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Anexplorationofthe‘railwayfamily’:

1900-1948

HannahJaneReeves

Athesispresentedforthedegreeof

DoctorofPhilosophy

October2018

KeeleUniversity

ii

Thiselectronicversionofthethesishasbeeneditedsolelytoensurecompliancewith

copyrightlegislationandexcludedmaterialisreferencedinthetext.Thefull,final,

examinedandawardedversionofthethesisisavailableforconsultationinhardcopy

viatheUniversityLibrary

iii

ABSTRACT

This thesis explores the idea of the ‘railway family’ in the British railway

industrybetween1900and1948.The ‘railwayfamily’wasborneoutofadesireto

create an ‘imagined community’ of railway workers across the wide geographical

boundariesofindividualrailwaycompaniesandthelocalbranchesofnationaltrade

unions. The thesis seeks to understand how railway companies and trade unions

managedandextendedtheidea,particularlythroughtheirmagazinesandnewspapers,

inorder to cultivate loyaltyand supportamongst their employeesormembersand

theirfamilies.Despitebeingamale-dominatedindustry,theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

opened up avenues of participation for women within the railway industry, most

especiallythroughthewomen’stradeunionauxiliaries.Theseauxiliarieswereopento

the wives and daughters of railway trade unionists and created a space for these

individualstocultivatetheirownidentityaspartoftherailwayindustryandaswomen,

wivesandmothersthroughfundraisingfortradeunioncauses,supportingtheunion

during labour unrest and campaigningon political issues that affected the ‘railway

family’.Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasnotjustatheoreticalmodelbutwaslived

in practice by railwaymen and their families within their local communities. The

creation of occupational communities and the ways in which the ‘railway family’

supported one another without the interference of railway companies and trade

unionswill be explored through a case study of Gloucester. This thesis is the first

occasionthattheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’hasbeenstudied,bothintheoryandin

iv

practice,inordertounderstandhowrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionsinteracted

withrailwayworkersandtheirfamiliesandhowtheseindividualsutilisedtheideato

createalastingsupportnetworkforallthoseinvolvedwiththerailwayindustry.

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ThisPhDwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithout thekindnessofanumberof

individualsandorganisations.Firstly,IwouldliketothanktheArtsandHumanities

Research Council for funding the Collaborative Doctoral Award between Keele

UniversityandtheNationalRailwayMuseumwhichhasallowedmetoundertakethis

research.Iwouldalsoliketothankallthoseattheseinstitutionswhoworkedhardto

ensurethisprojectwasgiventhego-ahead.

MysupervisorsatKeele,ProfessorAlannahTomkins,ProfessorKarenHuntand

DrTriciaDawson,haveguidedandsupportedmethroughoutthisprocessandIam

immenselygratefulfortheirinsightandunderstanding.Iwouldalsoliketothankmy

supervisors at the National Railway Museum: Alison Kay, Tim Procter and John

McGoldrick,fortheiradviceandguidanceonthecollectionsoftheNationalRailway

Museumandfortheirwillingnesstoallowmetoexperienceallaspectsoflifeandwork

atamuseum.

Without the assistance of the staff of SearchEngine at theNational Railway

Museum,theModernRecordsCentreatWarwickUniversity,GloucestershireArchives

andtheBritishLibraryatBostonSpa,Iwouldnothavebeenabletoundertakemuch

ofthearchiveworkforthisthesisandIwouldliketoexpressmygratitudetoallthe

staffmembersattheseinstitutionsfortheirinvaluablesupport.DrOliverBettshasalso

beenanimportantsourceofadviceandmoralsupportthroughoutmyPhDexperience

andIamthankfulforhispatienceandempathy.

vi

Mywonderfulfamilyandfriendshavecelebratedandcommiseratedwithme

overthepastthreeyearsandIwouldliketothankallofthemfortheirencouragement

and their belief inmy ability to undertake thiswork. I am particularly grateful to

KatharineandOliverandOliviaandJohnfortheirhospitalityduringmymanyresearch

tripstotheMidlandsandtomyMum,Gillian,foractingasmyproof-readerandtaking

thetimeoutofhersummerholidaystocheckmyspellingandgrammar.Withoutthe

encouragementofmyhusbandAndrew,Iwouldneverhaveeventhoughtofapplying

foraPhDandthroughoutthiswholeprocesshehasbeenmysounding-board,asource

ofcomfortduringthechallengingtimesandmybiggestsupporter,whobelievedinme

evenwhenIdidnot.Iwouldliketoofferhimmyheartfeltthanksforallhehasdone.

Finally,IwouldliketodedicatethisPhDthesistomyGrandpawhoinstilledin

mealoveofhistoryfromaveryyoungageandtomyDad,whohasalwaysencouraged

hischildrentofollowhispassionforrailways–atlonglast,hehasmanagedit!

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract iii

Acknowledgements........................................................................................................... v

List of Figures ................................................................................................................... ix

List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... x

Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Women and the idea of the ‘railway family’ in historical literature...................... 4 1.2 The idea of the ‘railway family’ – in theory and in practice ................................ 10 1.3 The benefits of studying the ‘railway family’ ...................................................... 12

An ‘imagined community’.............................................................................. 15 2.1 The ‘railway family’ ............................................................................................ 16 2.2 ‘Imagined Communities’ ..................................................................................... 20 2.3 Collective Identities ............................................................................................ 39 2.4 The changing nature of family, kinship and community ..................................... 45 2.5 The language of the ‘railway family’ ................................................................... 49 2.6 Methodology ...................................................................................................... 63 2.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 72

Railway companies and the idea of the ‘railway family’ in print media ........ 74 3.1 Creating a company identity ............................................................................... 84 3.2 Uniting the ‘railway family’ ................................................................................ 90 3.3 The language of the ‘railway family’ – an example from the GWR Magazine ... 102 3.4 Women’s Pages in railway company magazines ............................................... 107

3.4.1 An analysis of ‘A Page for Women’ ................................................................ 111 3.4.2 Other railway company women’s pages ........................................................ 118

3.5 Children’s Pages ................................................................................................ 127 3.6 Company welfare for the ‘railway family’ ......................................................... 135 3.7 Women workers, railway companies and the ‘railway family’ ......................... 139 3.8 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 150

Trade unions and the ‘railway family’ in print media .................................. 153 4.1 The growth of railway trade unions .................................................................. 154 4.2 Trade unions and the idea of the ‘railway family’ ............................................. 163

4.2.1 The Railway Review....................................................................................... 164 4.2.2 The ASLEF Locomotive Journal ...................................................................... 177 4.2.3 The Railway Clerk/The Railway Service Journal .............................................. 182

4.3 Women workers and trade unions ................................................................... 190 4.3.1 The RCA and female clerks ............................................................................ 190 4.3.2 The NUR and women workers ....................................................................... 202 4.3.3 ASLEF and women workers ........................................................................... 210

4.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 212

viii

‘Separate spheres’: Women’s trade union auxiliaries and the Railway Queen

.................................................................................................................... 215 5.1 The history of women’s trade union auxiliaries ................................................ 217 5.2 The ASRS/NUR Railway Women’s Guild ........................................................... 227

5.2.1 The RWG and women workers ...................................................................... 237 5.2.2 Sources for the Railway Women’s Guild ........................................................ 240 5.2.3 The RWG and their political campaigns ......................................................... 243

5.3 The ASLEF Women’s Society ............................................................................. 245 5.4 The Railway Queen and the ‘railway family’ ..................................................... 255 5.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 262

A Case Study of Gloucester, 1900 – 1948 ..................................................... 266 6.1 The railway companies in Gloucester ............................................................... 270 6.2 The Trade Unions in Gloucester ........................................................................ 278

6.2.1 The ASRS/NUR in Gloucester ......................................................................... 278 6.2.2 ASLEF and Gloucester .................................................................................... 284 6.2.3 The RCA and Gloucester ................................................................................ 285

6.3 The Railway Women’s Guild and Gloucester .................................................... 287 6.3.1 The structure and membership of the Railway Women’s Guild in Gloucester 289 6.3.2 The creation of an occupational community in Gloucester ............................ 296 6.3.3 The role of the Railway Women’s Guild in Gloucester ................................... 304

6.4 The ASLEF Women’s Society and Gloucester .................................................... 333 6.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 337

Conclusion ................................................................................................... 340 7.1 Further research ............................................................................................... 350

7.1.1 Suggestions for the National Railway Museum .............................................. 351

Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 354 Primary Sources ................................................................................................................... 354 Secondary Literature ............................................................................................................ 355

ix

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure1.Diagram,adaptedfromStuartHall,'Encoding/Decoding'p.54,whichshowshow,ideally,meaningstructures1and2mustbesimilarinordertobedecodedwiththesamemeaningsthattheproducersofthemessageintended.....................57

Figure2.PublicationdatesforthemajorRailwayCompanymagazines...........................67 Figure3.PhotographsofarailwayfamilyincludedintheGWRmagazineinorderto

emphasisetheloyaltyandlongserviceoftheiremployees.GWRM,25,5(1913)p.147,NationalRailwayMuseum,York,1.0270..................................................................97

Figure4.Agraphcomparingthearticlespublishedon'APageforWomen'intheLMSmagazinein1927and1937,heldattheNationalRailwayMuseum,1.0320......115

Figure5.Anexampleofthe'Woman'sPage'fromtheGERmagazine,7,77(1917)p.119,NationalRailwayMuseum,York.1.0250................................................................121

Figure6.PhotographsofsomeofthefemaleemployeesoftheGreatWesternRailwayCompany,27,12(1915)p.322,NationalRailwayMuseum,York,1.0270...........146

Figure7.AcartoonfromTheRailwayReview,08/01/1904,p.9.MSS.127/AS/4/1/11...................................................................................................................................................................167

Figure8.AnadvertinTheRailwayReview,4/5/1928,p.16.MSS.127/NU/4/1/16172 Figure9.MapshowingthenewmembersoftheRailwayWomen'sGuildin

Gloucester,1911-1921.TakenfromtheminutebooksheldatGloucestershireArchives.Reproducedfrom1923OrdinanceSurveyMapwiththekindpermissionoftheOrdinanceSurvey.Purchasedfromhttp://www.old-maps.co.uk[5/9/2015].................................................................................................................298

Figure10.MapshowingthenewmembersoftheRailwayWomen'sGuildinGloucester,1922-1932.TakenfromtheminutebooksheldatGloucestershireArchives.Reproducedfrom1923OrdinanceSurveyMapwiththekindpermissionoftheOrdinanceSurvey.Purchasedfromhttp://www.old-maps.co.uk[5/9/2015].................................................................................................................299

Figure11.MapshowingthenewmembersoftheRailwayWomen'sGuildinGloucester,1933-1947.TakenfromtheminutebooksheldatGloucestershireArchives.Reproducedfrom1938OrdinanceSurveyMapwiththekindpermissionoftheOrdinanceSurvey.Purchasedfromhttp://www.old-maps.co.uk[13/1/2016]...............................................................................................................300

Figure12.AgraphshowingthenumberofnewmembersjoiningtheRWGinGloucesterbetween1911and1947withsignificantdateshighlighted...............303

x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

GWR GreatWesternRailway

LMS LondonMidlandandScottishRailway

LNER LondonNorthEasternRailway

LNWR LondonNorthWesternRailway

LSWR LondonSouthWesternRailway

GCR GreatCentralRailway

MR MidlandRailway

ASRS AmalgamatedSocietyofRailwayServants

NUR NationalUnionofRailwaymen

ASLEF AssociatedSocietyofLocomotiveEngineersandFiremen

RCA RailwayClerksAssociation

RWG RailwayWomen’sGuild

1

INTRODUCTION

TherailwayindustrywasoneofthelargestemployersinBritainduringthefirst

half of the twentieth century yet a study of the ‘railway family’, the community by

whichrailwaymenandtheirfamilieswereboundtotherailwayindustryandtoeach

other, has never been undertaken. The railway industry in 1900 was a complex

structureofmanyseparatecompanies-approximately214railwaycompaniesexisted

before1923,121ofwhichweregroupedintofourlargecompaniesafterTheRailways

Actof1921.1Thegrowthofrailwaycompanies,theirfrequentamalgamationsandthe

riseoftradeunionisminthisperiodprovidedanumberofavenuesforthedeployment

oftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andtheparticipationofmen,womenandchildren

withinthe‘family’structure.

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’hasheldanumberofdefinitionsthroughoutthe

period1900to1948andbeyond.Ithasbeenusedtorefertothegenerationsoffathers,

sonsandlater,daughterswhoworkedforthesamecompany,andeveninthesame

role.Althoughtheideaexistedbefore1900,itwasnotuntiltheturnofthecenturythat

railwaycompaniesandtradeunionsbegantoutiliseittofosterasenseofloyaltyfrom

railwaymentowardseitherthecompanyortheunion.Thiscoincidedwiththegrowth

andgreaterstrengthoftradeunionsandtheproliferationofrailwayindustryliterature

whichwasusedtodisseminatetheidea.

1Acworth,W.M,‘GroupingsundertheRailwaysAct,1921’,TheEconomicJournal,33,129(1923)pp.20-21

2

The ‘railway family’wasnot just a theoretical ideaandwasunderstoodand

lived in practice by railwaymen and their family members within occupational

communitiesintownsandcitiesacrossBritain.2Thisstudywillexaminethevarious

ways that the ‘railway family’wasunderstoodby railwaycompanies, tradeunions,

railwaymenandtheirextendedfamilymembers.Byutilisingtheideaofthe‘railway

family’asascholarlyhistoricaltool,thisthesisseekstoexaminethewaysthattheidea

wasusedbyrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionstoencouragethedevelopmentofa

loyalcommunityofrailwayworkersandtheirnon-workingfamilymembers,andasa

practicalsupportstructureforrailwaymenandtheirwivesandchildren.

Butwhystudythe‘railwayfamily’?AsoneofthelargestemployersinBritainin

thetwentiethcentury,therailwayindustryhashadasignificantimpactonthehistory

of the UK socially, culturally and economically. Yet social histories of the railway

industry are few and far between – the focus has predominantly been on railway

companiesasbusinessesandthestrugglesofrailwaytradeunionsintheirformation

andgrowth.Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’allowsustoconsidertherailwayindustry

from a different perspective, in particular the ways that trade unions and railway

companiesinteractedwithworking-classrailwaymen,theirfamiliesandcommunities

including non-typical railway users such as women and children. Furthermore, it

allowsustoexaminehowtheseindividualswereabletoharnesstheideafortheirown

benefitandforthatoftheirwideroccupationalcommunity.

2Withinthisthesis,‘railwayfamily’ininvertedcommasreferstothewidercommunityofrailwayworkers,theirfamilymembersandotherswithintheoccupationalcommunity.Withouttheinvertedcommas,itwillconcernthegenerationsoffamilymemberswhoworkedintherailwayindustry.

3

DavidHowellhasarguedthatitispossibletotalkofrailwayfamiliesfromthe

1920s onwards, whereby employment in the railway industry facilitated the

involvementofmen,womenandchildreninnumeroussocialandeducationalactivities

organisedbyrailwaycompaniesandtradeunions.3ThisthesiswillexploreHowell’s

understandingoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’;however,theevidencesuggeststhat

the ideaof the ‘railwayfamily’was inexistencemuchearlier thanHowell indicates.

Thisthesiswillexaminehowthiscommunitywasdeveloped,maintainedandextended

from1900to1948,duringaperiodwhenrailwaycompanies,tradeunionsandrailway

familiesfacedsignificantsocial,economicandpoliticalchallenges.

Duringthisperiodtheemergenceofstronger,moremilitanttradeunionsand

theintroductionofwomenintoapredominantlymaleworkforcechangedthenature

oftherailwayindustry.SuchchangesandtheeffectoftwoWorldWarsforcedrailway

companiesandtradeunionstoadaptandledtothefurtherdevelopmentoftheideaof

a‘railwayfamily’toincludethewivesandchildrenofrailwaymen.Inthisway,railway

companiesandtradeunionsdefinedthe‘railwayfamily’fortheirownpurposesand

thenusedtheideaaccordingly.

Itwascrucialforrailwaycompaniestoemployworkerswhohadtheinterests

of the companyatheart inorder tomaximiseprofitability.The ideaof the ‘railway

family’allowedthemtodothisasitemphasisedthebenefitsthatemployeesandtheir

dependants could secure as long as they remained loyal and hardworking. These

included education, housing and welfare. Such paternalism was later replaced by

3Howell,D.,RespectableRadicals:Studiesinthepoliticsofrailwaytradeunionism(AshgatePublishing,Aldershot,1999)p.8

4

industrialwelfarepracticesthatreinforcedtheideaofself-help,howevertheideaof

the‘railwayfamily’remainedasaconstantreminderofthebondsbetweentherailway

companies, their employees and family members. In contrast, trade unions were

desirousofsecuringthemembershipofasmanyrailwaymenaspossible,inorderto

havethestrongestbargainingpositionintheirnegotiationswithrailwaycompanies.

Theytoousedtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’toattractmembersandallowthosewho

wouldnottraditionallybepermittedintomembershipoftheunion,suchaswivesand

daughters, the chance toparticipate inactivitiesbygiving them theirownseparate

space,thewomen’stradeunionauxiliaries.

Research undertaken for this thesis will examine the railway industry as a

whole,throughthelensofthe‘railwayfamily’,tocreateamorecomprehensivepicture

ofhowrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionsusedthefamilyideologytofosterloyalty

towards the company and to engender solidarity within the trade union. Issues

surroundingthedeploymentof the ‘railwayfamily’canalso illuminatehowwomen

wereperceivedwithintherailwayindustryandanexaminationoftheideacanallow

forabetterunderstandingoftherolestheyactuallysoughtandfilled.

1.1 Womenandtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’inhistoricalliterature

Theconceptofthe‘railwayfamily’conjuresdifferentnotionsoffamilyandkin

relationships.Duringtheperiod1900to1948ideassurroundingfamily,andtheplace

ofmen,womenandchildrenwithinthefamily,shiftedandalteredtoadapttothesocial,

economicandpoliticalchangesthatoccurredwithinthisperiod.Asignificantissuefor

this thesis is the roles that women played in the railway industry and how they

5

contributedtothe ideaof the ‘railwayfamily’ inan industrythatwasdominatedby

men. Fundamentally, despite the acceptance ofwomen into the railwayworkforce

particularlyduringthetwoWorldWars,therailwayindustryremainedpatriarchaland

male-dominated throughout this period, and the female workforce was highly

regulated intopositionsthatwereconsideredappropriate forwomen. Inastrongly

gender-segregated industry, these roles were closely defined by both railway

companies and trade unions. These often mirrored traditional jobs undertaken by

womeninthehome,forexampleinhospitalityandcatering,institchingandsewing

workshopsandascleaners.

Tradeunionsandrailwaycompaniesviewedwomensignificantlydifferently–

womenwerealwaysperceivedtobeathreattomalejobsthroughouttheperiodand

werethereforeconsideredahostileforcethatneededtobecontainedbytradeunions.

Railwaycompaniesontheotherhandwerehappytoemploywomenastheycouldbe

paidmuch less thanmen.However, theyalsoheld conventional assumptionsabout

gender, the family and the role of women in society, especially the appropriate

behaviour of railwaymen’s wives. By considering the railway industry as a whole,

ratherthantheattitudeofdiscreterailwaycompaniesortradeunions,thisstudywill

examinethetensionsbetweentheseattitudes, thewaysthat therailwaycompanies

and trade unionsworked together and the centrality of the ‘railway family’ to the

complexrolesthatwomenplayedintherailwayindustry.

In order to answer these questions, this thesiswill consider the groups and

institutionsopentowomenincludingthoseforwomenworkersandfornon-working

women, such as company sponsored welfare schemes and women’s trade union

auxiliaries. These auxiliaries were for the wives and daughters of trade union

6

railwaymen; the Railway Women’s Guild was the women’s auxiliary of the

Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS, later the National Union of

Railwaymen,NUR)andtheWomen’sSocietywastheauxiliaryoftheAssociatedSociety

ofLocomotiveEngineersandFiremen(ASLEF).TheintroductionofaRailwayQueen

in1925,arepresentativeoftherailwayindustrychosenfromamongstthedaughters

of serving railwaymen, further enhanced the opportunities for women within the

railwayindustry.

The role and agency of women in the railway industry has received scant

historicalattention.Thefewstudiesthatconsiderwomenandrailwaysfocusonthe

employmentofwomenoronwomenaspassengers.Themostpertinentexampleofthis

is Helena Wojtczak’s Railway Women: Exploitation, Betrayal and Triumph in the

workplacewhichconcentratesonthechangesinwomen’semploymentontherailways,

theirreluctantacceptancebytradeunionsand,inparticular,theresistancetheyfaced

inapredominantlymaleindustry.4Alloftheseissueswerepertinenttothestruggles

faced by women during their working lives in the railway industry; however,

Wojtczak’s study fails to consider the reasons for this gradual revolution in the

industry’sattitudetowomenasworkers,insteadfocusingonpioneeringexceptionsof

womenwhowereable toeffect change in the industry.The strugglesofwomenas

trailblazingemployeesareanimportantaspectofthestorybutdonottellthefulltale.

Rosa Matheson’s study of women on the Great Western Railway counters

Wojtczak’s rather negative portrayal of women’s experienceswith amore positive

4Wojtczak,Helena,RailwayWomen:Exploitation,BetrayalandTriumphintheworkplace(HastingsPress,Hastings,2005)

7

depictionoftheprogressionofwomenintothehighergradesofrailwayemployment.5

AlthoughMathesondoesexaminethedifficultiesthatwomenfacedinordertoachieve

thesepositions,shedoesnotdrawthebattle linesquiteas firmlyasWojtczak.This

thesiswillexaminewhetherMatheson’smorepositivepositionontheroleswomen

wereabletoplayintherailwayindustryisaccurate.Itwillbearguedthatwomenwere

able toexertsomeagencyoverdecisionsthatweremadeconcerningtheirposition

withintheindustry.Thisisparticularlythecasefornon-workingwomen,whohave

beenside-linedinthedebatethusfar.

