on the railways in Gloucester as an oiler and became involved with the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS). He married Emma Scrivens in 1883 in Gloucester and had nine children. He moved to Lydney and was elected as secretary to the ASRS and, in 1887, helped set up the Lydney Co-operative Society. He then started working as a manager for the Lydney Co-operative Society and continued in this role until his retirement. However, he continued to contribute to the ASRS remaining as secretary for about 17 years. Emma died in 1917 and in 1920 he married Rachel Eade. For many years he served on Lydney Parish Council.

William Harry Parsloe (1879-1963)

William  Parsloe was born in Alvington, the son of a General Labourer. He worked as a boy in the paper mill in Alvington, and later for a short time at Lydney tinplate works. He then joined the service of the Great Western Railway Company at Lydney.

Parsloe spent five and a half years working in the London area before returning to Lydney. He then served at Chippenham where he was promoted to the position of engine driver and also at Gloucester.

He married Maria Price in 1904 and had two daughters, Winfred and Dorothy. For one period during the War, he was a member of the Lydney Rural District Council. Parsloe was also Secretary of the Lydney Trades and Labour Association and was Secretary of the Lydney Branch of the Independent Labour Party. He was an active member of Lydney NUR serving both as Secretary and President.

He later served as Vice-Chairman of Lydney Parish Council. He was a founder member of the now defunct Men’s Own Brotherhood. During his 42 years of railway service, Parsloe was an energetic member of the N.U.R. At different times he has been Chairman and Secretary of the Lydney branch and later as the Secretary of the N.U.R Approved Society (Lydney section). He for several years was actively connected with the Lydney Co-operative Society.

Edwin Rennolds (1879 – 1954) was born in Bedminster, Bristol, the son of a beer retailer. After leaving school he started work as a cleaner and then as a fireman on the Great Western Railway. He married Edith Kear in 1905 and they went on to have three children. He moved to Lydney in 1907 when he was promoted to engine driver and became active within the Lydney branch of the railway union. In 1911 he was elected as treasurer of Lydney Trades and Labour Association. He was appointed as a magistrate in April 1921.

 

Arthur Holder (1862-1932) was born in Randwick, the son of a gardener. He started work as a woollen clothworker and then got a job as a guard on the railways and moved to Gloucester. He married Alice Young in 1906 and had three children. He was President of the local Triple Alliance Strike Committee and Gloucester NUR during the 1921 lockout.

James Collins Birt (1886 – 1935) was born in Lydney, the son of a railwayman. His first job was working at a bakery and then he gained employment as a signalman on the railway. He married Jessie Barron in 1913 and had three children. He became active within the NUR and by 1918 was elected to the role of Secretary. In 1918, he was appointed as agent for the Forest of Dean Labour Party and was instrumental in getting James Wignall elected as a Labour MP in December 1918. At this time, he was also elected as a County Councillor. In October 1922, he emigrated to Canada with his family.

 

James Leonard Jones (1879-1966) was born in Cinderford in 1879, the son of a miner. In 1895, he obtained work on the railway working as a porter, first at Pen-y-Graig and then at Newnham. In 1898, he was promoted to the role of Goods Checker at Cinderford and remained in this role for most of his working life. He married Sarah Barnhard in 1905 and went on to have six children. He was a conductor for Cinderford Town Prize Brass Band which often played at trade union rallies. The Cinderford Branch of the NUR was formed in May 1914 with its headquarters at the Railway Hotel and Jones was elected as President. He was elected as a Labour councillor for East Dean Parish Council in 1917, a Labour councillor for East Dean Rural District Council in 1919 and was elected as a Labour County Councillor for Cinderford in 1922. He continued in various roles in local government in Cinderford for most of his life. He was appointed as a magistrate in October 1924. He was among the leaders of the Cinderford railway workers during the 1926 General Strike.

Enos Cooper Taylor (1862 – 1941) was born in Cinderford, the son of a miner. When he started work, he was trained to operate the engines at Foxes Bridge colliery. He was elected secretary of the Cinderford Lodge of the FDMA in 1897. He married Annie Baker in 1897 and had five children. He was appointed as checkweighman at Foxes Bridge  in 1901. In 1907 he also took on the role of the landlord of the Colliers Arms in Cinderford and his wife helped to run the pub. He was a board member of Cinderford Medical Aid Association and Cinderford Co-operative Society. He represented Foxes Bridge on the FDMA Executive from 1897 to 1926.

William Wilkins (1898-1980) was born in Cinderford the son of a miner. He married Evelyn Carpenter in 1920 and they had two boys one of whom died at the age of eight. Like most young boys in the Forest at the time, he obtained work in the mines and worked at Waterloo colliery. In the 1920s, he was a member of the Miners Minority Movement.

In 1939, he took over from John Harper as FDMA representative for Waterloo but continued to work on the coal face. In the 1940s he was either a member or supporter of the Communist Party. In 1949, he was elected as a Labour local councillor on East Dean District Council for Pope’s Hill. He also was a Cinderford Town Councillor. He was elected chair of Cinderford Labour Party in 1951. At the time of the reorganisation of Local Authorities in 1974, he was on the Forest of Dean District Council.