Womenmostcommonlyexperiencedtherailway industryaspassengersand

consumers.AmyRichter,inHomeontheRails,astudyofpassengertrainsinnineteenth

centuryAmerica,discusses theoppositionwomen facedaspassengers.6 Inorder to

counter this opposition, railway companies created a separate, domestic sphere on

carriages for female passengers which mimicked the home environment to which

womenwerepredominantlyconfined.Thus,Richterchallengestheideaofrailwaysas

amasculinedomain.DiDrummondhasarguedthattheideologyof‘separatespheres’,

prevalent in the nineteenth and into the twentieth century, extended into railway

carriagesandontorailwaystations.Railwaystationscouldbeseenasdangerousplaces

forwomenbecause theywereareaswherepeopleofdifferent classesandgenders

mixed; in thisway, compartment carriages, and especially thosewithout corridors,

heightenedthissenseofathreateningspace.7Withtheintroductionofcorridorsand

5Matheson,Rosa,TheFairSex:WomenandtheGreatWesternRailway(TempusPublishing,Stroud,2007)6Richter,Amy,HomeontheRails:Women,theRailroadandtheriseofpublicdomesticity(TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaPress,2005)7Drummond,Diane‘Theimpactoftherailwayonthelivesofwomeninthenineteenth-centurycity’inRoth,RalfandPolino,Marie-Noelle,TheCityandtheRailwayinEurope(AshgatePublishing,Aldershot,2003)pp.245-248

8

ladies-only carriages, and the greater social freedom that women were granted

throughout this period, railways began to be seen as less intimidating to women.

Althoughthisthesisdoesnotfocusontheexperienceofwomenasrailwaypassengers

andconsumers, it iscrucial torememberthat thiswastheonlyway inwhichmost

womenactuallyexperiencedtherailwayindustry.

Women’stradeunionauxiliarieswerecreatedbymale-dominatedtradeunions

toallowwomentoplayasupportiverole,organisingfundraisinginitiativesandsocial

eventswhichbenefittedtheunion,butalsothemen,womenandchildrenassociated

with it.Thesewomen’s trade union auxiliarieswere spaces inwhichwomen could

meet, learnmoreabout tradeunionand labourpolitics and support theunion ina

varietyofways. It is important tonotehoweverthat theywereverymuchseparate

fromthemaintradeunion.Thisisakeyfeatureofthewaystradeunionsutilisedthe

ideaofthe‘railwayfamily’;itwasawaythattheunionscouldcreatebarrierstothe

participationofwomenintradeunionmatters.Byencouragingwomentojointrade

union auxiliaries, theywere outwardly encouraging the involvement ofwomen yet

theywerealsokeepingthemseparatefromthemainbodyoftheunion,inordernotto

causeconcernamongstthemale-dominatedmembership.

Such auxiliaries feature very little in the histories of railway trade unions.

Bagwell’s detailed study of the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) only briefly

mentionstheRailwayWomen’sGuild,touchingonitsformation,aimsandobjectives

and the role that the Guild branches undertook. Bagwell describes theGuild as an

excellentfundraisingorganfortheunionandasfacilitatorsformanysocialevents.He

alsopraisestheGuildfortheirworkinrecruitingthewivesofnon-unionmenintothe

9

organisationandthusencouragingtheirhusbandstofollowsuit.8Howellalsoargues

that the RailwayWomen’s Guildwas able to create a respectable sphere inwhich

womencoulddemonstratetheirpoliticalcommitmentto thetradeunionandtothe

LabourParty.Thesewomenhadasharedconcernwithrailwaymenoverrailwaywork,

whichmanifested itself inanxietyoverhousing,patternsofworkinghoursand the

occupational community.9 Although both Bagwell and Howell acknowledge the

importanceoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildtotheNationalUnionofRailwaymen,thatis

asfarastheirworkonthesubjectgoes.

The most comprehensive history of the Associated Society of Locomotive

Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) hagiographically describes the ASLEF Women’s

Societyincorrectlyas“thefirstWomen’sSocietyevertobeattachedtoatradeunion

inBritain.”10McKillopacknowledgesthedeprivationsthatrailwayworkentailedfor

family life and the support that the Women’s Society was able to provide for the

union.11However,discussionsregardingthescopeoftheASLEFWomen’sSocietyand

their effect on the union is curtailed, instead focusing on the struggles and

achievementsofrailwaymenwithintheunion.

Women’s trade union auxiliaries in theUSAhave received greater attention

fromhistoriansthaninBritain.MelindaChateauvert’sworkontheLadies’Auxiliaryof

the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters is particularly key and demonstrates the

important support auxiliaries could provide trade unions, both domestically and

politically,forexamplethroughfundraising,organisingsocialeventsandevenjoining

8Bagwell,P.,TheRailwaymen(GeorgeAllenandUnwinLtd,London,1963)pp.227-2289Howell,RespectableRadicals,p.810McKillop,Norman,TheLightedFlame(ThomasNelsonandSonsLtd,Edinburgh,1950)p.16211Ibid.,p.163

10

marchesandstrikes.UnlikemuchofthecurrentliteratureonBritishtradeunions,this

thesiswillexaminetheagencyofwomen’sauxiliarieswithinpatriarchalrailwaytrade

unions,theiraimsandtheeffecttheyhadbothonthewomenwhoweremembersand

thewider ‘railwayfamily’, throughan in-depthstudyoftheRailwayWomen’sGuild

andtheASLEFWomen’sSociety.

1.2 Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’–intheoryandinpractice

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’isgroundedinanumberofdifferenttheories

andconcepts,primarilyBenedictAnderson’sworkon‘imaginedcommunities’which

providesaframeworkforthisstudy.However,thechangingnatureoffamily,kinand

communityrelationships,thewaythatcollectiveidentitiesareformedandthewayin

whichthe languageof the ‘railwayfamily’wascreatedandunderstoodarealsokey

conceptsthatwillbediscussedinChapter2andthenutilisedthroughoutthethesis.It

isimportanttonotethatthereareanumberofleadsthathavedevelopedoutofthis

studyofthe‘railwayfamily’thatcannotbeexpandeduponduetoalackoftimeand

spacethatwillbeexploredfurtherinChapter2.

Thewaysthe‘railwayfamily’wascultivatedbyrailwaycompaniesandtrade

unionsandhowtheydeployeditthroughtheirrespectivemagazinesandnewspapers

will form a substantial basis for the study. Therewere subtle differenceswith the

methodsthatrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionsusedtomaintainandextendthe

ideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Forrailwaycompaniestheideawasawaythatrailwaymen

andtheirfamilymemberscouldallbeincludedinthebusinessoftherailwayindustry,

andthereforecouldempathisewiththecompany’sconcernsandactaccordingly.For

tradeunionshowever, the ‘railwayfamily’wasameansbywhichtheycouldcreate

11

separatespacesformenandwomeninordertofosterloyaltytowardsthetradeunion

and each otherwithout raisingwomen’s expectations of employment. The railway

company magazines and trade union newspapers examined in this thesis are a

testamenttothesedisparities.

Chapter 3will discuss how railway companies used the idea of the ‘railway

family’tocreatealoyalworkforcewhowereresponsivetotheirdemandsthrougha

sharedsenseofoccupationalpride.Theknowledgethattheyandtheirfamilieswould

betakencareofbypaternalisticemployerswhousedindustrialwelfarepracticesto

highlight this reciprocal arrangement was also an important facet of the ‘railway

family’ from the companies’ perspective. Chapter 4 will follow a similar pattern,

discussinghowtradeunionsusedtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’tounitetheirdiverse

members and as a way to prevent female workers from challenging the male

domination of the railway industry. Chapter 5 will focus on women’s trade union

auxiliariesandthespacestheycreatedforwomentoexpresstheirownviewsonthe

‘railwayfamily’andallownon-workingwomentocreateaversionoftheoccupational

communityinwhichtheywereabletoofferassistancetoallmembers,bothlocallyand

nationally.ItwillalsoconsiderhowthepositionoftheRailwayQueenprovidedfurther

opportunitiesforwomentoentertherailwayindustryandthusenhancethe‘railway

family’

Ifrailwaymenandtheirfamilymembersdidnotacceptandidentifywiththe

idea of the ‘railway family’ then it was worthless. To investigate its effectiveness,

Gloucesterwillbeusedasacasestudyinordertoexaminetheideainpracticeand

particularlyhowrailwaymenandtheirfamiliesdrewonittocreateacloselybonded

occupational community.An important facetofChapter6 is theexaminationof the

12

women’stradeunionauxiliariesinGloucesterincludingtheirmembership,theiraims

andhoweffective theywere inmeeting theneedsofwomen locally,nationallyand

withintheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.

1.3 Thebenefitsofstudyingthe‘railwayfamily’

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’isnotanewconcept.However,thisthesisuses

itinanewwaytostudytherelationshipbetweenrailwaymen,railwaycompaniesand

tradeunions.The ideaof the ‘railway family’ allows foragreaterunderstandingof

where these institutions converged with individuals and where the fracture lines

emergedduringthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury,whichhasramificationseven

today.Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’continuestobeutilisedbyrailwaycompanies,

tradeunionsandrailwayworkersandtheirfamilymembersasawaytoexpresshow

theyunderstandtheirrolewithinthenation’srailwayindustryinaverysimilarwayto

theircounterpartsoverseventyyearsago.Thisdemonstratesjusthowimportantthe

ideaofthe‘railwayfamily’isintermsofastudyoftherailwayindustry–ithasaproven

resilience that many other tools designed to engender loyalty, community and a

reciprocalrelationshipbetweeninstitutionsandindividualshavefailedtoinspire.

Thisthesisalsoprovidesanextradimensionforthestudyofwomen’shistory.

Male-dominated trade unions are not usually considered a fruitful arena for a

considerationoftheroleofwomeninwork.However,itwillbearguedherethatmale-

dominated unions had to deal with women because they encroached upon the

workplaceduetosocialandpoliticaldevelopmentsinthetwentiethcentury. Aless

controversial,butalsolesswellrepresentedviewisthattradeunionsalsointeracted

with thewivesand female relativesof theirmembers,whocouldofferavarietyof

13

support skills and experience if utilised in the correct way. Railway trade union

auxiliaries are an excellent example of theway thatmale-dominated unions could

successfullymobilisewomen.Theychosetoengagewithwomenthroughanauxiliary

structure,designedtoinspirethesewomentoidentifywiththetradeunion.Perhaps

surprisingly formanymembers,bothmaleandfemale,women’sauxiliariesallowed

theirmemberstodevelopakeenersenseoftheirownidentityaswomen,wivesand

mothersandparticipateinavenuesofcitizenshipthatweregraduallybeingopenedup

tothem:campaigningforpoliticalreform,votingandstandingforelectionforpolitical

andcivicoffice.

Thecreationofanoccupationalcommunityisakeyfacetofthisstudy.Theidea

ofthe‘railwayfamily’canrevealmoreaboutthewaythesecommunitieswerecreated

andhowtheyderivedtheirstrength.Itdemonstrateshowtherelationshipsbetween

work colleagues and friends could become similar to kin relationships, especially

amongstacommunitythatwasforcedtomoveacrossthecountryforpromotion.This

meantthatrailwaymenandtheirfamiliesoftenclusteredtogetherinoneareaofatown

or city. For this thesis, it has been possible tomap the occupational community of

GloucesterfromtheminutebooksoftheRailwayWomen’sGuild,whichrecordedthe

namesandaddressesofnewmembers.Thiswillshowthattherailwaycommunityof

Gloucesterchangedlittleovertime.Itwillalsocharttheriseandfallofmembershipof

theGuild,inlinewithotherwomen’sauxiliariesoftheperiodandreflecttheeasingof

tensionsbetweenrailwaycompaniesandtradeunions,inpartthroughtheideaofthe

‘railwayfamily’.

Finally,thisstudyisacollaborationwiththeNationalRailwayMuseum(NRM),

York.The ideaof the ‘railway family’ canenhance the interpretationof thediverse

14

collectionsheldatthemuseumbyaddinganewdimensionthroughwhichtheycanbe

displayed.Itwillallowforthedevelopmentofagreaterunderstandingoftheroleof

the‘railwayfamily’inthecreationofoccupationalcommunitiesandtherelationship

that was created between railway companies, trade unions, railwaymen and their

familymembers. The importance ofwomen to the railway industry should not be

underemphasisedandthisthesisispoisedtomakeapositivecontributiontothestory

ofwomenandtherailwaystoldattheNRMandwithintransporthistoryingeneral.To

date,thiscollaborativeefforthasresultedinanumberofpublicengagementprojects

includingblogs,postersandconferencepapersthathavebeguntotellthestoryofthe

‘railwayfamily’toawideraudience.

15

AN ‘IMAGINED COMMUNITY’

An‘imaginedcommunity’isoneinwhichmembersarestretchedacrosswide

geographicalareasandhavenevermetoneanotheryetfeelasiftheyarepartofthe

samegroupduetothefactthattheyallsharethesamepriorities,hopesandconcerns.

Thischapterwillbeginbyexploringtheconceptsbehindthe‘railwayfamily’asitwas

imagined in theory and in practice. This is crucial to the overall thesis because it

underpins the rationale for a study of both extended social networks and the dual

natureoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Thisdualityemergesduetothefactthatthe

ideawascreatedbyrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionsbutwasalsoreadilyaccepted

and lived by railwaymen and their families,with somemodifications. The ‘railway

family’asaconsciouscollectiveallowsustoseeregularitiesandareaswheretheideas

and attitudes of railway companies, trade unions and railwaymen and their non-

workingfamilymembersconverged,butsimilarlyexposesthefaultlineswherethey

diverged.12According toStacey,whowroteabout the ‘mythof community studies’,

“Social relationsmust be seen not only in combinationwith each other but in the

dimensionsoftimeandspace.”13Thisthesiswillexaminehowtheideaofthe‘railway

family’wasmanipulated,understoodandalteredovertimebyrailwaycompaniesand

trade unions in different geographical locations. This chapter goes on to include a

literaturereviewofthehistoriographyoffamilydynamicsperse,thelanguageofthe

12Tosh,John,ThePursuitofHistory.Aims,methodsandnewdirectionsinthestudyofmodernhistory(Longman,London,1984)p.13413Stacey,Margaret,‘TheMythofCommunityStudies’,TheBritishJournalofSociology,20,2(1969)p.139

16

‘railway family’, plus scrutiny of the methodological approach undertaken in this

thesis. The latter foregrounds a discussion of the archival sources analysed to

understandtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’frommultipleperspectives.

2.1 The‘railwayfamily’

Theterm‘railwayfamily’meantanumberofdifferentthingstodifferentpeople

includingthosewhowereconnectedtotherailwayindustryandthosewhowerenot.

Therewerebothpositiveandnegativeconnotationsattachedtotheterm;whilstthis

thesisfocusesprimarilyontheformerduetothesourcesstudied,itisalsoimportant

to understand how andwhy negative impressions of the ‘railway family’ emerged.

Depending on their personal experiences with the railway industry, family and

community,theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’mayhavebeenviewedindifferentwaysby

themen,womenandchildrenwhowereconnectedtoitandbyit.Inhisthesisonthe

TaffValeRailwayCompany,DudleyClarkeexaminedthe‘sphereofinfluence’through

whichtheTaffValeemployeeswereconnected.Theirworkplaceoverlappedwiththe

TradeUnionbranches,whichwere linkedtothePublicHouseandclub.Withinthis

sphere,theneighbourhoodalsooverlappedwiththefamily,whichoverlappedwiththe

ChapelorChurchthatinturnwasconnectedwiththeculturalsocietyandthefriendly

society.14InCrewein1849forexample,therailwaycompanyownedhouses,churches,

schools,atownhall,publicbathsandhospitals.15Itwaspossiblethatelementsofthe

14Clarke,Dudley,RevoltandRevivalintheValleys:TheInfluenceofReligionandRevivalismonthePoliticsandLabourRelationsoftheTaffValeRailway,SouthWales,1878–1914(UnpublishedPhDthesis,UniversityofLeeds,2012)p.11315Drummond,Diane,Crewe:RailwayTown,CompanyandPeople,1840–1914(ScolarPress,Aldershot,1995)pp.14-15

17

‘railwayfamily’emergedinalloftheseinterlinkedspheres,especiallywhentheywere

socloselyrelatedtotherailwaycompaniesortradeunions.However,otherdiscrete

communities may also have been formed around these institutions: “Company

enterpriseandbricksandmortarcouldnotmakeacommunity.”16Dependingontheir

ownpersonal experienceswith family relationships, the ideaof the ‘railway family’

mayalsohavebeenproblematicforrailwaymenortheirfamilymembers,despitethe

positivespinplaceduponthenotionoffamilybyrailwaycompaniesandtradeunions.

DrummondhasarguedthatinCrewe,theworkplacewasanimportantjuncture

increatingdistinctiveculturesandsocialgroupingswithinlocalsociety.Thecustoms

and practices in workshops and offices led railway employees to form an identity

aroundtheircommoninterestsanddailyinteractions,althoughitisimportanttonote

thatthisdoesnotnecessarilyhavetoinvolvetherailwaycompaniesortheirwishesfor

the‘railwayfamily’.17Thisisespeciallythecasewherereligion,andnon-conformism

in Crewe, was concerned. According to Drummond, non-conformism in Crewe

“bestowedfarmorethanaculturethatwasfreefromCompanyinfluences.Italsogave

thecoercednonconformistemployeesoftheWorksafiercesenseoftheirownworth

asChristianmen.”18Despiteaninvolvementwiththecompanyversionofthe‘railway

family’, there were many other avenues of community and solidarity open to

railwaymenandtheirfamilies.

Railway company employees also had contactwithmen from other railway

companies,membersofotherTradeUnionsandTradeCouncils.19These“couldhavea

16Ibid.,p.1917Ibid.,p.3918Ibid.,p.14719Clarke,RevoltandRevival,p.116

18

distinct effect on his thinking” and allowed railwaymen to compare their pay and

conditionswithworkersfromothercompaniesandfromotherindustries.20Itwasat

this juncture that the idea of ‘railway family’had the potential to harness negative

feelings of railwaymen towards their employers if these comparisons were

unfavourableandthussolidifytheconnectionstorailwaytradeunions.The‘railway

family’wasonlyonepotentialcommunitythatrailwaymenandtheirfamilymembers

couldparticipatein,andtheintersectionofthe‘railwayfamily’withotheraspectsof

community,industryandfamilylifewascrucialinhowthisideawasviewedbythose

whoparticipatedinit,ratherthanthosewhocurateditthroughtherailwaypress.

Within the railway press at the time, and the historical literature that has

followed,thetermrailwayfamilyhasoftenbeenusedtodescribegenerationsoffamily

members who worked in the railway industry. Such usage can be seen most

particularlyintherailwaycompanymagazines.However,‘railwayfamily’canalsobe

usedtheoreticallytohelpusunderstandthe‘imagined’railwaycommunity.Theidea

ofthe‘railwayfamily’isanexampleofanhistoricalmodel.PeterBurkehasdescribed

amodelas“anintellectualconstructwhichsimplifiesrealityinordertoemphasisethe

recurrent,thegeneralandthetypical,whichitpresentsintheformofclustersoftraits

orattributes.”21Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andthelanguageassociatedwithitwas

utilised by railway companies and trade unions throughout the first half of the

twentiethcenturyanditwasappliedtoallthosewhoworkedintherailwayindustry

andtheirnon-workingfamilymembers.Thisthesisisthefirstoccasionwhentheidea

ofthe‘railwayfamily’isusedasascholarlyhistoricaltool.Thediscussiononthismodel

20Ibid.,p.13621Burke,Peter,HistoryandSocialTheory(PolityPress,Cambridge,2005)2ndEdition,p.27

19

ofthe‘railwayfamily’thatoccursduringthisandthefollowingfourchapterscanhelp

to illuminate how the idea ran alongside, and later came to supersede, railway

companypaternalism;howtradeunionsusedthe ideatomobilise thenon-working

womentheychosetoexcludefromtheirranks;andhowtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

wasusedasatooltoinspirethesupportandloyaltyofthosewithinandconnectedto

therailwayindustry.Chapter6willexaminehowtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’played

outinpracticeasalivedexperienceforrailwaymenandtheirfamilymembers.

Althoughtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’emphasisesthecohesion,solidarityand

socialconsensusthatrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionswereintendingtoinspire,

thisthesisalsoreflectsontheareasofconflictandtensionthatemergedwithinthe

‘railway family’ and between railway companies and trade unions.22 This was

particularlythecasewithissuesthatsurroundedwomenandtheirinclusionwithinthe

‘railwayfamily’,especiallyasworkersandasfulltradeunionmembers,ratherthanas

limitedauxiliarymembers.

Notonlywastheideaof the ‘railwayfamily’usedenthusiasticallybyrailway

companiesandtradeunions,itwasalsoacceptedandinternalisedbyrailwaymenand

their households, relations, colleagues and friends. They used the language of the

‘railwayfamily’intheircontributionstothenewspapersandmagazinesandtheway

thatrailwaymenandtheirnon-workingfamilymembersactedtowardsoneanother,

bothinsideandoutsideoftheworkplace,suggestedthatthefamilyvaluesthatthey

heldfortheirownkinwerealsoappliedtothosewithinthewidercommunityofthe

‘railwayfamily’.Thischapterwillgosomewayinexplainingwhythiswasthecase,and

22Ibid.,p.27

20

discusshowthisthesishasbeenconstructed,beforesubsequentchaptersdemonstrate

howeffectivetheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasformanyofthoseconnectedtothe

railwayindustry.

2.2 ‘ImaginedCommunities’

Benedict Anderson’s seminal work on the origins of Nationalism, Imagined

Communities.ReflectionsontheOriginandSpreadofNationalismiscrucialtoastudyof

the ‘railway family’.23 Although Anderson was using the idea of an ‘imagined

community’ashisdefinitionforthenation-state,thisthesiswillarguethatthetheory

canalsobeadaptedtoconceptualisehowtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasformed

andunderstood.AsAndersonstatesinhisdefinitionofan‘imaginedcommunity’,these

communitiesareimaginedbecausemostpeoplewillneverknowallmembersoftheir

nationbutcanimaginethemin“communion”together.Theyaredefinedinthewaysin

whichtheyareimagined,forexampleasafamily,asocietyoraskinshipnetworks.24

However,Andersonplacestheemphasisonthe‘imagined’aspectsofthecommunity,

andparticularly thenegativeconnotationsof this, forexample, “Ultimately it is this

fraternitythatmakesitpossible,overthepasttwocenturies,forsomanymillionsof

people,notsomuchtokill,aswillinglytodieforsuchlimitedimaginings.”25Thisthesis

however will attempt to discover where the lines blurred between the ‘imagined’

23Anderson,Benedict,ImaginedCommunities.ReflectionsontheOriginandSpreadofNationalism(Verso,London,2006)RevisedEdition24Ibid.,p.625Ibid.,p.7.P.201forexamplealsodiscusses“reassuringfratricide”aspartof‘familyhistory’,atechniqueforextendingthe‘imaginedcommunity’.

21

railwaycommunityandhowitwaslivedinpractice,throughtheideaofthe‘railway

family’inamorepositivesensethanmanyofAnderson’sdiscussions.

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’stretchedacrosstherailwaynetworkinBritain

–itwasimpossibleforallrailwayemployeesandtheirfamilymemberstomeetone

anotherastherailwaycompaniesemployedhundredsofthousandsofmenandwomen

throughouttheperiod.26The‘imaginedcommunity’ofthe‘railwayfamily’allowedfor

the creationof a senseof co-operative spiritbetweenall gradesof railwaymenand

theirnon-workingfamilymembers.AccordingtoAnderson,thenationalcommunity

wasimbuedwithaspiritoffraternalcomradeship,despitetheinequalitiesthatexisted.

Thiswascertainlythecaseforthe‘railwayfamily’.Thehighestpaidmembersearned

overtwicethatofthelowestpaid,butthebondoffraternitywasoftendemonstrated

amongstmanyrailwaymen.27

Anderson also emphasises the role of print culture in the creation of an

‘imagined community’. The idea is key to this thesis, which uses railway company

magazinesandtradeunionnewspaperstoinvestigatehowtheseinstitutionscreated,

maintainedandextendedtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Andersonarguesthattheact

ofreadingnewspaperswasonewaythatanational‘imaginedcommunity’wascreated,

asallmembersofthecommunityweregiventhesameinformationandwereableto

26Forexample,acensusofstaffbeforeandafterWW1records639,323employeesin1913and766,381in1921,takenfromTheRailwayGazette,35,10(1921)p.380whilstacensusofstaffin1935records580,766railwayemployees,takenfromTheRailwayGazette,63,10(1935)p.35827ASRSReportonCensusofWages,HoursandLabourofthemenemployedontheRailwaysoftheUnitedKingdom(London,1908)pp.10–11.ThesefiguresarebasedonthewagesofthelowestgradesofstaffworkingfortheGreatWesternandMidlandrailwaycompanies,forexample,GWRporterswerepaid17shillingsand10penceaweekonaveragewhilstdriversearned37shillingsand9pence.In1929LondonMidlandandScottishrailwaycompanydriversearnedovertwicethatofenginecleaners;thiswasaresultofage,trainingandskilllevelrequiredfortheseroles,fromLondonMidlandandScottishrailwaycompany,ConditionsofServiceofConciliationGrades,1929,p.1andp.51

22

learn of the same news stories.28 This helps to explain the competition that arose

betweenrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionswhenreferringtothe‘railwayfamily’–

their newspapers and magazines created separate communities through the

informationtheygaveoutandthewayitwaspresented.However,the‘railwayfamily’

alsocametorepresenttheoccupationalcommunityofrailwaymenandtheirfamilies

whichtranscendedtherailwaycompanymagazinesandtradeunionnewspapers.

Aspecificlanguageassociatedwiththeideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wascreated

bythejournalistsandeditorsofthesenewspapersandmagazines,whichactedasan

inclusivebaselevelforthosewithintheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’tounderstandthe

parttheyplayedinawiderrailwaycommunity.Thelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’

couldalsobeexclusivehowever, excluding thosewhowerenotpartof thedefined

community,forexampleneighbourswhoworkedindifferentindustries,whichdivided

members of the same class along occupational lines. Those who proved to be a

challengetotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’,inparticularfemalerailwayworkers,were

alsoexcludedfromthe‘railwayfamily’withtheuseofparticularlanguage.

Andersonhasalsodiscussedthenatureofthisinclusiveandexclusivelanguage

withregardtonationalanthemsandpoemswhichrepresentthe‘imaginedcommunity’

of thenationstating, “there isaspecialkindofcontemporaneouscommunitywhich

language alone suggested”29. The editorial language of the ‘railway family’ had its

parallelinarticles,letters,poemsandstoriesthatappearedinrailwaycompanyand

tradeunionnewspapers.Asmanyofthesewerewrittenbyrailwayemployeesacross

differentdepartments(ratherthanjustthoseemployedandinstructedbythecompany

28Anderson,ImaginedCommunities,p.3529Ibid.,p.145

23

ortradeuniontocontributetothenewspaper)thissuggeststhatrailwayworkersand

theirnon-working familymembersbought into the ideaof the ‘railway family’ and

were happy to use the language associated with their ‘imagined community’. An

exampleofthisisapoemfeaturedintheASLEFLocomotiveJournal,whichappealed

fordonationstohelpthewidowandtenchildrenofanASLEFmemberkilledonthe

footplatebyreferringbothtohisdependantwifeandchildrenbutalsoappealingto

fellowtradeunionmembersashisbrothers,“…Andnowhisdutyhehasdone,/Hehas

gonewhere enemieshe has none;/ Just helphis family in their need,/ and see the

childrengetafeed/…NowBrotherstoyouthelastappeal!/Justputyourshoulderto

thewheel,/Andseeifyoucanspareapenny/Toprovidesomemealswherethereare

many.”30Thelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’willbediscussedfurtherinSection2.5

By usingwhat he terms “family history”, Anderson argues that referring to

events that contributed towards the history of the ‘imagined community’ creates a

sense of a shared past between all members.31 Railway company and trade union

newspapersoftenfeaturedarticlesthatglorifiedpastachievementsofthecompanyor

union.AnarticleintheGreatWesternRailwayMagazine,titled‘TheBoysoftheOld

Brigade’ celebrated retiredGreatWestern railwaymen, stating that they “look back

with pride upon their service with the Company. With pride – and, indeed, with

affection also, are they themselves remembered by their friends and former

colleagues.”32 By establishing a shared history between members of the ‘railway

family’, the railwaycompaniesand tradeunionswere reminding thewider railway

30LocomotiveJournal,30,4(1917)p.13231Anderson,ImaginedCommunities,p.20132GreatWesternrailwaycompanymagazine(GWRM),48,10(1936)p.497

24

communityoftheirpastachievements,whichwereonlypossiblewhentheyallworked

together. Eventually, all railwaymen would become ‘old boys’ and this inclusive

communitywascreatedtoensurethattheideaofthe ‘railwayfamily’livedoneven

afterretirement.Illhealthwasalsonobarriertoparticipationinthe‘railwayfamily’as

railwayconvalescenthomes,providedforrailwaymenandtheirwivesandchildren,

wereadvertisedinthemagazinesandpraisedinglowingarticlesastothegoodwork

theywereabletodotorestorethe‘railwayfamily’backtofullhealth.Theconnection

betweendiversepatientsattherailwaywomen’sconvalescenthomeinMargatewas

describedintheGreatWesternmagazineas“whethertypistorthewifeofaganger,

they all had the one common link – they were railway folk.”33 By utilising their

newspapers and magazines the railway companies and trade unions were also

extendingtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’,anditssharedhistory,tomemberswhohad

onlyjustcommencedtheirrailwayserviceandtothechildrenofrailwayworkersin

pre-emptivepreparationfortheirrailwaycareer.

Finally, Anderson argues that it is difficult “to explain theattachment that

peoplesfeelforinventionsoftheirimaginations”againemphasisingtheimportance,

albeitnegative,Andersonplacedonthe‘imagined’natureofthecommunities.34Yet,

justbecausetheseattachmentsaredifficult toexplaindoesnotmeanthatattempts

shouldnotbemade.35AsJenkinsargues,“althoughthoseidentitiesareimagined;they

33GWRM,42,8(1930)p.33634Anderson,ImaginedCommunities,p.141.Author’semphasis35Desai,Radhika,‘TheinadvertenceofBenedictAnderson.AreviewessayofImaginedCommunitiesontheoccasionofanewedition’,GlobalandMediaCommunication,4,2(2008)p.190.DesaiarguesthatAnderson’sfocusontheattachmentsfelttowardsthenation-stateistooallencompassing,andstatesthatitispossibletohavesimilarattachmentstootherinstitutionsandidentities,asthisthesiswillargue.

25

arenotimaginary.”36The‘railwayfamily’existedinoccupationalcommunitiesinmany

townsandcitiesacrossBritain.This thesiswill attempt tounderstandwhyrailway

companiesandtradeunionsweresocommittedtotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’and

how,andwhy,railwayworkersandtheirnon-workingfamilymembersalsochoseto

investintheideaandembracethe‘railwayfamily’withintheireverydaylivesatwork

andathome.

Anderson’stheoryof‘imaginedcommunities’hasbeenappliedbyhistoriansto

other non-nationalist contexts in different time periods, with different groups of

individuals,andadaptedtorefinethetheorywithregardtosmallercommunities.This

exemplifiesthefactthatthereweremanydifferentcommunitiesthatrailwaymenand

theirfamiliescouldjoin–whetheroccupational,religious,nationalorfamilial.Someof

thesewere imagined,others tookonamorephysical form: the ideaof the ‘railway

family’ straddles both and will be explored in this thesis in both forms. Although

Anderson’s conceptof ‘imaginedcommunities’ can carrynegative connotations, the

idea of the ‘railway family’ presented in this thesis primarily explores the positive

functionstherealand ‘imagined’railwaycommunitywasable toconveyduetothe

natureofthesourcesavailable.

David Gilbert discusses ‘imagined communities’ in relation to mining

communities in Britain during the twentieth century. He argues that Anderson

idealises local communities and hence minimises the negative impact that the

exclusionofminoritygroupsfromwider‘imaginedcommunities’canhave.37According

36Jenkins,Richard,SocialIdentity(Routledge,London,2008)p.17537Gilbert,David,‘ImaginedCommunitiesandminingcommunities’,LabourHistoryReview,60,2(1995)p.47andp.52

26

to Gilbert, industrial communities, and in particular mining communities, were

excluded or “grudgingly accommodated” into the national English ‘imagined

community’whichfocusedonanidealised,rural,non-industrialidentity.38Anexcellent

exampleof this is thehymn, ‘Jerusalem’whichwasbaseduponapoembyWilliam

Blakewrittenin1810andsettomusicbySirHubertParryin1916withlinesincluding,

“WalkuponEngland’smountainsgreen”,“OnEngland’spleasantpasturesseen”and

conversely,“AndwasJerusalembuildedhere,/AmongstthesedarkSatanicmills?/…”39

Railwaycommunities,asdiscussedinChapter6withafocusonGloucester,wereoften

moreintegratedintolargertownsandcitiesthantheruralandsociallyisolatedmining

communities that Gilbert’s work focuses on. This had the potential to reduce the

exclusionandsegregationthattheseindustrialcommunitiesfaced.40

However,aspectsofexclusionwerepresentamongstsomeelementsofrailway

communities. Thiswas particularly the case for those families who were unhappy

whenchildrenchosenottofollowfathersintotherailwayworkplace,orifthosewho

hadbeen‘spokenfor’andhadsecuredajobsubsequentlybroughtdisgraceontofamily

membersbytheirbehaviouratwork.AsCharlesTaylordescribesofhisexperienceas

an apprentice at Crewe Locomotive Works, “My parentage was a mixed blessing,

sometimesprovidingabonusbutthereweretimeswhenIwastold,“Idon’tthinkyour

fatherwouldliketoseeyoudoingthat.”41Thisplacedpressureonchildrenorother

familymemberstobehaveinthe‘right’way.Thosewhospokeforpotentialemployees

38Ibid.,p.4739Blake,William,PrefacetoMiltonaPoem(1810),PoetryFoundation(2017)https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/54684[27/3/2017]40Gilbert,‘ImaginedCommunities’,p.4841Taylor,Charles,LifeinaLocoWorks.First-handexperiencesofaCreweengineeringapprenticeduringwartime(OxfordPublishingCompany,Yeovil,1995)p.24

27

were conscious that their reputation depended on the behaviour of their family

membersandtheseindividualsweremadeawarethattheywererequiredtouphold

thefamilyname.

Thisreflectsthehighdegreeofsocialcontrolthatrailwaycompanies(andtrade

unions)wereabletoexertoverrailwaymenandtheirfamilymembersthroughtheidea

of the ‘railway family’. This control existed alongside themore formal disciplinary

measurestakenbytheseinstitutions.Ithasoftenbeenarguedthatsocialcontrolwas

exerted by middle-class men and women over their working-class counterparts

through a variety of religious and philanthropic institutions which attempted to

regulatetheirleisuretime.42By1900however,theleisurepursuitsofworking-class

families were fairly static and considered ‘respectable’. These included seaside

holidays,watchingfootballmatches,andvisitingmusichallsor,after1914,thecinema.

The home and family also became fundamental to working-class leisure time.43

Thompsonhasarguedthatworkwasoneofthecentraltenetsofworking-classlifeand

therefore was important in the formation of attitudes and beliefs.44 According to

Heeley,“Employerssawleisureasanimportantsocialresponsibilityandweretothe

foreinprovidingtheiremployeeswithfacilitiesforrationalrecreation.”45Thefacilities

thatwereprovided includedparks,MechanicsInstitutes,sports teamsandsocieties

which in themselves were able to exert a degree of social control over railway

employeesandtheir families in leisuretime.Wrighthasarguedthat theMechanics’

42Thompson,F.M.L.,‘SocialControlinVictorianBritain’,TheEconomyHistoryReview,34,2(1981)p.19143Bailey,Peter,'Leisure,cultureandthehistorian:reviewingthefirstgenerationofleisurehistoriographyinBritain',LeisureStudies,8,2(1989)pp.109-11044Thompson,‘SocialControlinVictorianBritain’,p.20445Heeley,John,'Leisureandmoralreform',LeisureStudies,5,1(1986)p.62

28

Institutes,providedbyrailwaycompaniesincertaintownsandcities,weremanaged

bymiddle-class councilswho “endeavoured to inculcate ‘respectable values’ in the

section of the working classes that passed through the institute’s doors”.46 It is

important tonote that, according toThompson, therewasa largegapbetween the

aspirations of those who desired to implement social control and their actual

achievements;manyofthedesirabletenetsof“association,mutualhelpandprotection,

preservationofthesenseofgroupandcommunityandrefusaltoretreattothesocial

isolationoftheindividualfamily”whichemployersandtradeunionssoughttoinstil

amongst members of the ‘railway family’ were not the product of middle-class

intrusion but were defined and policed by working-class men and women

themselves.47 A thorough study of social control within the ‘railway family’ would

necessitateaseparatethesisinordertoexaminethemultiplefacetsthroughwhichit

canemerge–spiritual,military,legal,educationalorfinancial.48However,therewillbe

someelementsofthewaythe‘railwayfamily’actedasanagentofsocialcontrolthat

emergewithinthisthesis.

The language of the ‘railway family’ was used to exclude those who had

transgressed the bounds of the social control exerted by the ‘railway family’ or by

railway companies and trade unions. Female railway workers also counter the

inclusionary nature of the ‘railway family’ and their experiences will be discussed

throughout this thesis, but most prominently in Chapter 4, which considers their

relationshiptothetradeunionswhoviewedthemasathreateningforcethroughout

46Wright,Gerry,'Discussionsofthecharacteristicsofmechanics'institutesinthesecondhalfofthenineteenthcentury:theBradfordexample'JournalofEducationalAdministrationandHistory,33,1(2001)p.647Thompson,‘SocialControlinVictorianBritain’,p.20748Ibid.,p.206

29

the period. The ‘railway family’ was crucial in policing the norms through which

respectablebehaviourwasestablished;family,friendsandkinwereamongstthemost

importantelementsof informalsocialcontrol.49Theacceptanceof thisoccupational

communityandtheinternalisationoftherulesandnormswhichguidedappropriate

behaviourwasanimportantwayinwhichtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’functioned.50

InherstudyofPoplarinthe1920s,GillianRosearguesthatthewayresidents

describedtheirexperienceofthecommunityexemplifiesAnderson’sdefinitionofthe

‘imaginedcommunity’,andmostexplicitlythe“horizontalcomradeship”thatexisted.51

Theterm“horizontalcomradeship”describesthesenseofcommunitycreatedbetween

membersinthelocalcommunitywhowereofasimilarsocialandeconomicstatusand

wasevidentinthewaytheyexperiencedPoplar.Forexample,“Itwasawarmplace,

theEastEnd…itwasacommunity.Peoplehelpedoneanother.”52Shearguesthatitis

not Anderson who idealises these communities, but those who are doing the

imagining.53Thisisacrucialdiscussionfortheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’,particularly

whenoneconsiderstheautobiographiesandoralhistoriesofrailwaymen,whohave

oftenbeenaccusedoflookingbackattheirpastlivesandemploymentintherailway

industrythroughrose-tintedspectacles.54Thisstudywillseektounderstandhowthe

ideaof the ‘railway family’was imaginednotonlyby railwaycompaniesand trade

unionsbutalsobyrailwaymenandtheirnon-workingfamilymembers,alongsidehow

49Chriss,JamesJ.,SocialControl.AnIntroduction(PolityPress,Cambridge,2013)2ndEdition,p.350Ibid.,p.2651Rose,Gillian,‘ImaginingPoplarinthe1920s:Contestedconceptsofcommunity’,JournalofHistoricalGeography,16,4(1990)p.42752Ibid.,p.42753Ibid.,p.42754Strangleman,Tim,‘Constructingthepast:Railwayhistoryfrombeloworastudyinnostalgia?’,JournalofTransportHistory,23,2(2002)pp.147-148

30

theoccupationalcommunityand‘railwayfamily’inGloucesterworkedinpractice.Itis

crucial to study the ‘railway family’ in this way in order to understand how the

‘imagined community’ was created and lived across Britain and in one particular

microcosm.

LizzieSeal’sworkon‘imaginedcommunities’andthedeathpenaltyinBritain

statesthatall‘imaginedcommunities’areconstantlyinflux.55Thiswascertainlythe

casefortheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’,whichwasextendedbyrailwaycompaniesand

tradeunionsto includenotonlyrailwaymen,butalso femalerailwayworkers,non-

working wives and children at various times during the period. At times, women

workerswereexcluded,oronlypartlyconsideredmembersofthe‘railwayfamily’,due

totheperceptionsofrailwaymenandtheirconcernfortheirownpositionwithinthe

industryintermsofjobsandwages.Thiswasparticularlythecaseforwomenworkers

inrelationtothetradeunions,whoweremorehostiletofemaleemploymentthanthe

railwaycompanies.Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’asimaginedbyrailwaycompanies

ortradeunionswasdependantontheeconomic,politicalandsocialsituationofthe

countryasawholebutalsowithspecificreferencetotheprioritiesoftheirbusiness.

Fromtherailwaycompanies’perspective,thiswastoensureahappyworkforcewho

wouldmakethecompanyahealthyprofitwhilstfortradeunions,thiswastofightfor

the rights and benefits of their members, namely railwaymen. Issues such as the

extension of the franchise to all men and women, two World Wars, an economic

depressionandthedevelopmentofaninternationalcommunityofworking-classmen

55Seal,Lizzie,‘ImaginedCommunitiesandtheDeathPenaltyinBritain,1930–1965’,BritishJournalofCriminology,54(2014)p.910

31

andwomenwerefactorsinthefluctuationoftheapprovedmembershipofthe‘railway

family’overtheperiod.

Thewaythatlocaloccupationalcommunitieswerecreatedisalsoafocusfor

this thesis and Anderson’swork is influential in the discussion but is not adopted

wholesaleoruncritically.AlanO’Day’sworkfocusesonthecreationofIrishimmigrant

communitiesintheUSAandEngland.Thisresonatesinthediscussionontheformation

of occupational communities as there was a high level of movement for railway

workers from one town to another. O’Day argues that the creation of ‘imagined

communities’amongstIrishémigrésbroughttogetherdisparatepeopleandallowedto

themtoreinterprettheirownexperiencesfromasharednationalperspective,rather

thanalocalone.56Ifweconsiderthisfromtheperspectiveoftherailwayindustry,the

ideaofthe‘railwayfamily’allowedmigrantsmovingfromonetowntoanothertojoin

anewoccupationalcommunitythatwasnot justlinkedthrougha local identitybut

through one that was accepted across the railway network. This then made the

transitioneasierfortherailwaycompaniesandtheiremployees,butalsothefamilies

ofrailwaymen,whohadfamiliarinstitutionsonwhichtheycouldrelyaspartofthe


Thegenderednatureofthe‘railwayfamily’in theoryandinpracticeisakey

area of study. Gillian Rose’s work recognises that gender affected the ways that

members identifiedwith the local community in Poplar. Rose argues thatmen did

identifywiththeircommunity,butofteninwaysthatreinforcedtheirmasculinity,for

56O’Day,Alan,‘ImaginedIrishCommunities:NetworksofSocialCommunicationoftheIrishDiasporaintheUnitedStateandBritainintheLateNineteenthandEarlyTwentiethCenturies’,ImmigrantsandMinorities,23,2-3(2005)p.407

32

example through their support of local boxers.57 Physicalwork andstrengthwas a

markerofworking-classmasculinity.58Railwayclerkssufferedinthisrespectbecause

theywerenotseenbyotherworking-classmenasmanuallabourers,norwerethey

consideredbymiddleclassmentohavethenecessaryfreedomfrompatronagethat

wouldhaveelevatedtheirstatus.59Clericalworkwas“stigmatisedas‘unmanly’even

beforewomen entered the occupation in large numbers”.60 In this respect, railway

clerkswereoftenthefirsttovolunteerfordeploymentduringwartime,perhapsinan

attempttosecuretheirfragilemasculineidentity.61

Masculinity isan incrediblydiversesubjectofhistoricalanalysisandthere is

“nosinglehistoryofmenandmasculinities”.62Althoughthisthesisbrieflytoucheson

aspectsofmasculinityassociatedwithwork,familyandleisure,thehistoricalliterature

onthissubjectistoobroadtobecomprehensivelyanalysedwithinthecontextofthe

railwayindustryandwithinthescopeofthiswork.Toshhasarguedthatitiscrucialto

groundthestudyofgenderwithinthereal-lifeexperienceofmenandwomenandthe

casestudyincludedwithinthisexaminationofthe‘railwayfamily’intendstodojust

that.63Whilst the focusof this thesis isnoton the constructionofmasculinity, it is

importanttounderstandhowmasculineidentitycaninteractwiththeconstructionof

57Rose,‘ImaginingPoplar’,p.42858Tosh,John,‘WhatShouldHistoriansdowithMasculinity?ReflectionsonNineteenth-centuryBritain’,HistoryWorkshop,38(1994)p.18659Ibid.,p.18660Lockwood,David,TheBlackcoatedWorker(UnwinUniversityBooks,London,1958)p.12361Tosh,‘WhatShouldHistoriansdowithMasculinity?’,p.194.AlthoughToshisdiscussingtheBoerWarandvolunteerarmyunits,TheRailwayClerkliststhethousandsofrailwayclerkswhojoinedup,orwereenlisted,inboththeFirstandSecondWorldWars.62Seidler,VictorJeleniewski,‘Masculinities,HistoriesandMemories’inArnold,John.H.,andBrady,Sean(eds.)WhatisMasculinity?HistoricalDynamicsfromAntiquitytotheContemporaryWorld(PalgraveMacmillan,Basingstoke,2011)p.44963Tosh,John,‘TheHistoryofMasculinity:AnOutdatedConcept?’inArnoldandBrady,WhatisMasculinity?,p.32

33

a feminine identity, the family andwomen’s history in general.64 However, gender

rarelystandsaloneintheformationofidentityanditwouldberemisstofocussolely

onthisaspectwhenconsideringtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.65

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’asan‘imaginedcommunity’wasunderstoodand

exploitedbymenandwomeninavarietyofdifferentways.AsToshhasargued,“the

gendered study of men must be indispensable to any serious feminist historical

project.”66The‘railwayfamily’wasconstructedaroundstronglygenderedlineswhich

upheldtraditionalnotionsofmasculinityandfemininity.Thewayinwhichworking-

classmenconstructedtheirmasculinitywascentredaroundtheirwork,theirleisure

(particularly male-only associations) and their family.67 The concept of the male

breadwinnerinparticularplacedagreatdealofemphasisonmasculinitybeinglinked

toemploymentandwages.68Unemploymentwasablowtomasculineidentity,notonly

becauseitimpoverishedfamiliesbutbecauseitseverelycompromisedtheperceived

masculinity of thosemen due to their inability to provide for their families as the

breadwinner.69

Thisallfedintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’whichwasintendedtocentreon

theseaspectsofarailwayman’slife–hiswork,histradeunionmembershipandthe

roleheplayedwithinthefamily.Toshalsoarguesthatmasculinitywasbasedon“self-

control, hard work and independence”, values that were important to railway

64Roper,MichaelandTosh,John(eds.)ManfulAssertions.MasculinitiesinBritainsince1800(Routledge,London,1991)p.865ArnoldandBrady,WhatisMasculinity?,p.466Tosh,‘WhatShouldHistoriansdowithMasculinity?’,p.17967Ibid.,p.181andp.18468Ibid.,p.18569Stevenson,JohnandCook,Chris,TheSlump:BritainintheGreatDepression.ThirdEdition(PearsonEducationLtd,Harlow,2010)pp.94-98describestheresearchdoneintothepsychologicaleffectofunemploymentduringthe1930s

34

companiesandtradeunionsalike.70Thetraditional‘Victorianvalues’ofdeferenceand

respectability were also highly valued by railway companies.71 Respectability in

particularwasprizedbybothrailwaymenandtheirwives.Thesevaluescontributed

towardsaparticularworking-classmasculineidentityforrailwayworkersandcanbe

seenasawayinwhichemploymentwasinfluencingthehomelifeandleisureactivities

ofrailwaymenandtheirfamilies.Again,itwasalsoawaythatthe‘railwayfamily’was

extendedasamethodofsocialcontrolbyrailwaycompaniesandtradeunions.

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasoftenidentifiedtorailwaymenasawaythat

they could support each other and also support their families in times of distress,

feedingintothistraditionalmasculinerole.Thiswasespeciallythecasefromthetrade

unionperspective:railwaymenwerebrothersandprotectorsunderthebannerofthe

‘railwayfamily’.Anexcellentexampleofthiswasthere-workingofRudyardKipling’s

poem‘If’whichappearedintheASLEFLocomotiveJournalin1919,withthelines“If

he asks himself the question, can he truly say that he/ is worthy of that motto:

“BrothersinUnity”?/IfyouholdthehandofFriendshiptoacomradewhenhe’sdown,/

andhelphimwhenmisfortunecomes-notpasshimbyandfrown;”.72

Formanywomen,the‘railwayfamily’wasprimarilyawaythattheycouldtake

careoftheirfamiliesandeachother.ThefoundationoftheASLEFWomen’sSociety

afterthe1924locomotivemen’sstrikedemonstratesthisconcern.Duringthisstrike,

womenprovidedsupportandassistancetotheirhusbandsandthefamiliesofother

strikingrailwaymen.OntheinaugurationofthefirstWomen’sSocietybranchitwas

70Tosh,‘WhatShouldHistoriansdowithMasculinity?’,p.18371Drummond,Crewe:RailwayTown,CompanyandPeople,pp.195-196.DrummondarguesthattherewasascaleofdeferenceinCrewewhichrailwaymensubscribedto,oftendependingontheirpossessionofthevote.72LocomotiveJournal,32,5(1919)p.140

35

statedthat“Strikesactuallyhitthewomenharderthanthemen,asanyreductionin

wagesorworseningofconditionswasboundtoreflectonhomelife”.73Assuch,any

supportwomen’ssocietieswereabletogivetradeunionsduringlabourunrest,totheir

fundraisingeffortsandinenablingrailwaymenandtheirfamiliestosocialisetogether

cemented the ‘railway family’ as a supportnetwork. The involvement ofwomen in

politics especially after the end of the FirstWorldWar was driven by the unique

contribution it was felt they couldmake on issues that affected otherwomen and

childrenfromtheiruniqueperspectiveaswomen,wivesandmothers.74Atalocaland

nationallevelthepoliciesthatwomencampaignedforwereconcernedwitheducation,

housing, welfare and other perceived ‘women’s issues’ that centred on home and

familyandthusstronglyaffectedthe‘railwayfamily’.75

Anderson’s work has not been viewed in a wholly positive light by other

historians and Anthony Marx has critiqued Anderson, arguing that his work on

‘imagined communities’ envisions primarily a cohesive community. He claims that

language could be “exclusive and divisive” and print culture was able to spread

messageswhich increased tensions and conflict between nations and thosewithin

them.76Thelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’wasatoncebothexclusionarybyitsnature,

butalsodesignedtoeaseanyconflictsthatmayhavearisenamongstmembers.Itacted

toexcludethosenotconnectedtotherailwayindustrybyusingterminologythatonly

73LocomotiveJournal,37,6(1924)p.22174Graves,Pamela,LabourWomen:WomeninBritishWorking-ClassPolitics,1918-1939(CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridge,1994)p.875Pugh,Martin,WomenandtheWomen’sMovementinBritain(Macmillan,Hampshire,1992)2ndEdition,2000p.132.Pugh’sworkincludesadiscussionoftheissuesthatwomenvotersbelievedtobecrucial–politicalpartiesoftenfocusedonthese,andside-linedother‘women’sissues’thattheyconsideredtobetoocontroversialordivisivesuchasdivorcereformorabortionlaw.76Marx,Anthony,FaithinNation.ExclusionaryOriginsofNationalism(OxfordUniversityPress,Oxford,2003)p.192

36

thoseassociatedwiththe industrywouldunderstand.However, the languageof the

‘railwayfamily’wasalsousedtoensurethat therewasasenseofcommonalityand

unity between thosewhoworked on the railways orwere connected to it through

familymembers.Byactingtoexcludeothers,thelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’was

alsoemphasisingtorailwaymenandtheirfamilymembersthattheywerepartofan

exclusive‘club’thatnoteveryonecouldjoin.

Thelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’wasnotorganic.Itwasnotcreatedwholly

by those who it came to describe but was generated and maintained by railway

companiesandtradeunionsandadoptedbyrailwaymenandtheirfamilies.Inasimilar

way, Anthony Marx rejects Anderson’s implications that there was no ‘state’

interventioninthecreationofan‘imaginedcommunity’.Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

alignswithMarx’sargument:itwasalsopromptedbyinstitutionalinterventionfrom

railwaycompaniesandtradeunions.77AsMelanieTebbutthasdescribedinhercase

study of working-class life in Northampton in the twentieth century, “consensual

rhetoric” appeared in local newspapers because local civic leaders were also local

businessmen and employers.78 In thisway, employerswere able to influence their

employeessubconsciously(ormoreunashamedly)throughthelanguagetheyusedin

newspapers.However,asemployerswerealsocivicleaderstheyhadaresponsibility

toensurethattheyalsoworkedforthelocalcommunity.79Tosome,thismayhavebeen

anotionalresponsibilitywhichtheyfailedtoundertakebutotherbusinessownersand

77Ibid.p.1578Tebbutt,Melanie,‘ImaginedFamiliesandVanishedCommunities:MemoriesofWorking-ClasslifeinNorthampton’,HistoryWorkshopJournal,73(2012)p.15179Hughes,Stephen,‘SocialArchaeology:APossibleMethodologyoftheStudyofWorkers’Settlementsbasedonthe18th-and19th-CenturyCopperIndustryofSwansea’,inBarker,DavidandCranstone,David(eds.)TheArchaeologyofIndustrialization(ManeyPublishing,Leeds,2004)p.144

37

civicleaderstooktheirresponsibilitiesseriouslyandactedforthe(perceived)goodof

theircommunity.Railwaycompaniesinparticularwerekeentoutilisethis“consensual

rhetoric”toemphasisetheirpaternalism,andlatertheirindustrialwelfarepractices,

whichtheybelievedbenefittedemployees,theirfamilies,thecompanyandoftenthe

townswhichtheyconstructedorhelpedtodevelop.

Alan O’Day has also criticised Anderson’s definition of an ‘imagined

community’. He argues that Anderson has effectively described the formation of

‘imaginedcommunities’,butnotthedifferentlayersofthe‘imaginedcommunity’,or

howpeoplemovefromhighlevelsofinvestmentintheideatolowerlevelsandvice

versa.80This thesiswilldemonstratehow the ‘imaginedcommunity’of the ‘railway

family’ was formed but it will also attempt to consider the different layers of

acceptanceoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’,bywhomandwhetherthischangedover

time.

AnotheraspectofAnderson’shypothesiswhichwillbetestedbythisthesisis

his theory that ‘imagined communities’ were created as a response to potential

exclusion from more popular ‘imagined communities’.81 Railway companies relied

more heavily on the language of the ‘railway family’ in theirmagazines once they

realised thegrowing threat from tradeunions in theearly1900s.By curating their

versionofthe‘railwayfamily’,thecompanies’wereabletoemphasisethebenefitsthat

railwayworkersandtheirfamilieswouldcontinuetoenjoyaslongastheyremained

loyaltotheiremployerratherthansupportingthetradeunions.Thisdidworkfora

time;however,railwayworkerscametounderstandthatloyaltycouldbesubdivided

80O’Day,‘ImaginedIrishCommunities’,p.41681Anderson,ImaginedCommunities,p.110

38

asMcKennastates,“loyaltytotheneedsofthecompanywaschallengedbyloyaltyto

family,grade,unionandeventuallytosocialclass”.82

It iscrucial toconsiderwhowasdoingthe ‘imagining’ for thiscommunityof

railway workers and family members – it was not just a top-down phenomenon,

wherebytheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasimposeduponrailwayworkersandtheir

familiesbyrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionsbutoneinwhichthosewithintheidea

of the ‘railway family’ were able to create their own community. Examples of the

languagetheyusedorthewaythattheyactedtowardsoneanotherdemonstratethis,

as a letter from theMotive Power department atHolyhead featured in the London

MidlandandScottishrailwaycompanymagazinein1928revealedthatthemeninthat

departmenthad“adopted”retiredrailwaymenandboughtthemacompanymagazine

to read each week.83 This exemplifies the “fraternal comradeship” that Anderson

describeswithinhisdefinitionofan‘imaginedcommunity’.84Afurtherdiscussionof

how the idea of the ‘railway family’was understood by railwayworkers and their

familieswillfollowinthesubsequentfourchapters.

Whenoneusestheterm‘railwayfamily’eventoday,itelicitsapositiveresponse

fromthosewhoconsideredthemselvesmembersofthe‘railwayfamily’duetotheir

own,orarelative’s,involvementintherailwayindustry.85Railwaycompaniesarestill

invoking,andevoking,theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’intheirbusinesspractices,for

example,GoviaThameslinkRailwayrecordedasafetyandsecuritymessagebytheten-

82McKenna,F.,TheRailwayWorkers:1840–1970(FaberandFaber,London,1980)p.3083LondonMidlandandScottishrailwaycompanymagazine(LMSM),5,4(1928)p.14484Anderson,ImaginedCommunities,p.785Manypositivecommentsontheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’havearisenoutofpostersandpaperspresentedatconferences.Animportantexampleofthiswasthefeedbackreceivedafterpresentingapaperentitled‘Whatisthe‘railwayfamily’andwhyisitimportant?’attheNationalRailwayMuseum’sWork,RestandPlay:ExploringtheExtendedRailwayFamilyconference,19/09/2015

39

year-olddaughterofanemployeeaskingpassengersto“Pleasehelpmymummyand

daddy come home fromwork today safely.”86 The joy of belonging to the ‘railway

family’ismosteloquentlyputbyR.H.NHardyinhispersonalreminiscencesonhislife

workingintherailwayindustry:“IhavebeenluckytochooseawayoflifethatIhave

loved.Ihavemethundreds,naythousandsofpeopleinallgradesandlevels,whohave

enrichedmylife”.87Thepermanenceoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’isexactlywhat

the railway companies and trade unions were hoping for. This longevity, and the

evolutionofthe‘railwayfamily’toitspresentstate,indicatesthattheideahasbecome

lessstrategicandmorebenign,utilisedlessintheserviceofdemandingloyaltyfrom

workers in return for certain paternalistic benefits andmore as away to create a

communityspiritandasenseofbelongingamongstadiverseworkforce.

2.3 CollectiveIdentities

“Identityisaboutbelonging,aboutwhatyouhaveincommonwithsomepeople

and what differentiates you from others. At its most basic it gives you a sense of

personallocation,thestablecoretoyourindividuality.Butitisalsoaboutyoursocial

relationship, your complex involvementwith others.”88 JeffreyWeek’s definition of

identityiskeytounderstandinghowandwhytheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasso

readily accepted by railwaymen and their families. Identity was rooted in class,

communityandkinship;whoyouweresimilartoandwhoyouweredifferentfrom.89

86BBCnews,‘Girl,10,recordsstationsecurityalert’,10/05/2016http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36250538[23/11/2016]87Hardy,R.H.N,RailwaysintheBlood(IanAllenLtd,Shepperton,1985)p.12788Weeks,Jeffrey,‘Thevalueofdifference’inRutherford,J.(ed.)Identity,Community,Culture,Difference(LawrenceandWishart,London,1990)p.88inBradley,Harriet,FracturedIdentities.ChangingPatternsofInequality(PolityPress,Cambridge,1996)p.2489Ibid.,p.23

40

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’incorporatedallthreesections:itwasmostlycomprised

ofworking-classrailwaymenandtheirfamilies,whooftenlivedinsmalloccupational

communitieswithinlargertownsandcities.Beingpartofthe‘railwayfamily’fedinto

anindividual’sidentityandthecollectiveidentityoftherailwaycommunity.However,

theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’aspartofanindividualandacollectiveidentityhadto

competewith existing identity strands such as family, religion, locality, leisure and

gender.

As Richard Jenkins argues, “There is more to an organisation than its

membership, and the same is true for any group or collectivity.”90 Identity can be

shapedbysocialstructuresandalsobytheindividualthemselves,whocanmakethe

consciouschoicetobelongtocertaingroupsorcollectiveidentities.91Beingpartofthe

ideaof the ‘railwayfamily’,andmakingthedeliberatechoicetobecomepartof this

idea, became essential to the identity of individual railwaymen, their non-working

familymembersandtotheircollectiveidentityaspartoftherailwayindustry.Jenkins’

argumentsareparticularlyusefulwhendiscussingtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’,as

theyhighlighthowtheideawasconstructedandabsorbedinternallybyrailwaymen

andtheirfamilies.AccordingtoJenkins,collectiveidentityemphasiseshowmembers

are similar to one another and this in turn influences how members define

themselves.92Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wascreatedbyrailwaycompaniesand

trade unions andwas accepted and absorbed by railwaymen so that they came to

90Jenkins,SocialIdentity,3rdEdition,2008,p.1091Woodward,Kath(ed.)QuestioningIdentity:Gender,Class,Nation(Routledge,London,2000)p.192Jenkins,SocialIdentity,1stEdition,1996,pp.80–88.

41

definethemselvesaspartofthe‘railwayfamily’.Thisthenhelpedrailwaycompanies

andtradeunionstomaintaintheidea.

Jenkins argues that, “The process of group identification encourages and is

encouragedbyclassstruggle.”93LouisAlthusserhasalsostatedthatideologiessuchas

the‘railwayfamily’emerge“fromsocialclassesatgripsintheclassstruggle:fromtheir

conditionsofexistence,theirpractices,theirexperienceofthestruggle,etc.”94Thisisa

particularlypertinentpointwhenoneconsidersthedebatesoverthegrowthoftrade

unions and working-class consciousness. E.P. Thompson’s influential work on the

creation of the Englishworking-class argues that class is a historical phenomenon,

ratherthanasocialstructureorcategoryandthatitoccurswhensharedexperiences

allowpeopletoidentifywithoneanother.95Therefore,“Classconsciousnessistheway

in which these experiences are handled in cultural terms: embodied in traditions,

value-systems, ideasand institutional forms.”96Thus thewhole ideaof the ‘railway

family’allowedforthecreationofaparticularworkingclassconsciousnessamongst

railwaymen and their families.Whether thiswas intended, particularly by railway

companies,isdebatable.Thetradeunionutilisationoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

ontheotherhandismorecompatiblewiththistheory.Thompsoncallstradeunions

andfriendlysocietiesa“unifyingcultural influence”whoencouragedmutualityand

self-help.Theselatterconceptswereprevalentwithinboththerailwaycompanyand

tradeunionideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.97

93Ibid.,p.8894Althusser,Louis,LeninandPhilosophy(MonthlyReviewPress,NewYork,1971)TranslatedfromFrenchbyBenBrewster,p.18695Thompson,E.P,TheMakingoftheEnglishWorkingClass(PenguinBooks,London,1991)3rdEdition,p.896Ibid.,p.997Ibid.,p.462

42

Railwaytradeunionsfocusedontheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’asaunifying

forcefortheirmembers,andparticularlymember’swives,inthefightforbetterwages

and working conditions for railwaymen. This was often at the expense of female

railway workers. Despite having an auxiliary that encouraged women to become

involved inunionactivity,TheLocomotive Journal featuredanumberof lettersand

articlescallingonallASLEFrailwaymentoremainstrong inthe faceofpressureto

acceptwomenontothelocomotivefootplateinordertoprotectrailwaymen’sjobsand

wages.98Onereasonforthiswasthatreinforcingtheirsex-baseddominationandthe

subordinationofwomenwasoneofthefewmethodsofcontrolthatworking-classmen

wereabletoexertovertheproductionoflabour.99Preventingwomenfromworkingin

many railway occupations was seen as a by-product of this class struggle against

employers;itwasunfortunatebutitwasnecessaryifrailwaymenweregoingtosecure

theadvancesinpayandbenefitsthattheywerefightingfor.100

Another reason for this exclusion was, as Rosa Matheson has argued, that

femalerailwayworkersstruggledtocreatearailwayidentitythatwasasstrongasthe

oneheldbytheirmalecounterparts.Thetemporarynatureofwomen’swork,during

wartimeorbeforemarriage,playedalargepartinthisastherewassimplynotenough

timetodevelopaunifiedidentity.Therewasalsoa“misguidedbelief”thatwomendid

notworkontherailwaysbeforetheFirstWorldWarandthereforecouldnotcompete

withtheestablishedidentityofrailwaymen,whohadworkedintheindustrysinceits

98LocomotiveJournal,55,8(1942)p.165andp.17999Humphries,Jane,'Classstruggleandthepersistenceoftheworking-classfamily'CambridgeJournalofEconomics,1,3(1977)p.253100Cockburn,Cynthia,Brothers.MaleDominanceandTechnologicalChange(PlutoPress,London,1983)p.151

43

earliestdays.101Howeversmallinnumber,womenhadworkedontherailwaysbefore

theFirstWorldWarinlimitedroles.Yettheywereunabletocreatethesamekindof

collectiveidentityasrailwaymen,eitherasworkersoraswomeninthesameindustry.

Emphasisonthetemporarynatureofwomen’sworkontherailwaysdisadvantaged

thosewomenwhodecidedtomakeittheircareer,intermsofthecreationoftheirown

workplaceidentity,theirpositionwithinthe‘railwayfamily’andtheirpay,gradeand

trainingprospects.102

Identityissociallyrecognisedandsymbolsandsymbolicdisplayscanhelpin

this definition.103 Trade union and railway company insignia were worn together,

demonstrating thedual loyalty thatboth railwaycompaniesand tradeunionswere

abletoengender.104Thesymbolsoftherailwayindustry,particularlycompanyinsignia

andtradeunionbadges,werewornbyemployees, tradeunionmembers,andthose

non-workingfamilymemberswhowereinrailwaycompanyortradeunionapproved

societies.Suchsymbols,representingmembershipofthe‘railwayfamily’,wereways

that members of the community could be identified by other members and by

outsiders.Theyalsoactedasaunifyingagentensuringthatallrailwaymen,fromthe

highesttothelowestpaidwereidentifiabletoallwithoutdistinctionoftheirgradeor

status.105 Discussing the idea of the ‘railway family’ andwearing the symbols that

represented it continued to perpetuate its symbolic value amongst members and

outsiders.106Symbolicdisplays,suchastradeunionmarchesandbanners,wereways

101Matheson,TheFairSex,p.10102Brown,HenryPhelps,TheInequalityofPay(OxfordUniversityPress,Oxford,1977)p.157103Woodward,QuestioningIdentity,p.7104Ibid.,p.60105Gilbert,‘Imaginedcommunitiesandminingcommunities’,p.51106Jenkins,SocialIdentity,p.109

44

thatthecollectiveidentitywasdisplayedtothosewhowerenotmembersofthetrade

union,orwithintheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.107Tradeunionsongsandhymnswere

waystodemonstratemembershipoftheunionandusedacommonlanguagefamiliar

toallmembers.Thisalsoexcludedthoseoutsidetheunionfromjoininginwiththese

songsandhymnsbecausetheydidnotknowthecorrectwordsormusic.Forexample,

‘TheRedFlag’,asongwrittenin1889byJimConnellandinspiredbytheLondonDock

strikeof thatyear,was formanyyearssungatLabourPartyconferences.Thesong

emphasiseshowpowerfulsymbolscouldbestating,“Itwellrecallsthetriumphspast,/

Itgivesthehopeofpeaceatlast;/Thebannerbright,thesymbolplain,/Ofhumanright

andhumangain.”108

Thewearingofauniformwasanecessityformanyrailwaycompanyemployees

andalsodelineatedthosewhowereclassedaspartoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

andthosewhowerenot.Insigniasuchasbadgesandbuttonswereprovidedforthose

whodidnotweararecognisableuniform,suchasclerksandmanagement, inorder

thattheyweredefinedaspartofthe‘railwayfamily’.Notallfemalerailwayworkers

weregivenauniformhowever,thusexcludingthemfromtheemployeesectionofthe

railwaycommunityvisiblyandsymbolically.109TheNURcomplainedabout this fact

statingthat,“Thereisnooutwardorvisiblesignthatsheisemployedbythecompany

atall.Nouniform,nobadge,nonothing,withtheresultthatmanypeopledeclineto

recognisetheirrighttomakedemandsfortickets,whichplacesthesegirlsinamost

invidiousandunpleasantposition.”110Theunionwerekeenthatfemaleworkerswere

107Ibid.,p.145108BBCnews,‘WordsoftheRedFlag’,02/10/2003,http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3157692.stm[20/03/2017]109Wojtczak,Railwaywomen,p.6andp.78110TheRailwayReview,7/1/1916,p.3

45

recognisableasemployeesandthearticleclaimedthatauniformensuredthatwomen

workerswereseentobedoingtherolethattheywereemployedtodo,ratherthanany

tasksset for thembycompanymanagementthatunderminedthestricthierarchical

structure thatsecured railwaymen’s jobs.Thechallenge forrailwaycompanieswas

howtoincludenon-workingfamilymembersintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’when

they did notwear a uniformor recognisable insignia; thiswas easier for the trade

unions,whosewomen’sauxiliariesworebadgesandproducedbannersoftheirown.

Therailwaycompanieshadtorelyonsuccessfulself-identificationthroughfamilyand

participationinceremonialandcelebratoryevents.

2.4 Thechangingnatureoffamily,kinshipandcommunity

FamilyhasbeendefinedbyD.H.J.Morganas“bothsocietalandindividual,both

institutionalandpersonal,bothpublicandprivate”.111Thedebateabouttheformand

functionoffamilieshasvariedfromhistoriantohistorian.Ithasbeenarguedthatthe

discussiononfamily,kinandcommunityrelationshipsinthenineteenthandtwentieth

centuries has centred on a myth of a ‘golden age’ of family, focussing on male

breadwinnersandtheireconomicallydependentfamilymembers.Duringthis‘golden

age’,thenuclearfamilywasprivateandindependentbutlivedclosetokin.112Itwas

from this that railway companies and trade unions drew their ideas of family,

especially the idealofamalebreadwinner.Familiesdidbecomesmallerduringthis

period for a number of reasons; focus on themale breadwinnermodel led to later

111Morgan,D.H.J,‘TheFamily,PoliticsandSocialTheory(RoutledgeandKeganandPaul,London,1985)p.285quotedinFinch,Janet,FamilyObligationsandSocialChange(PolityPress,Cambridge,1989)p.4112Davidoff,L.,Doolittle,M.,Fink,J.andHolden,K.,TheFamilyStory:Blood,ContractandIntimacy,1830–1960(Longman,Essex,1999)p.4

46

marriageandfewerchildreninorderthatpressurewasnotplacedonasolewage.113

Levinearguesthattheworking-classwaspreoccupiedwithrespectability,self-control

andindependenceandhavingasmallerfamilywaslinkedtothesepriorities.114Diana

Gittinshasalsoarguedthatstatelegislationreinforcedtheideaoftheprivatenuclear

familywithamalebreadwinner–butnotall familieswere,orcouldbe likethis.115

Althoughrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionsstronglyadvocatedforaversionofthe

familywhich espoused themale breadwinner ideology, andmany railwaymen also

constructedtheirfamiliesaroundthisnotion,the‘railwayfamily’expressedawider

remit. It was not just the household, or even extended family members, it also

encompassedthelocalcommunity.116Thisensuredthatthe‘railwayfamily’retained

itslinksamongstthosewhonolongerhadamalebreadwinner,especiallytheirwidows

andorphans.

Itisimportanttonotethatthereisasectionofhistoricalliteraturethathasnot

beenreferredtointhisthesis.Negativeaspectsoffamilylifesuchasdomesticabuseor

divorce,althoughcrucial todevelopmentswithinthe familyduringthisperiodhave

not been touched upon because the idea of the ‘railway family’ focused upon the

positiveeffectsthatfamilyandkinrelationshipscouldhaveonemployers,tradeunions

and occupational communities. Jane Humphries makes an important point when

discussing the persistence of the working-class family despite considerable class

struggleinthenineteenthandtwentiethcenturies:“familylifehasnotbeenidealised

113Levine,David,ReproducingFamilies.ThePoliticalEconomyofEnglishPopulationHistory(CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridge,1987)p.176114Ibid.,p.162115Gittins,Diana,TheFamilyinQuestion.Changinghouseholdsandfamiliarideologies(Macmillan,Basingstoke,1985)Secondedition,1993,p.154116Davin,Anna,GrowingUpPoor.Home,SchoolandStreetinLondon1870-1914(RiversOramPress,London,1996)p.43

47

here;therehasbeenrecognitionthatpatternsofdominancerelatingtoage,sexand

divisionoflabourexistedlongbeforecapitalism,andremaincharacteristicoffamily

relationstoday.Theirexistencehowever,shouldnotblindobserverstothematerial

benefitsthatthefamilyimpartstotheworking-classinitsstruggleforabetterlife.”117

ThisthesistakesHumphries’approachinrecognisingthatthe‘railwayfamily’wasfar

fromideal,andindividualfamilieswithinthiswidercommunitywillhaveundoubtedly

facedsomeofthenegativeeffectsofthepaternalandpatriarchaldominancethatthe

‘railway family’was constructedaround.However, it isoutsideof the scopeof this

thesistodiscusstheseeffectsindetailwithrelationtoindividualfamilies.

One aspect of the ‘railway family’ that differentiated it from the views that

railwaycompaniesandtradeunionsheldaboutthenuclearfamilywastheimportance

of kinship and community. According toDavid Levine, kinship and reciprocitywas

crucialtotheworking-class.118Theseextendedfamilymemberswereabletoconnect

people to the community, through their friends and neighbours.119 Kinship was

particularly important forwomenbecause “the extended familywas…theWomen's

tradeunion,thesourceofinformalmutualaidforwomenandchildrenandformentoo

wheretheywereinneedofsupport.”120Womenreliedontheirfamily,friendsandlocal

community for the support that was not available to them through their work

colleaguesor fellow tradeunionmembers.Theextentofkinshipnetworksdiffered

from family to family, however “the main indicators of kinship strength...are co-

residence, deliberate propinquity, contact situations, and sentiment. Each is

117Humphries,‘Classstruggleandthepersistenceoftheworking-classfamily’,p.257118Levine,ReproducingFamilies,p.200119Young,MichaelandWilmott,Peter,FamilyandKinshipinEastLondon(PenguinGroup,London,1957)2ndEdition,1990,p.104120Ibid.,p.X

48

inadequate taken alone but the overall effect is of considerable interest.”121 This

argumentwillbeexaminedinChapter6,whichconsidersanoccupationalcommunity

insitu;kinshipneednotnecessarilyreflect family ties,asbeingpartof the ‘railway

family’conferredakinshipstatusontoothermemberswhichwasenhancedbydaily

interactions, residencewithin the same community and inmany cases, a feeling of

sentimenttowardsother‘railwayfamily’members.

For railwayworkers and their families, transferring to different parts of the

countrywasnecessaryforpromotion.Migrantsclusteredtogetherwiththosewhohad

arrivedfromthesameplaceandwerealreadyestablishedinthetownorcity.These

were not necessarily kin butwere able to provide the newcomerswith emotional

security,jobsandhousing.122Occupationalcommunitieswerealsocreatedbyaninflux

ofmigrantswhoarrivedtoworkinaparticularindustry.Thesecommunitiescanbe

definedbyinteractionsbothinsideandoutsideoftheworkplace.123Revillarguesthat

occupationalcommunitiesneednotcarryanyfeelingsofsentimentbetweenmembers;

however the idea of the ‘railway family’ encouraged these feelings.124 Neighbours,

friends,colleagues,lodgersandthoseborninthesameareawereaviablealternative

tokinshipnetworks.125Humphriesarguesthattheserelationships“assumefictivekin

status”andencouragedasimilarreciprocitythatemergedamongstfamilymembers.126

Railwayworkersoftenhadtolodgewithothersastheirworkdictated.Theselodgers

121Anderson,FamilyStructureinNineteenthCenturyLancashire(CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridge,1971)p.43122Ibid.,p.101123Revill,George,‘’RailwayDerby’:occupationalcommunity,paternalismandcorporateculture1850-90’,UrbanHistory,28,3(2001)p.380 124Ibid.,p.380125Anderson,FamilyStructure,p.99126Humphries,‘Classstruggleandthepersistenceoftheworking-classfamily’,p.249

49

alsobecamepartoftheextendedfamilywithinahousehold.127Lodgerspreferredto

livewithafamilyorawidow–lodginghouseswerenotconsideredrespectableenough

forrailwaymentofrequent.128

Withinthefamily,ithasbeenarguedthatrailwayemploymentfollowedalinear

familialpattern–sons followedfathers intowork intherailway industry.Although

trade unions advocated and encouraged this pattern, economic variety helped

maintaineconomicstabilityandfamilieswerecarefulnottorelytooheavilyonone

industry alone.129 By encouraging some of one’s family into the same industry a

“patriarchal craft culture” could be maintained.130 Family, kinship and community

wereanimportantfacetintheconstructionofanindividual’sidentityanditwasinthis

respect that the idea of the ‘railway family’ was understood and internalised by

railwaymen,theirwivesandchildren.Itwasalsothroughthemediumofkinshipand

communitythatthe‘railwayfamily’waspractisedineverydaylifewithinoccupational

communities.

2.5 Thelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’

Newspapersandmagazinesareakeysourceforthisthesis,andthelanguage

thatwasusedtodefinetheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andensurethatitwasinclusive

toallrailwaymenandtheirnon-workingfamilymembersisparticularlyimportant.As

JohnToshhasstated, thepress–newspapers,magazinesandother literature–are

amongstthemostimportantsourcesforhistorians.Theirvaluecomesfromthefact

127Davin,GrowingUpPoor,p.40128Anderson,FamilyStructure,p.47129Ibid.,p.92130Cockburn,Brothers,p.3

50

thattheyrecordsocialandpoliticalviews,provideaday-to-dayrecordofevents,and

in-depthreportingoncertainissues.131Newspapersandmagazinesprovidedtopicsfor

discussionbothinpublicandprivateandthelanguagetheyusedwaskeytostimulating

thisdiscussioninbothpositiveandnegativelights.132TimHolmeshasarguedthat“A

magazinewill always target a precisely defined group of readers andwill base its

contentontheneeds,desires,hopesandfearsofthatdefinedgroup,thuscreatinga

bond of trust with their readerships. Using that bond, a magazine will encourage

community-like interactions between itself and its readers, and among readers.”133

Thissuccinctlysummariseswhymagazinesandnewspapersaresoimportanttothis

study:railwaycompanymagazinesandtradeunionnewspaperswereabletotarget

men,womenandchildreninordertodrawthemintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

outsideoftheworkplace.

Languagewasveryimportantincreatingtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Martin

Conboyhasdiscussed the “Languageof theNews” inhisbookof the same title.He

arguesthat“languageisaprofoundlysocialactivity”andthesuccessofnewsmediais

asaresultofthewaythatithasbeenabletointegrateitselfwithin“thesocialaspects

oflanguage.”134Thelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’wascraftedsuchthatitwasall-

encompassing, drawing railwaymen and their non-working family members into a

widesocialcircle.Itusedterminologythatallthoseinvolvedintherailwayindustry

wouldunderstandandrecognise.Althoughthislanguagewascreatedanddefinedby

thosewho edited the railway company newspapers andmagazines, it reflected the

131Tosh,ThePursuitofHistory,p.33132Bingham,Adrian,‘ReadingNewspapers:CulturalHistoriesofthePopularPressinModernBritain’,HistoryCompass,10,2(2012)p.142133Holmes,Tim,‘MappingtheMagazine’,JournalismStudies,8,4(2007)p.514134Conboy,Martin,TheLanguageofNews(Routledge,Abingdon,2007)p.2

51

ideasandaspirationsofthereadership,particularlyinrelationtorailwaymen’snotions

about traditional gender roles, most especially towards their own wives and

daughters.135

Therearesignificantdifferencesbetweenthedailypressandrailwaycompany

magazines and trade union newspapers, with the latter both focused on a much

narroweraudience.Thisisnottosayhowever,thatthoseoutsidetherailwayindustry

didnotreadthenewspapersandmagazinesastheywerealsoavailabletobuyfrom

newsstandswithin railway stations. The daily press had amuchwider audience to

caterforintermsofnumbers,socialdiversityandpoliticalagendas.Thisinturnmeant

that it was easier for railway companies and trade unions to ensure that their

magazinesandnewspaperswerepersonalisedtowardstheirtargetprimaryaudience.

The language of the popular daily press shared similaritieswith the railway

company magazines and trade union newspapers but also significant differences.

Duringthe1920s, thepopularpressoften focusedonwomenascitizen-consumers,

withrightstovoteandspendmoneyastheysawfit.Itwasduringthisdecadethata

modernversionoftheidealisedhousewifecameintobeing;newlabour-savingdevices,

smaller families and the ability to enjoy a wider range of hobbies and interests

contributed towards this idea.136 Railway company magazines and trade union

newspapersalsousedtheideaofthe‘respectable’housewifeintheirdiscussiononthe

roleofwomenwithintheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Inthe1930s,Binghamhasargued

thatpoliticallyleft-leaningnewspapers,especiallyTheMirror,createdanewlanguage

for youngworking-classmen andwomenwhich focused on the non-unionised and

135Ibid.,p.12136Bingham,Adrian,‘AnOrganofUplift’,JournalismStudies,14,5(2013)p.653

52

concentrated on discussing politics as if readers were conversing in the pub. This

languageechoedthedebateswhichwouldhaveinevitablyfollowedthesubjectunder

discussion.137Tradeunionsequallyworkedhardtoensurethatallrailwaymenwere

able toholdadiscussionabout labourpolitics and tradeunionism inany situation,

particularlywiththosewhowerenotyetunionised.

AdrianBinghamhasarguedthatthereisagreatdealofworkstilltobedonein

relationtostudiesofthepopularpressandparticularlytheirintersectionwithmore

specialised newspapers, such as the railway company magazines and trade union

press.138Withinthescopeofthisthesis,therehasnotbeentheopportunitytoexplore

these differences as fully as Binghamdesires. This study considers the idea of the

‘railwayfamily’fromtheperspectiveoftherailwaypressalonebecauseacomparative

studywouldhavebeenamajorundertakingthatwasoutsidethelimitsofthisthesis.

TeresaGerrardhasexaminednewmethodsforstudyingreadinghabitsandpractices

andstatesthat,“themoreaso-calledgroupof‘commonreaders’isdefinedforfurther

study,themoretheyandtheirreadingexperiencebecomeanexception.”139Whilstthis

maybethecaseinstudiesofthepopularpress,bynarrowingthefieldofstudyinthis

instanceitispossibletofocusonhowtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasmanagedand

maintained within the railway community, using railway company magazines and

tradeunionnewspapersasitsbase.Whenoneconsidersthe‘railwayfamily’through

thelensoftherailwaypress,theynolongerbecomeanexception.

137Ibid.,pp.658-660138Bingham,‘ReadingNewspapers’,p.143139Gerrard,Teresa,‘NewmethodsintheHistoryofReading:“AnswerstoCorrespondents”inTheFamilyHerald,1860–1900’inTowheed,Shafquat;Crone,RosalindandHalsey,Katie(eds.)TheHistoryofReading(Routledge,Abingdon,2011)p.380

53

TonyGracehasarguedthatthepurposeofthetradeunionpresswastoinform

membersaboutwhatwashappeningwithintheunionandwhereappropriate,what

washappeninginthewiderworldoutsideoftheunion.140Thiswasverysimilartothe

purpose of railway company magazines that, alongside trade union newspapers,

relatedmuchoftheircontenttowardsthe‘railwayfamily’.Tradeunionnewspapers

and railway company magazines were also designed to ensure all members were

awareofthepurposeandfunctionofthecompanyorunionincludingtheservicesit

provided to railwaymen and their families, for example death benefit, insurance

againstsicknessandunemploymentandleisurefacilities.Thiswasintheinterestsof

the‘railwayfamily’,butalsofortherailwaycompaniesandtradeunionswhowanted

more railwaymen to subscribe to these funds. By doing so, railwaymen and their

familieswerecomingunderthepaternalisticprotectionoftheiremployersandalso

assenting to the self-help ideology that both railway companies and trade unions

endorsed.

The language of the ‘railway family’was paternalistic in its tone throughout

muchoftheperiodandthiswascommunicatedclearlywithinthecompanymagazines.

A prime example is an open letter from the Chairman of the LondonMidland and

ScottishRailwayCompanytohisemployeesstatingthat“Ourgreatmachineneedsto

beof thebestphysicalandhumanmaterial ineverypart,andtobe lubricatedwith

goodwillandasenseofcorporateinterdependence.”141TheChairmanwascallingon

his employees to fulfil their obligations to the company during tough times as the

companyhaddoneforthemand,inessence,worktogetherunderthebannerofthe

140Grace,Tony,‘ThetradeunionpressinBritain’,MediaCultureSociety,7,2(1985)p.249141LMSM,9,1(1932)p.3

54

‘railway family’. One reason for this paternalistic languagewas that the idea of the

‘railwayfamily’wascreatedbyrailwaycompaniesinresponsetothethreatoftrade

unionism.Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’reflectedthepaternalisticattitudeofrailway

company management, guiding and disciplining their ‘children’, whilst also

encouragingrailwaymentohelpthemselvesandeachotherinanarrowlyoccupational

wayratherthantheclass-basedwelfarewhichtradeunionsencouraged.Thisclass-

basedwelfarewasembodiedinthevaluesofself-helpthattradeunionsnurtured.The

industrialwelfarepracticesthatmanyrailwaycompanieswereusingtoreplacetheir

paternalisticpracticesalsoemployedtheseself-helptechniques.Anexcellentexample

of this is the series of articles that appeared in the London Midland and Scottish

Railway Company magazine documenting their industrial welfare plans: “Welfare

seekstohumanise industry; tocreateespritdecorps;andthussecureahappyand

moreefficientstaff.IbelieveWelfareworktobeofbenefittoemployerandemployed

alike…”.142

Conboy argues that language was particularly important in creating and

definingideologiessuchasthe‘railwayfamily’:“Ideologyistheprocessbywhichbelief

systemsbecomeestablishedascommonsense,habitualpatterns.Theconstantuseof

familiarreferencesindailycommunicationsuchaswithinthelanguageofournews

media can be seen to reinforce dominant patterns of belief in society, and this has

implications for the power structure of that society.”143 By utilising the idea of the

‘railway family’within theirnewspapersandmagazines, and reinforcing it through

commonlanguage,cartoonsandphotographs,therailwaycompaniesandtradeunions

142LMSM,1,1(1923)p.5143Conboy,TheLanguageofNews,p.96

55

wereestablishingtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’withinthecomplexhierarchyofthe

railwayindustry.Evencasualreadersofrailwaycompanymagazinesandtradeunion

newspaperswereable toabsorbsomeof thecontentandlanguagesurroundingthe

ideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andtheimplied‘commonsense’ofindustryloyalty.144One

exampleofagroupofreaderswithverylittletimetoreadthewholeofthenewspaper

ormagazinewasthewivesofrailwaymen,whobecameanimportanttargetaudience

forcertainsections.145Therefore,itwascrucialthattheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’was

conveyed inaway thatwaseasy tounderstandandclear in the limited space that

womenwereaffordedwithinthenewspapersandmagazines–thewomen’spage.

Alongside examining the language of the ‘railway family’within trade union

newspapersandrailwaycompanymagazines, this thesiswill focuson thewomen’s

pages of thesemagazines and newspapers in order to understand how the female

familymembers of railwaymenwere targeted and drawn into the ‘railway family’.

Someofthesewomenworkedandwereabletobecomeintegratedintothe‘railway

family’throughthecompanyandtradeunion,whilstthosewhodidnotworkhadtobe

targetedthroughthemagazinesandnewspapers.

However,justbecausetherailwaycompaniesandtradeunionshadpreferred

meaningsforthelanguagetheyusedwithintheirnewspapersandmagazines,doesnot

meanthattheywerereadthatwaybyrailwaymenandtheirfamilies.146Thesystemof

encodinganddecodingmessagesisdependentonboththeproducersofthemessage

and the consumers of that message understanding the same meaning structures.

144Bingham,Adrian,‘IgnoringtheFirstDraftofHistory’,MediaHistory,18,3-4(2012)p.315145Langhamer,Claire,Women’sleisureinEngland1920-60(ManchesterUniversityPress,Manchester,2000)p.170146Hall,Stuart,‘Encoding/Decoding’inMarris,PaulandThornham,Sue(ed.)MediaStudies:AReader(SecondEdition)(EdinburghUniversityPress,Edinburgh,1999)p.58

56

Figure1,adaptedfromadiagraminStuartHall’sworkdemonstrateshowthemessage

ofthe‘railwayfamily’wasconveyedbyrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionsandhow

itwasunderstoodbyrailwaymenandtheirfamilies.

57

Figure1.Diagram,adaptedfromStuartHall,'Encoding/Decoding'p.54,whichshowshow,ideally,meaningstructures1and2mustbesimilarinordertobedecoded

withthesamemeaningsthattheproducersofthemessageintended.

Company and trade union newspapers and magazines

Decoding/reading

Idea of the ‘railway family’Community, loyalty,

fraternityRelevant to all associated with the railway industry

Encoding/writing

MeaningStructures2MeaningStructures1

58

For railwaycompaniesand tradeunions, themeaningofmessages that they

wereattemptingtoconveyconcerningtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wererelatively

simpleandeasytocomprehend.Family,kinshipandcommunitywasexperiencedona

day-to-daybasisby railwaymenand their families.AsFigure1demonstrates, these

meaningswerealsoideallycircularandself-sustaining;asthewritersandeditorscame

torecognisehowrailwaymenandtheir familiesunderstoodthe ideaof the ‘railway

family’ through letters pages, articles and face to face interactions at events the

newspapersandmagazinescovered,theywereabletoadaptthemessagestheywere

tryingtoconvey.Inasimilarmanner,astheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’gainedtraction

withrailwaycompaniesandtradeunions,railwaymenandtheirfamilieswerebetter

abletounderstandhowthecompaniesandunionsintendedtodeploytheideaofthe

‘railway family’ and how these institutions understood the idea. Therefore, it was

difficult for the idea of the ‘railway family’ tobecomemisunderstood or contested.

Identificationwiththeideasthatthemagazinesandnewspaperswereattemptingto

conveywascrucialifthesemeaningsweretobedecodedappropriately.Thiswastrue

ofboththeideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andofthecontentofthewomen’spageswithin

therailwaycompanymagazinesandtradeunionnewspapers.147Itisvitaltoremember

that “people are not blank slates…[they have] prior opinions, views, and ideas of

themselves”whichaffectedthewaythattheyidentifiedwiththeideaofthe‘railway

family’andthusengagedwiththelanguage.148

147Beetham,Margaret,AMagazineofherown?Domesticityanddesireinthewoman’smagazine,1800–1914(Routledge,London,1996)p.194148Eldridge,John;Kitzinger,JennyandWilliams,Kevin,TheMassMediaandPowerinModernBritain(OxfordUniversityPress,Oxford,1997)p.130

59

AdrianBingham’sworkhasfocusedonthepopularpressinthefirsthalfofthe

twentieth century. In particular, he considers how newspapers reflect notions of

gender identity through the language and photographs they chose to use. This is

particularly pertinent for this study and for the discussion of women’s pages that

follows.Binghamarguesthatmuchoftheliteratureonprintmediaassertstheview

that the ‘traditional’ gender boundaries of domesticity, marriage and motherhood

were reaffirmed after the First World War. However, he notes that this was not

necessarily the case, as “femininity and masculinity are complex and fragmented

identities,shapedbyamultitudeofdifferentinfluences.”149Thisthesiswillarguethat

bothrailwaycompanymagazinesandtradeunionnewspaperspursuednarrativesof

traditionalgenderrolesandusedlanguagethatreinforcedtheseideas.Inthiscontext,

women workers were problematic to the idea of the ‘railway family’ and their

representationwithinrailwaycompanymagazinesandtradeunionnewspaperswas

similarlycontradictoryandminimised.Byreinforcinggenderroles,railwaycompanies

andtradeunionswereseekingtoensurethattheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasnon-

threateningtothemajorityof theirworkersormembers(whowerepredominantly

male) and consequently would be more readily accepted. In very limited and

exceptionalcircumstances,voicesofdissentwereraisedregardingtheroleofwomen

in theworkforceand in societymoregenerally.On thewholehowever, thesewere

uncommonandappearedmoreasaplacatorymeasurethanasawayinwhichwomen

wereabletochallengetheestablishedgendernorms.

149Bingham,Adrian,Gender,Modernity,andthePopularPressinInter-WarBritain(OxfordUniversityPress,Oxford,2004)pp.6-7

60

The language of thewomen’s page focused on the idea of housewifery as a

professionas,“theimplicitassumptionofmuchofthewomen’spagematerialwasthat

mostwomenwouldeventuallyleavetheworldofworktomarryandraiseafamily.”150

ThisconcurswithRosaMatheson’sargumentthatfemalerailwayworkersstruggledto

create theirownrailway identitybecauseof the temporarynatureof theirworkas

discussed in Section 2.3 above. The idea of the ‘railway family’ played on this fact,

encouragingwomentobecomeinvolvedintherailwayindustryaswivesandmothers

ratherthanasworkers.Thewomen’spageswerealsoeditedbywomenanddiscussed

ideasandissuesthatwerefamiliartoallwomen,thus“Thewomen’spagesdeliberately

soughttoconstructafemalenetworkthatthereadercouldturntoasasupplementto

her actual friendship group.”151 Women were drawn further into the idea of the

‘railwayfamily’ throughthesepagesandan ‘imaginedcommunity’of thewivesand

daughters of railwaymen was created as a sub-section of the wider ‘imagined

community’oftherailwayindustry.

AsBinghamargues,“althoughdailynewspapershadasignificantinfluenceon

contemporary attitudes, the press was in no position to impose ‘patriarchy’ and

‘domesticity’ on an unwilling female population.”152 Similarly, railway company

magazinesandtradeunionnewspaperswereunabletoforcetheideaofthe‘railway

family’ or the traditional gender boundaries that they espoused on theirwomen’s

pagesuponthosewhoreadthem,despitebeingrelativelyinfluentialwithintherailway

community.Notwithstandingtheseeminglywidespreadacceptanceoftheideaofthe

150Ibid.,p.67151Ibid.,p.87152Ibid.,p.246

61

‘railwayfamily’,andthesmallnumbersofwomenworkerswhowereable toretain

jobswithintherailwayindustry,itischallengingtogaugehowsuccessfulitwaswithin

arailwayman’shome.TheminutebooksoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildareonewayto

uncoversomeoftheperceptionsandbeliefsassociatedwiththe‘railwayfamily’that

thewivesanddaughtersofrailwaymenheld.Theeffectivenessofmanyoftheideas

propoundedwithinrailwaycompanymagazinesandtradeunionnewspaperswillbe

exploredthroughtheseminutebooksinChapter6.

The language of family, kinship and community has been used in other

industrialcontexts.Forexample,inhisdiscussionofclassinEnglandbetween1848

and1914,Patrick Joyceexamines theuseof the languageof familyby cotton trade

unionsinLancashireandYorkshireinthemid-nineteenthcentury.Joycearguesthat

usingthemetaphoroffamilydidnotimplyeitherthedominationofmenoverwomen

orconflictbetweenthegenders,butratherwasawaythat thedifferinginterestsof

menandwomencouldbeunitedunderacommontheme.153Theunifyingthemeof

family,and“familyvalues”,wasreproducedinthefactoryjournalsandasJoyceargues,

“Throughthesemeans,evenifonlypartlyandfromthepointofviewofmaleunionists,

womenwerebroughtwithintheremitoftheuniondiscourse.Theideaofthefamily

wasacentralelementinthebroaderideaofthefactorycommunity.”154Inasimilar

veintoJoyce’sargumentsregardingfactoryunions,theconceptofdrawingwomeninto

amale-dominatedspaceinawaythatwasnotchallengingtomaleunionistsormale

workerswasa techniqueemployedbyrailwaycompaniesandrailwaytradeunions

153Joyce,Patrick,VisionsofthePeople.IndustrialEnglandandthequestionofclass1848–1914(CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridge,1991)p.125154Ibid.,p.135-136

62

through the use of the idea of the ‘railway family’. This demonstrates that railway

companieswerenot the first,oronly,paternalistic institutionstoutilise the ideaof

‘family’tobondtheirworkerstogetherandtothecompany.Railwaytradeunionstoo

were not the first male-dominated unions to employ these practices in order to

mitigatethethreatofwomentotheirmembers.

Itisclearthatrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionshadtheirownagendaswhen

itcametoutilisingtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.WithregardtoBingham’sargument

concerning daily newspapers, “The final product [railway companymagazines and

trade union newspapers]was the outcome of a complex series of decisionswhich

balancedwhat proprietors, editors, journalists, and outside contributorswanted to

produce, what they assumed the target audience wanted to read, and what was

(perceived to be) required for commercial and financial success (namely, securing

advertisingcontractsandmaximisingcirculation).”155Theresponseofthereadership

isalsokeytounderstandinghowtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’workedinpracticebut

it is notoriously difficult to gauge. This is the challenge when writing about

publications,whetherspecifictradepressormoregeneraldailynewspapers.Readers

didnotoftendocumenttheirthoughtsontheitemstheyreadsotherearefew,ifany,

sourcesthatreflectonhowtheaudienceofrailwaymenandtheirfamiliesunderstood

whattheywerereadingandwhethertheyacceptedorchallengedthesenotions.Itis

herethattheLettersPagesofthecompanymagazinesandtradeunionnewspaperscan

provideacrucialinsightintothethoughtsandopinionsofrailwayworkersandtheir

familymembersalbeitthroughlettersselectedbytheeditorsofthenewspapersand

155Bingham,Gender,ModernityandthePopularPress,p.11

63

magazines.Ifthelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’wasonethatwastobeadoptedand

internalisedbyrailwaymenandtheirfamilies,itneededtobeaccessible,relatableand

haveasolidlinktotheworldinwhichrailwaymenandtheirfamilieslived.

2.6 Methodology

Thisstudyaddressesanumberofquestionsconcerningtheideaofthe‘railway

family’ including: who was involved in the development of the idea, how was it

maintained and extended throughout the period and why was the concept so

importanttoallthoseinvolved?Thisthesisconsiderstheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’to

encompassallthosewhoworkedintherailwayindustryandtheirnon-workingfamily

members within an ‘imagined community’. Whilst this idea is not often explicitly

referencedinthearchivalsourcesthatthisstudyhasfocusedupon,itwilldemonstrate

howrailwaycompanies,tradeunionsandrailwaymenandtheirnon-workingfamily

membersuseditinavarietyofways.Thereisaparticularfocusonensuringthatthe

role of women as workers, wives and members of trade unions and trade union

auxiliaries is given adequate consideration, since these perspectives are so lacking

withinotherhistoricalstudiesoftherailwayindustry.However,asTosharguesinhis

workontheaims,methodsandnewdirectionsinthestudyofmodernhistory,aview

ofthepastthatseekstoraiseconsciousnesscanromanticisehistorybyemphasising

heroisminadversity.156Thestrugglesthatwomenconnectedtotherailwayindustry

facedwill be addressedwithin this study in the context of the idea of the ‘railway

family’;itwillalsoexaminetheirsuccessesaswellastheirfailuresordifficulties.

156Tosh,ThePursuitofHistory,p.17

64

Thesourcesthatthisthesiswillfocusonmostsignificantlyarerailwaycompany

magazines, trade union newspapers and theminutebooks of the RailwayWomen’s

GuildinGloucester.Thereareanumberofreasonswhythesesourceswerechosen;

oneparticularlyimportantreasonistheiravailability.Therailwaycompanymagazines

areanimportantarchivalresourceheldattheNationalRailwayMuseum.Theyhave

been used as a source to explore business and institutional history and technical

studies,buttheyareyettobestudiedfromtheperspectiveoftheideaofthe‘railway

family’.157Thetradeunionnewspapershavealsobeentreatedinasimilarmanner;this

thesis utilises The Railway Review, the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants

(ASRS)/NationalUnionofRailwaymen(NUR)newspaperandTheRailwayClerk/The

RailwayServiceJournal,theRailwayClerksAssociation(RCA)newspaper,bothheldat

theModernRecordsCentreatWarwickUniversity. ItalsodrawsontheLocomotive

Journal,thenewspaperoftheAssociatedSocietyofLocomotiveEngineersandFiremen

(ASLEF)whichisheldattheBritishLibraryatBostonSpa.

Finally,theminutebooksoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildGloucesterbranch,held

atGloucestershireArchives,arethemostcompletesetofsourcesregardingabranch

of the Guild that are available to study. They contain references to members, the

businessofmeetingsandthesocialandwelfareaspectsoftheGuild.TheGloucester

minutebooks have extensive records for 1911 to 1947 and then contain patchy

coverageuntil1966.Thesehavebeensupplementedwithlettersandminutesofthe

Executive Committee, from 1900 to 1910 and the records of the Perth Railway

Women’sGuild,from1944to1948.Theselectionofthesesourceshasbeendictated

157Forexample,Esbester,Michael,‘Deadonthepointof“safety”’:occupationalsafetyeducationontheGreatWesternRailwayc.1913-39’(UnpublishedPhDthesis,UniversityofYork,2006)

65

bytheiravailability,butitisarepresentativeselectionwith,whatToshsuggests,are

“contraryandsupportingindicators”.158

Bybringingthesesourcestogetherinonestudyitispossibletogainagreater

understandingofhowtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’workedintheoryandinpractice,

whilstalsoenhancingtheunderstandingand interpretationof theNationalRailway

Museum’scollectionsconcerningwomenandtherailwayindustryaswellastheidea

of the ‘railway family’. As this project is funded collaboratively with the National

RailwayMuseum,itisimportanttocreateabodyofworkthatenhancestheknowledge

anddeploymentofthesourcesandcollectionsheldthereandthewaysthattheycan

beusedbyotherresearcherstogainagreaterunderstandingofthesocialhistoryof

therailwayindustry.

Thereisasignificantgapintheliteratureconcerningwomenwithintherailway

industryandthelabourmovement.Asdiscussedintheintroduction,byfocusingon

women’stradeunionauxiliariesthisthesiswilladdasubstantialnewdimensiontothe

currenthistoriographicaldebateabouttheroleofwomenwithinthelabourmovement.

Therefore,theseauxiliarieshavebeenexaminedinasmuchdetailaspossibleinorder

tounderstandtheircompositionandtheirmotivations.Themostsignificantchallenge

facedwhenusingrailwaycompanymagazinesandtradeunionnewspapers,alongwith

othernewspapersandperiodicals,isthatitisdifficulttouncoverthedecision-making

processbehindtheselectionofarticles,photographsandthetonethesemagazinesand

newspaperstookoncertainissues.Thearchiveofmeetingnotesandminutesforthe

production of these newspapers andmagazines was often deemed ephemeral and

158Tosh,ThePursuitofHistory,p.131

66

thereforedidnotsurvivethetransitionsbetweendifferentcompanies,amalgamations

andotherdevelopments.Biographiesandautobiographiesofsomeof theEditorsof

thesenewspapersandmagazines,oftenhigh-rankingrailwaycompanyortradeunion

officials,havebeenpublishedandcanprovidesomeusefulsnippetsintotheworking

lifeoftheseinstitutions.

Railway company magazines are an important source for this thesis and a

variety of railway company magazines were selected to represent the different

companies that were in existence throughout the period. Chapter 3 will focus on

railwaycompaniesandtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’,andtherailwaycompanieswill

bediscussedinfurtherdetail.Therailwaycompanymagazinesthatwereselectedfor

thisstudywerechosentocoverthewholeperiodfrom1900to1948andreflectthe

relativesizeofrailwaycompanies.Forexample,theGreatCentralRailwayCompany

producedamagazinefrom1905to1918whilsttheGreatWesternRailwayCompany,

oneofthelargestrailwaycompaniesinBritainduringthisperiodsupportedacompany

magazinefrom1888to1948.Someofthesemagazinesspanonlyashortamountof

time whilst others cover the whole period. Figure 2 depicts the date span of the

companymagazines utilised for this thesis. All thosemagazines that hadwomen’s

pages(theLondonMidlandandScottishrailwaycompanymagazine,theGreatEastern

railway company magazine and the London North Western railway company

magazine)weresurveyedalongsideanumberofrailwaycompanymagazinesthatdid

not have this provision for women workers or railwaymen’s wives; the ways that

railwaycompaniesdrewwomenintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’willbecompared

viathesewomen’spagesandthroughthecontentdirectedtowardsfemalereadersin

othersectionsofthemagazines.

67

Figure2.PublicationdatesforthemajorRailwayCompanymagazines.

68

TradeunionnewspapersarealsoavitalresourceforChapter4,adiscussionof

tradeunionsandtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Thethreelargestrailwaytradeunions

havebeenconsideredandboththeNURnewspaper,TheRailwayReviewandtheASLEF

newspaper, the Locomotive Journal have been studied throughout their existence

withintheperiod–bothfrom1900to1948.TheRCAnewspaper,TheRailwayClerk

(TheRailwayServiceJournalfrom1919)wassurveyedfromitsinceptionin1904to

1948with a gap between 1904 and1908due to the fact that theModernRecords

Centredonothavecopiesoftheseissues.Asamplingtechniquewasused,wherebyan

alternateyearfrom1900to1948wasanalysedinordertoensurethatenoughtime

couldbedevotedtoeachtradeunion.Itisimportanttonotethattherewereanumber

ofparticularlyinfluentialyears for tradeunionsthat felloutsideof thispatternthat

were also studied including the twoWorldWars, 1911 and 1919, the years of two

major railway strikes. These three unions used the idea of the ‘railway family’ in

differentwaysandbysurveyingallthreenewspapersitispossibletocomparehowthe

ideawasdeployed.

AsO’Malleyhasargued,itiscrucialtoconsidertheprovenanceofprintmedia

andthewiderroleofpublicationsduringanygivenperiod.159Ifthearticles,lettersand

featureswithinthemagazinesandnewspapersusethelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’,

ithasbeenassumedthat thiswasadeliberatechoice.This isnot just limitedtothe

term‘railwayfamily’howeverandincludesanytermsorlanguagewhichreflectthis

relationship. O’Malley also cautions against using printmedia to conclude that the

opinionspromulgatedwithinthenewspapersandmagazinesreflect theopinionsof

159O’Malley,Tom,‘History,HistoriansandthewritingofprintandnewspaperhistoryintheUKc.1945–1962’,MediaHistory,18,3-4(2012)p.294

69

the readership as a whole.160 This thesis acknowledges that the magazines and

newspaperswerecarefullycuratedbytheirEditorstoreflecttheideasofcompanyand

tradeunionmanagement–theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasapartofthiscuration.

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’asdepictedintherailwaypresswasoverwhelmingly

positive.Noteveryrailwayman,theirfamilymembersorthemanagementofrailway

companiesandtradeunionswouldhaveboughtintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’but

theevidencediscussedinthefollowingfourchapterssuggestthatalargenumberdid

doso.Withoutcontrarysources,itisdifficulttocontestthesepositivenotions,sothis

thesisexaminesareaswhererailwaymenandtheirfamilieswereabletochallengethe

institutionsoftherailwaycompaniesandtradeunionsthroughtheideaofthe‘railway

family’andhowtheycreatedtheirownoccupationalcommunityinthetownsandcities

inwhichtheylived.

Similarly,circulationfiguresdonotgiveusthefullpictureastowhoreadthe

magazine and whether they were supportive of its content and ideas.161 Railway

companymagazinesandtradeunionnewspaperswereoftenreadbydifferentfamily

members, hence the columns and cartoon strips that were aimed at women and

children.Therewasalsoencouragementtosharethenewspapersandmagazineswith

friends and neighbours.162 As O’Malley has argued, the press is a “complex set of

relations”andneedstobeconsideredandunderstoodassuch.163Thelackofsources

that can help us understand editorial choices and reader responses to the railway

companymagazinesandtradeunionnewspaperspresentssomedifficulties for this

160Ibid.,p.294161Ibid.,p.301162Heller,Michael,“BritishCompanyMagazines,1878–1939:TheOriginsandFunctionsofhousejournalsinlarge-scaleorganisations”MediaHistory,15,2(2009)p.148163Ibid.,p.302

70

study.Anattempthasbeenmadetoovercomethisbyusingdifferenttypesofsources,

includingminutebooks,personalpapers,autobiographiesandbiographiesthatcover

thewholeperiod.

The case study of Gloucester, found in Chapter 6,was developed because it

allowsforademonstrationoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’inpractice.Gloucesterwas

chosenbecauseofthenatureandnumberofsourcesavailableforthecity,particularly

thoseoftheRailwayWomen’sGuild,whichcannotbefoundforanyotherareaofthe

country. Kathryn Gleadle has stated that focusing on particular archive sources in

depthcanbeparticularlyprofitableforthestudyofwomen’shistory.164Itallowsthe

roleofwomentobefullyexaminedthroughthesourcesandareimaginingofthepart

playedbywomenwithintherailway industryasactiveparticipants throughoutthis

periodisakeyaimofthisthesis.

Also, due to the fact that Gloucester was a centre of railway competition

between two railway companies, trade unionbranches and the companies and the

unions, a case studyoffersa fruitful examination intotheways that the ideaof the

‘railway family’ was utilised by the different institutions and how receptive

railwaymenandtheirfamiliesweretotheideawhentherewereotherallegiancesopen

tothem.Thecreationofanoccupationalcommunitycanbepurely functionalor,as

George Revill has argued in the case of Derby, “amatter of choice inwhich social

interactionbetweenfellowworkersandtheirfamiliesisbasedonaffectivetiestothe

workplace,asenseofcompanyloyaltyandsomeformofcommunalsentiment.”165This

164Gleadle,Kathryn,‘TheImaginedCommunitiesofWomen’sHistory:currentdebatesandemergingthemes,arhizomaticapproach’,Women’sHistoryReview,22,4(2013)p.530165Revill,George,‘Migration,mobilityandcommunity:MidlandRailwayheadquartersandtherailwaysuburbofDerby1850–1890’inDivall,Colin,(ed.)Railway,placeandidentity(TheInstituteofRailwayStudies,York,1997)p.1

71

study will demonstrate that Gloucester was a suitable choice for validating this

argument particularly because the town was not built solely to house railway

workshopsandemployeesas‘railwaytowns’suchasSwindonandCrewewere–the

town existed well before the railway arrived and therefore the creation of an

occupationalcommunitywasachoicemadebyrailwayworkers.166

AsBurkehasarguedinHistoryandSocialTheory,itispossibletodrawlarger

and more general conclusions from local data sources but it is also important to

rememberthat,“Itcannotbeassumedthatacommunityishomogenousinattitudesor

free fromconflicts”.167The ideaof the ‘railwayfamily’ isappliedbroadlyacrossthe

railway community in Gloucester for the purpose of the case study, but not every

railway company or trade union used the idea in the same way, and not every

railwaymanortheirfamilymembersreactedandrespondedtotheideaofthe‘railway

family’similarly.However,thewiderimplicationsoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’can

beunderstoodbyconsideringthemicrocosmofGloucester.

AlongsidetheminutebooksoftheRailwayWomen’sGuild,sourcesutilisedfor

thiscasestudyincludethe1911Census,localnewspapers,ratebooks,MedicalOfficer

ofHealthreportsandtradeunionrecords.Thecensusrecordsandlocalnewspapers

includingtheGloucesterCitizen,GloucesterJournalandGloucestershireChroniclewere

accessedonlinefromtheBritishNewspaperArchiveatwww.findmypast.com.There

have been some concerns over copyright when digitising twentieth century

newspapers, however the Gloucester Citizen, Gloucester Journal and Gloucestershire

166Ibid.,p.1167Burke,HistoryandSocialTheory,p.60

72

Chroniclehaveveryfullanddetailedrunsaccessibleonline.168Carehasbeentakento

ensurethatanyarticleabouttherailwaycompanies,tradeunionsorRailwayWomen’s

Guild in Gloucester, found via keyword search, was readwithin the context of the

issue.169Thesedigitalnewspapersalsoincludephotographs,thusavoidingthelimiting

of“interpretivepossibilities”asdiscussedinNicoleMaurantonio’sarticleontheuseof

digitisednewspapercollectionsthathavehadphotographsremoved.170Newsimages

workdifferentlytopurelytextualequivalentsduetophotographs,as“Bothhistorians

andphotographers‘frame’theirsubjects;theydeterminewhatorwhomisworthyof

attentionaswellaswhatorwhomisexcludedfromthefieldofvision.”171Imageswill

beusedsporadicallythroughoutthisthesisinordertoillustrateapointthatisbeing

madeabouttheuseoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’byrailwaycompaniesortrade

unions,orhowitwaslivedinpracticebyrailwayworkersandtheirfamilies.

2.7 Conclusion

Thischapterhasoutlinedthetheorybehindtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’,a

modelwhich,whenappliedtorailwaycompanies,tradeunionsandrailwayemployees

and their families, can help us come to an understanding of how relationsworked

betweenthesethreegroups.Thetheorybehindtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’focuses

onBenedict Anderson’swork on ‘imagined communities’ and those historianswho

haveengagedwithhiswork.Thisthesisisarefinementofhistheory,appliedinanon-

Nationalist context. Instead it draws on ideas of family and kinship, identity and

168Nicholson,Bob,‘TheDigitalTurn’,MediaHistory,19,1(2013)p.60169Ibid.,p.61170Maurantonio,Nicole,‘ArchivingtheVisual’,MediaHistory,20,1(2014)p.90171Ibid.,p.91

73

language toargue that the ideaof the ‘railway family’was created,maintainedand

extendedby railwaycompaniesand tradeunionsandwas internalisedand lived in

practice by railwaymen and their non-working family members. The following

chapters will investigate how the idea of the ‘railway family’ was established and

deployedbyrailwaycompanies,tradeunionsandrailwaymenandhowitcametobe

suchanimportantconceptforallthoseinvolved.

Inordertodothis,railwaycompanymagazines,tradeunionnewspapersand

theminutebooksoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildwillbestudiedindetailtounderstand

theideaofthe’railwayfamily’fromamultiplicityofperspectives.Itwasthebasisofan

‘imagined’railwaycommunity,withitsowncollectiveidentityandsharedlanguage.

Thislanguageinparticularrunsthroughouttherailwaycompanymagazinesandtrade

union newspapers which will be examined in this thesis and it acted as both an

inclusive and an exclusive force. The reasons why it was so important to railway

companies, trade unions and the railwaymen themselves will be discussed in the

followingchapters.However,theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’stillholdsapowerfulsway

overthoseconnectedtotherailwayindustryeventoday.

74

RAILWAY COMPANIES AND THE IDEA OF THE ‘RAILWAY FAMILY’ IN PRINT MEDIA

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’asenvisagedbyrailwaycompanieswasdesigned

tobindrailwaymenandtheirnon-workingfamilymemberstoaparticularcompany

andinspireloyalty,hardworkandsupportfromallthoseconcerned.Oneofthemost

importantways that the ideawasdisseminatedby railwaycompanieswas through

theircompanymagazines.Anumberofrailwaycompanieshadacompanymagazine

before theFirstWorldWarand themain four railwaycompaniesallhadone from

1923.

Michael Heller has written a number of articles on the role of Company

magazinesacrossBritishindustry.HeclaimsthattheFirstWorldWarwasaturning

pointformanyCompanymagazines–theybecamemorecorporate,aimedatawider

sectionoftheworkforceandfocusedontheeducationandentertainmentofworkers

aswellasspreadinginformationabouttheCompanyanditsactivitiestoworkersinall

areasofthecountryandinsomecasesevenaroundtheworld.172Anexampleofthisis

theBritishAmericanTobacco(BAT)CompanyBulletinwhichwasoriginallycreatedby

staffduring theFirstWorldWar topublish letterswrittenby colleagueswhowere

fighting at the Front.173 Howard Cox has argued that the Company realised the

potentialthemagazinehadforunitingadiversestaffwhowerespreadacrosstheglobe

172Heller,Michael,‘CompanyMagazines1880-1940:AnOverview’,ManagementandOrganisationalHistory,3,3-4(2008)p.179173Cox,Howard,‘Shapingacorporateidentityfrombelow:TheroleoftheBATBulletin’ManagementandOrganisationalHistory,3,3-4(2008)p.199

75

andcontinued ituntil the1930swith this aim.174Heller states thatmanycompany

magazines were utilised by large corporations in order to unite companies and

workerswhoweredividedacrossgeographicalandhierarchicallines.175Coxargues

thatthegrowthofcompaniesfromfamily-runfirmstolargecorporationsnecessitated

thesemagazines,notonlytounifythecompaniesbutalsotoinstilasenseofthe“family

ethos”backintotheorganisation.176

Thefirstrailwaycompanymagazinewasproducedbymembersofstaffonthe

GreatWesternRailwayasearlyasthe1860s.177TheGreatWesternRailwayMagazine,

publishedfrom1888bytheGreatWesternRailwayTemperanceUnionasavehicleto

promoteabstinenceamongstthestaffwasthefirstmagazineofficiallyassociatedwith

arailwaycompany.However,by1903theTemperanceUnionwasinfinancialdifficulty

andtheCompanyofferedtowaivetheirdebt to takeoverthemagazine.178 A large

numberofotherrailwaycompaniesfollowedsuitproducingtheirownmagazines.By

thetimetherailwaycompaniesofBritainwereamalgamatedin1923,thebenefitsof

producinga companymagazinehadbeen revealedand the fournewmajorrailway

companieswere all aware of theways inwhich they could use theirmagazines to

mouldandshapeaversionoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’thatencompassedalltheir

newemployees.Theway inwhichthis ideawaspresentedwithinrailwaycompany

print media was continuously positive despite the often tumultuous nature of the

railwayindustry.

174Ibid.,p.211175Heller,‘CompanyMagazines’p.186176Cox,‘Shapingacorporateidentity’p.199177Thismagazine,publishedbetween1862and1864isheldattheNationalRailwayMuseum,10268R178Pole,Felix,HisBook(TownandCountryPress,Bracknell,1968)p.16

76

Therailwaycompanymagazinesweredesignedtoprovideinformationabout

thehistoryandworkingoftheCompany,toeducatestaffonimportantrailwaymatters

and new techniques, as well as acting as a way to encourage an ‘esprit de corps’

amongst employees and the wider readership of the magazine. One of the most

important elements of the railway company magazines was their didactic nature,

especially onmatters that concerned the companies: the business of railways and

railwayworking,butalsothemoral,physicalandintellectualneedsofemployeesand

their families. This was also a central tenet of the idea of the ‘railway family’ –

supportingandhelpingoneselfandothersthroughabondofkinship.Themagazines

extolled the virtues of the idea of the ‘railway family’ alongside the more obvious

promotionofthesocialandeducationalelementsofthemagazine.

The wider readership of the railway company magazines, the wives and

childrenofrailwaymen,wereacknowledgedbythecompaniesintheirmagazinesfrom

a very early date. Some railway company magazines provided separate pages for

womenandchildren.Thesepagesexistedinasmallnumberofmagazinesevenbefore

thenumberoffemalerailwayworkersincreasedsignificantlyduringandaftertheFirst

World War, demonstrating that they were initially targeted towards the wives of

railwaymen.Many of the subjects discussed on thesewomen’s pages reflected the

differentattitudesthatexistedtowardsfemalerailwayworkersandthenon-working

femalerelativesofrailwaymen.Womenworkerswereoftendismissedasatemporary

phenomenon, ‘doing their bit’ during the war time emergency or earning a small

amountofextramoneybeforetheyfulfilledtheirpreferabledestinyofmarriageand

motherhood.Nevertheless,allwomen,whetherworkersorwives,wereincludedinthe

definitionofthewider‘railwayfamily’asenvisagedbytherailwaycompanies.Itwas

77

justasimportantforrailwaycompaniestosecuretheirloyaltyandsupportasitwas

forthemtoencouragerailwaymentobuyintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.

TimHolmeshasargued thatmagazines targeta certain readershipandbase

their contenton the ideals, hopes and fears of that readership inorder to create a

relationship.Thisrelationshipencouragedan‘imaginedcommunity’togrowbetween

readersand themagazine itself.179 Itwas imperative that if the ideaof the ‘railway

family’wasgoingtotakehold,themagazinesneededtocreateasenseofcommunity

between railway employees, their non-working family members and the railway

companies.Railwaycompanymagazineswereprimarilyaimedatcompanyemployees

andtheirfamilies,althoughthoseoutsidetherailwayindustrycouldbuythemagazines

atrailwaystationsorfromthemagazineagents.Thischapterwilldemonstratehow

these magazines were utilised by the railway companies in the ways that Holmes

describes,tocreateabondbetweencompanyandemployeeandenhancetheideaof

the‘railwayfamily’.

Railway companymanagement initially adopted a paternalistic approach to

theirworkforce.Paternalismcanbedefinedas“theinterferencewithaperson’sliberty

ofactionjustifiedbyreasonsreferringexclusivelytowelfare,good,happiness,needs,

interests or values of the person being coerced.”180 This characterisation of

paternalismbyGeraldDworkinmirrorssomeofthereasonswhyrailwaycompanies

chosetoactaspaternalisticemployers,notonlyforthebenefitoftheirbusinesses,but

alsofortheperceivedbenefitoftheiremployees.ThemanagementandDirectorsof

railwaycompaniessawthemselvesas‘fatherfigures’,exertingtheirinfluenceforgood.

179Holmes,Tim,‘MappingtheMagazine’JournalismStudies,8,4(2007)p.514180Dworkin,Gerald,‘Paternalism’,TheMonist,56,1PhilosophyandPublicPolicy(1972)p.65

78

Aspartofthispaternalisticsenseofduty,therailwaycompaniesprovidededucation,

welfare and social opportunities, such as housing, sports clubs and Mutual

Improvementclasses.Thecreationoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasamechanism

of railway company paternalism and industrial welfare. By creating remuneration

packages that alsodrew innon-workingmembersof an individual’s family into the

wider ‘railway family’, railwaycompanieswereattempting to createa coreof loyal

workers.BartDredge,whendiscussinglargetextilemillsintheSouthernUnitedStates,

hasarguedthatwelfarepackagesbridgedthe“impersonalgulf”betweenworkersand

management.181 By associatingmore closelywith employees and their families the

management could lay claim to loyalty and co-operation through these welfare

schemes.182Companymagazineswereoneofthemostimportantdevicestofacilitate

thispaternalismandindustrialwelfareandbuildan‘imaginedcommunity’ofrailway

workers,theirfamiliesandcompanymanagement.

The systemof appeal andmemorialisation bywhich employee requests for

welfareandgrievanceswereheardremainedinplacewellintothetwentiethcentury.

Railwaymenhadtosubmitanapplicationtotheirlinemanager,andinthecaseofa

welfareappealformenwhohadjoinedtheCompanyinthe1830sand1840sbefore

welfarefundsemerged,thesehadtobesanctionedbyadoctor,clergymanor‘person

ofresponsibility’.183ThiscontributedtothecontinuationofCompanypatronageand

paternalismasworkerswerestillplacedinasubordinatepositiontotheiremployers

as they had to “humbly approach” the Directors of the company and negotiate a

181Dredge,Bart,‘Companymagazinesandthecreationofindustrialcooperation:AcasestudyfromtheSoutherntextileindustry,1880-1940’ManagementandOrganisationalHistory,3,3-4(2008)p.274182Ibid.,p.273183Revill,G,‘Liberalismandpaternalism:Politicsandcorporateculturein‘railwayderby’,1865–1875’,SocialHistory,24,2(1999)p.210

79

complexsystemofdeferenceanddeputationinordertoevenhavetheircaseheard.184

Withtheriseofrailwaytradeunionsinthelatenineteenthandearlytwentiethcentury,

the nature of this paternalism was challenged and forced to change.185 Railway

workersrealisedtheirvaluetotherailwaycompaniesandjoinedtradeunionsinorder

to fight for better wages and conditions. As most railway companies refused to

recogniseunionsbefore1918,theriseoftradeunionismontherailwayschangedthe

natureoftherelationshipbetweencompanymanagementandworkers,creatingmore

tensionandconflict.Railwaycompaniesclaimedthattradeunionswereunsettlingthe

“fairly happy and contented family” that they had been able to create, particularly

because they challenged the ideaof the ‘railway family’ asdeployedby the railway

companies.Theirversionemphasisedloyaltytothecompanyonly,totheexclusionof

class,occupationalorotherviableloyalties.186HarbisonandMyershavearguedthat

all companymanagementwere seeking subordination, loyalty and productivity. In

ordertodothis,theyneededtoenforcedisciplineandgaintherespectandallegiance

oftheiremployees.Loyaltywasseenasthe“positiveidentificationwiththeenterprise”

and a voluntary acceptance of managerial authority.187 By challenging this loyalty,

tradeunionswerechallengingthefoundationsofrailwaycompanymanagement.

Paternalismstillremainedavaluabletoolfortherailwaycompaniestosecure

the loyaltyof theirstaff, but the languageof thispaternalismalteredafter theFirst

184Drummond,Crewe:RailwayTown,CompanyandPeople,p.63andRevill,‘LiberalismandPaternalism’,p.211185FordebatesanddiscussionsoverthechangingnatureofpaternalismonBritishrailwayssee,Drummond,Crewe:RailwayTown,CompanyandPeople,Joyce,Patrick."TheFactoryPoliticsofLancashireintheLaterNineteenthCentury."TheHistoricalJournal18,3(1975)pp.525-53,McKenna,TheRailwayWorkersandRevill,‘Liberalismandpaternalism’186Bagwell,Phillip,‘Transport’inWrigley,C.(ed.)AHistoryofBritishIndustrialRelations1875–1914(HarvesterPress,Brighton,1982)pp.230-237187HarbisonF.andMyers,C.,ManagementintheIndustrialWorld(McGraw-Hill,NewYork,1959)p.48

80

WorldWar. Thiswas due to the fact that during theWar railway companieswere

forcedtorecognisetherailwaytradeunionsbytheGovernmentandnegotiatewith

themface-to-face,inordertopreventstrikesanddisputesparticularlyoverpayand

warbonuses.188Thisnegotiation“wassofirmlyingrainedby1919thatitwasnever

abandoned”, hence the language of paternalism and the companies’ version of the

‘railwayfamily’hadtochangeduringthewarandafterwardstoaccommodatethisnew

relationship.189AftertheFirstWorldWar,theterm‘industrialwelfare’becamemore

commonlyusedtodescribetheeducational,sportingandsocialfacilitiesprovidedfor

railwaymenandtheirfamiliesbyrailwaycompaniesalthoughitstillmimickedearlier

paternalisticpracticeswiththeadditionofanelementof ‘self-help’thatrailwaymen

themselvescontributedtowards.

Therailwaycompanydefinitionofthe‘railwayfamily’wasboundupwiththe

changingnatureofpaternalismandindustrialwelfare.Thiswasparticularlypertinent

with theenactmentof theRailwaysAct1921,whichamalgamated thehundredsof

smallerrailwaycompaniesintofourlargeonesin1923–theGreatWesternRailway

Company (GWR), the London Midland and Scottish Railway Company (LMS), the

London and North Eastern Railway Company (LNER) and the Southern Railway

Company(SR).Thisnewversionofpaternalismservedmultiplepurposes:tocontinue

to foster the loyalty of railwaymen and their families to the railway company, to

strengthentheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andchallengethatofthetradeunions,and

toensurehealthy,well-educatedemployeeswhoweremoreproductive.190

188Howell,RespectableRadicals,p.218189Bagwell,P.,TheRailwaymen(GeorgeAllenandUnwinLtd,London,1963)p.348190HarbisonandMyers,Management,p.57

81

Theextensionofacompany ‘family’playeda largerole in thedeploymentof

industrial welfare by railway companies. Employees were encouraged to make

financial contributions to this welfare with the company’s assistance and these

schemeswereactivelypromoted.191Coxarguesthatwelfarewasusedbycompaniesto

createapositiveimageofthemselvestoemployeesandoutsiders.192Whilstthismay

havebeenafactorfortherailwaycompanies,themaintenanceofcompanyloyaltywas

also crucial. By fostering company loyalty through industrial welfare, the railway

companieswereattemptingtoretaintheirworkers,preventstrikesandcreateasense

of dependency on the companywhichwouldmakeworkersmoremalleable to the

demands of company management.193 Welfare schemes also promoted a bond of

loyaltytothecompany,ratherthanatradeunionorotherinstitutions.194Jonesuses

theexampleoftheICIwelfarescheme,whichincludedprofit-sharing,acontributory

pensionforthoserankedforemanandaboveandWorksCouncils,asonewhichwas

abletofostercloserlinksbetweenworkersandtheiremployersasopposedtoworkers

andtradeunions.195Therewasevidencethatverywell-caredforworkersatBournville

orLyonsforexample,didnotseektounionise.196Althoughthiswasnotthecasefor

railwaycompanies,theysoughttomaketheirwelfareschemesasattractiveaspossible

andinclusivetoallwithinthe‘railwayfamily’.

Manybusinesses,includingcottonmills,factoriesandrailwaycompanies,used

welfare schemes in a variety of guises in order to “surround himself [company

191Heller,‘BritishCompanymagazines’p.154192Cox,‘Shapingacorporateidentity’,p.198193Heller,‘CompanyMagazines’,p.184194Jones,Helen,‘Employers’welfareschemesandIndustrialRelationsinInter-WarBritain’,BusinessHistory,25,1(1983)p.64195Ibid.,p.64196Ibid.,p.70

82

management] with permanent efficient staff, happy and contented in their

employment,whowillnotonlywork forhim,butwhat ismuchmorevaluable,will

workwithhim.”197 The idea of a ‘railway family’ emphasised loyalty in terms that

workerswouldbeabletounderstandandrecognise.However,the‘railwayfamily’was

atwo-wayprocessandithelpedtoemphasisethecommonintereststhecompanyand

workers held: the company provided stability and industrial welfare whilst the

workersremainedloyalandworkedhardtomakethecompanyprofitable.198Railway

companymanagementpaid “careful attention to remindingworkersof thebenefits

they enjoyed and the advantages of remaining loyal and co-operating employees”

through their magazines.199 Large scale mergers, as occurred within the railway

industry in the 1920s, had the potential to cause communication issues between

employersandemployeesduetothegrowthinsize,newemployeesandmanagerial

changesthatoccurred,thuswelfareschemescreatedasenseofcommonpurpose.200

Colin Divall argues that the Company needed to ensure workers could

“empathisetosomedegreewiththecontent”ofthemagazines.201Divallstatesthatto

do this the magazines had to allow some form of criticism and argument from

employeeswithinthelettersandarticles.202Thisismostkeenlydemonstratedinthe

letterspages,whichwereaforumfordebatebetweenrailwayworkersandbetween

employeesandthecompany.Suggestionpagesalsoallowedemployeestocontribute

197ReproducedfromaspeechbyLordLeverhulmeinJones,‘Employers’welfareschemes’,p.61198Heller,‘BritishCompanymagazines’p.158,Cox,‘ShapingaCorporateidentity’p.199andHeller,‘CompanyMagazines’p.187199Dredge,‘Companymagazinesandthecreationofindustrialcooperation’,p.285200Jones,‘Employers’welfareschemes’,p.63201Divall,Colin,“CivilisingVelocity:MasculinityandthemarketingofBritain’spassengertrains,1921–1939”JournalofTransportHistory,32,2(2001)p.169202Ibid.,p.169

83

tobetterandmoreefficientwaysofworking.In1919,theGWRcommitteestatedthat

theyhadalreadyconsidered5,500suggestionsthathadbeensentinbystaff.203

Heller argues that company magazines are an excellent way to explore an

organisation and its “beliefs, ethos and value systems” from the inside.204 He also

claimsthatthecompanymagazineshavebeen“surprisinglyneglected”.205Byreading

therailwaycompanymagazinesinanewlight,thischapterwillarguethatideasabout

the ‘railway family’ were maintained and extended by the railway companies

throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Thiswas in order to ensure the

workforce remained united through a turbulent period in British history and the

historyoftherailwayindustry,includingthetwoWorldWars,aperiodofeconomic

depressionandtheintroductionoflargernumbersofwomenintoatraditionallymale

workforce.Withinthemagazines,theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasrepresentedina

variety of different guises throughout the period. The company magazines were

continuouslyusedasavehicletoextolthevirtuesoftherespectiveRailwayCompany

andthebenefitstheyprovidedtoemployees.Theywerealsousedtoensurethatthe

ideaofthe‘railwayfamily’thathadbeencreatedbytherailwaycompaniesremained

unified during a period of changes that had the potential to cause considerable

discontentanddivisions.

Thischapterfocusesonanumberofrailwaycompanymagazinesthatcameinto

existenceduringtheperiod,somethatlastedonlyashortnumberofyearsandothers

that continued throughout the period. An important focus are the women’s and

203GWRM,31,1(1919)p.2204Heller,‘Companymagazines’p.180205Ibid.,p.179

84

children’spageswhichwereincludedinsomeofthesemagazines;itwillbearguedthat

thesepageswereacrucialway forrailwaycompaniestodrawwomenandchildren

intotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Anotherimportantfactorindefiningtheideaofthe

‘railwayfamily’wasthelanguageandtechniquesthatthesemagazinesusedtocreate

a senseof the company’s identityanda communitybetweenstaffof all gradesand

locations.

This chapter will argue that all railway company magazines used similar

techniques to createa senseof the ‘railway family’but thosewithoutwomen’sand

children’spagesreliedmoreheavilyonotherfeaturestodrawrailwaymenandtheir

familiesintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Theseincludedrepeatingthelanguageof

the‘railwayfamily’moreoftenandmoreprominentlyorencouragingrailwaymenand

their families to support charitable funds such as those forwidows and orphans, a

causewhichcouldeasilyappealtoanymemberofthe‘railwayfamily’.

3.1 Creatingacompanyidentity

One of themost important reasons for the foundation and distribution of a

companymagazinewasthecreationofacompany identity,whichwasboundup in

ideasofcompanyloyaltyandthe‘railwayfamily’.Thisideaencouragedrailwaymen

andtheirnon-workingwivesandchildrentoidentifywiththecompanythatemployed

them,andbyextension, toremainloyal to thatcompanydespiteexternalpressures

fromotherrailwaycompanies,tradeunionsoracompetitivelabourmarket.Railway

companiesuseddifferentmethodstoestablishacompanyidentity,andthiscanbeseen

mostclearlyintwodifferentcompanymagazines:TheGreatWesternRailway(GWR)

MagazineandtheLondon,MidlandandScottish(LMS)RailwayMagazine.Oneofthe

85

reasonsforthesedifferentapproacheswasthefactthattheLMSwasformedbythe

RailwaysActasanamalgamationofanumberofcompanies,allofwhomhadworked

to establish their own discrete company identity and the loyalty of their staff.

Therefore,theLMShadtoworkquicklytoensurethattheseemployeesfromdifferent

railwaycompaniesweremeldedundertheonebannerwithanequivalentamountof

devotionthattheyheldtotheirformercompanies.TheGWRsurvivedtheRailwaysAct

amalgamationswiththeirlong-standingcompanyidentityintact.

The GWR Magazine was one of the oldest railway company magazines in

existence.FelixPole,GeneralManageroftheGWRfrom1921,wasappointedEditorin

1903whenthecompanytookoverproductionof themagazine;heoverhauled it to

makethemagazinemoreattractivetostaff,witharticlesontheday-to-dayworkingof

theCompanyandanopportunitytodiscoverthesocialandeducationalactivitiesthey

offered.Hisoverhaulwasagreatsuccessand inunderayearthecirculationof the

magazinehadincreasedfrom2,500inSeptember1903to11,000inMay1904.206By

1909,theMagazinehadacirculationof25,000,reachingbothemployeesandothers

outsidetheCompany includingthosewhopurchasedthemagazineatGWRstations

andthefamiliesofemployeeswhotookthemagazinehome.207PriortotheFirstWorld

War,theGWRMagazinedescribeditsaimas“tosupplyup-to-dateinformationofthe

doings of the Company, and those connectedwith it, without any class distinction

whatever.”208ThisemphasisedthattheMagazinewasforallstaffregardlessoftheir

statusorgrade.

206Ibid.,p.18207Thompson,Matthew,‘AMasterWhoseHeartisintheLand’:PicturingtheTouristUtopiaoftheGreatWesternRailway,1897–1947(UnpublishedPhD,UniversityofYork,2011)p.355andHeller,“BritishCompanyMagazines’,p.148208GWRM16,1(1904)p.5

86

Gradually theearlier focusontheTemperanceUnionwasreduced,although

reportsofmeetingscontinuedtobeincludedastemperanceremainedanimportant

qualityforrailwaymen.TheGWRTemperanceUnionprovidesanearlyexampleofthe

idea of the ‘railway family’, encouraging women and children to participate in an

activity that benefitted the whole family and by extension, the railway company.

Women and childrenwere actively involved in the Temperance Union, performing

songsandrecitationsatmeetingsandprovidingrefreshments.209Temperatemenwere

consideredtobebetterworkersanddidnotspendtheirwagesonalcoholsohadmore

moneytospendontheirfamily’sneeds.210

TheLMSpublishedtheirfirstmagazinein1923anditisinterestingtonotehow

theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasimmediatelyutilisedbytheEditortounitetheold

railwaycompanyemployeesunderthenewLMSbanner.Inanarticleonhowthenew

Companywas towork, the author declared “We are a family of 268,000 souls.”211

Unlike theGWR, theEditorsof theLMSMagazine took thedecision toseparate the

Company’ssportsandsocialclubintofivedivisions(LondonandHomeCounties,South

Midlands,NorthMidlands,CumberlandandNorthern)anddedicatefourpagesofthe

Magazinetoeachofthesedivisions.Thiscontinueduntil1936,whenallareasofthe

LMSwerecoveredintheMagazineasawholeratherthanasseparatedistricts.Byusing

the existing local identity, the LMS could concentrate on enforcing their company

identityandethosonsmallersectionsoftheworkforce,ratherthanattemptingtodraw

all workers from wide-ranging geographical locations together under one banner

209GWRM,7,6(1900)p.70210Taillon,PaulMichel,““WhatwewantisGood,SoberMen:”Masculinity,Respectability,andTemperanceintheRailroadBrotherhoods,c.1870-1910.”JournalofSocialHistory36,2(2003)p.323211LMSM,1,1(1923)p.23

87

immediately.TheLMSMagazinealsohadapageentitled ‘Our JuniorsPage’ for the

juniormembersofstaffandtheolderchildrenofrailwaymen.Fortheyoungerchildren,

therewasa ‘Children’sPage’andapageentitled ‘APage for theWomen’ for female

members of staff and the wives and daughters of railwaymen. Alongside the local

sportsandsocialsections,theCompanyrecognizedthattheMagazinehadnumerous

differentaudiencesandtargetedsectionsoftheMagazinetotheirspecificneedswhilst

remainingpartofthewiderLMS‘railwayfamily’.

PriortotheFirstWorldWar,theGWRMagazinefocusedoncreatingacompany

identitythatwassharedbetweenthestaffbyemphasisingthelongandloyalserviceof

manyGWRemployeesandby concentratingon theparallelsbetweenallGWRstaff

including their lives outside of work. This has been described as an ‘imagined

community’,referencingtheworkofBenedictAnderson,bybothMichaelHellerand

Michael Esbesterwhen discussing the Companymagazines.212 It was an ‘imagined

community’becauseofthelargegeographicaldistancesbetweenstaffontheGWRand

the LMS – themagazines united distant areas by creating a sense of commonality

betweenrailwaymen.

Articles that created a sense of the ‘railway family’ focusedon the lives and

attainments of railwaymen both inside and away from the industry. In the GWR

Magazineafeatureon‘StaffCommendations’wasbeguninFebruary1907,featuring

shortdetailsonmembersofstaffwhohadbeencommendedbytheirsuperiorsbecause

of their actions in the events of emergencies or difficult situations.213 Such articles

212Heller,“Britishcompanymagazines”p.158andEsbester,Deadonthepointof“Safety”,p.117.SeeChapter2foradetaileddiscussionofthe‘imaginedcommunity’.213GWRM,19,2(1907)p.48

88

demonstratedthepridethecompanyfeltinthesemen,butalsoactedasawaytoteach

otheremployeeswhattodointhesamesituation.Thisapproachwasreplicatedinthe

LMSmagazine,givinghonourablementionstostaffwhohadachievedcommendations

forbraveryoroutstandingachievementinthecourseoftheirduty.Whenthestorywas

particularlyunusual,forexampleinthecaseofaJuniorVanguardwhofoiledarobbery,

aphotographofthestaffmemberandadetailedversionofthestorywasincluded.214

DuringtheFirstandSecondWorldWarsthesetypesofarticles,extollingthe

virtuesof railwaymenand theirbraveandheroicdeedsduring thewar,werevery

common in every railway company magazine. Many of the reports or obituaries

contained euphemisticdescriptions of injury and death, ensuring that although the

war-timedeathsofrailwaymenwerereportedandtheirliveswerecelebrated,graphic

detailswerenotpassedontotheirfamily,friendsorcolleagues.215Railwaymenwho

werekilledorinjuredwerediscussedinglowingtermsandmembersofstaffattempted

toaidthefamilyinanywaytheycould.Anexcellentexampleofthisisthewayinwhich

twin brothers John and Henri Villiers Russell were commemorated both in the

magazineandbytheirLondonandNorthWesternrailwaycompany(LNWR)‘family’.

ThetwobrothersservedonHMSFormidableandwerekilledwhentheshipwassunk

onNewYear’sDay, 1915. The ChiefMechanical Engineer at Crewe,Mr C. J. Bowen

Cooke, arranged the repatriation of their remains and “a committee of neighbours,

friends, andworkmatesof the Joiners’ Shopwas formed to start a fund inorder to

provideasuitablememorial.”Areproductionofapoem,writtenbyamemberofthe

ElectricalandSignalDepartmentatCreweandincludedonapostcardthatwassoldto

214LMSM,5,3(1928)p.97215Rawlinson,Mark,BritishWritingoftheSecondWorldWar(ClarendonPress,Oxford,2000)p.19

89

fund thememorial,was featured on the page in theMagazine. This poem included

details which referenced their childhood, railway work and service in the Navy:

“Togethertheyworked,togethertheyplayed,/Bylife’scaresandworriestheywere

ne’erdismayed,/Togetherthey joinedtheAmbulanceCorps,/Togethertheystudied

andcametothefore…”216

Itwascrucialthattherailwaycompanieswereabletoensurethatthe‘railway

family’ on the Home Frontwas as unitedwith each other as theywerewith their

colleaguesintheForces.Tothisend,theyalsoincludedflatteringarticlesaboutthose

staffwhowererequiredtostayathomebecausetheywerenecessaryinordertokeep

therailwaysrunning.Womenworkerswerepraisedforsettinganexcellentexample

to others with their hard work and patriotism, for example the widow who was

working as awaiting room attendant and selling flowers fromher garden to raise

money to send care packages to soldiers.217 The wives, mothers and daughters of

railwaymenwere celebrated in theGWRmagazine forkeeping“TheKitchenFront”

runningsmoothlyandcooking,cleaningandcaringforrailwaymen.218Anotherarticle

intheLNWRmagazinein1915reportedthe“PatrioticFete”thattheLNWRthrewfor

injured servicemen at their London Athletic Club ground. The entertainment was

provided bymembersof staff and includedmusic, theatre and games. TheGeneral

Manager of the Company closed the Fete with a speech in which he stated that

“anythingtheLondonandNorthWesternRailwayCompanyhaddonewasonlyavery

small repayment in viewof all the soldiershad performed.”219 These articleswere

216LondonNorthWesternGazette(LNWG),4,40(1915)p.386217LNWG,4,40(1915)p.572218GWRM,55,3(1943)p.33219LNWG,4,37(1915)pp.267-270

90

designed to demonstrate to those who read the magazines, to railwaymen, their

familiesand thoseoutside the railway industrywhobought themagazine, thehigh

calibreofrailwaymenandtemporaryfemaleworkersemployedbythecompanyand

thepridethattherailwaycompanieshadintheiremployees.Inthisway,theideaof

the‘railwayfamily’wasusedinapaternalisticsense,muchasparentswouldbeproud

oftheirchildren.

3.2 Unitingthe‘railwayfamily’

InNovember1904, a seriesof articleswereproduced in theGWRMagazine

entitled“WhenOffDuty:AchievementsofGreatWesternMen”whichdescribedthe

leisure accomplishmentsof GWRmen of all grades, including amusician, an actor,

scientists, a champion swimmer and a taxidermist.220 By the early 1920s and the

inception of the LMS Magazine, it was an accepted and encouraged idea that

railwaymenhadhobbiesoutsidetherailwayindustryandnumerousarticlesonstamp

collecting,keepinganimalsandhorticulturedemonstratethis.Forexample,theLMS

NaturalHistory Society featured in an article in themagazine inFebruary 1926.221

Thesearticles revealed justhowdiverse the interestsof staffwereand, inorder to

provide a broader education and appropriate Company-sanctioned hobbies, the

railwaycompaniessupportedanumberofsocietieswhosemeetingsandachievements

wereadvertisedthroughthemagazines.These includedtheTemperanceUnion, the

LiterarySociety, theMusicalSociety, theDebatingSociety, theTechnicalSchool, the

220GWRM,16(1904)and17(1905).ThisseriesofarticlesappearsinVolume16issuesnumber11,p.192and12,p.210andVolume17,issues1,p.8,2,pp.30–31and4p.68221LMSM,3,2(1926)p.52

91

AmbulanceclassesandtheAthleticsAssociationwhichallhadbranchesinLondonand

other areas across the network.Heller and Cox bothdiscuss how the popularityof

organisedsportswithinCompaniesarose,inpart,becauseofthecompanymagazines

thatpromotedthem.Teamsportsencouragedbonding,ahealthylifestyleandasense

of community fostered through competitionwith teams fromdifferent areas of the

Company.222Membershipofsporting,socialandeducationalsocietieswasbeneficial

to railwayworkers and their familymembers because it provided opportunities to

learnnewskills anddevelopexistingones, aswell as cementing relationshipswith

othermembersof the ‘railwayfamily’.However,havingemployeesandtheir family

members in these societies was also a boon for railway companies because they

fosteredloyaltyandasenseofcommunityandgaverailwaymenlessopportunityto

takepartintradeunionactivitiesintheirleisuretime.

Theloyaltyandsupporttheprovisionofthesesportsclubsandsocietieswere

abletoconferontotherespectivecompanyiseffectivelysummedupinanarticlebya

railwayman in the LMSMagazine,who commented on how, in agreementwith the

PresidentoftheNURMrJ.H.Thomas,“ifrailwaymenwerepreparedtofight,ifneed

be,fortheirrights,itwasnotinconsistentwithaspiritofco-operation,goodwill,and

understandingwith thoseat the top.”223Thearticle’s author continuesthat this co-

operation and goodwill extended to the provision of land for sports clubs, free

educationallecturesandfacilitiesandtheloanof£1,000,000toCompanyemployees

toenablethemtopurchasetheirownhouseswhichwasofdirectbenefittothewhole

222Heller,‘CompanyMagazines’p.186andCox,‘Shapingacorporateidentity’p.208.Formingsportsclubswasapopularpaternalisticdeviceandwasconcurrentwiththemiddle-classpreoccupationwiththehealthandwelfareoftheworking-class,forexampleseeHeller,Michael,‘Sport,bureaucraciesandLondonclerks1880-1939'TheInternationalJournaloftheHistoryofSport,25,5(2008)pp.579-614223LMSM,4,4(1927)p.121

92

family.Inreturnforthesegestures,railwaymenandtheirfamilieswereboundintoa

reciprocal gesture of “co-operation, goodwill and understanding” byworking hard,

supporting the Company and limiting industrial unrest. This followed from a radio

broadcastThomasmadeon industrialwelfare thatstated thatpaternalismactedas

“lubricationtomachinery”for“healthandhappiness”.224Thefactthattheleaderofthe

largestrailwaytradeunion, theNUR,wasencouragingunionisedrailwaymentoco-

operatewithrailwaycompanymanagementayearaftertheGeneralStrikeof1926is

significantanddemonstratesanewtechniquefortradeunionsintheirdealingswith

management. The industrialwelfare that railwaymen received and that focused on

self-helpratherthanpaternalism,wasmoreacceptabletotradeunionmembers.225

Byreportingonthesocialandeducationalactivitiesofthecompaniesaswellas

interesting news about the staff, the magazines created a sense of an ‘imagined

community’andaloyaltythatencompassedthewidegeographicalboundariesofthe

individual company.226Most of the social and educational clubs and facilitieswere

foundedbyrailwayworkersbutweresupportedfinanciallybytherailwaycompanies.

The involvement of company management, officers and directors at prize giving

ceremonies and annual events also underlined the fact that these social and

educationalclubswere forallstaffandforallmembersof the ‘railwayfamily’,even

non-working women and children. Photographs in the magazine emphasised this,

focusingparticularlyonthechildrenwhotookpart.227Childrenwereencouragedto

becomepartofthe‘railwayfamily’becausetheywereconsideredtobethefuturefor

224TheRailwayReview,22/6/1923,p.7225Todd,Selina,ThePeople:TheRiseandFalloftheWorkingClass(JohnMurray,London2015)p.92226Heller,Michael,‘CompanyMagazines’,pp.187-188227LNWG,4,36(1915)p.257

93

therailwaycompanies,asmanysonsand(laterduringtheperiod)daughters,followed

their fathers into the railway industry. The children of railwaymen could also be

mouldedintoidealrailwaycompanyemployeesthroughtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

andthewelfareschemesthatwereavailabletorailwaymenandtheirfamilies.228

Oneofthewaysthatrailwaycompanymagazineswereabletocreatean‘esprit

decorps’andemphasisetheneedfortheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wastomobilise

railwaymenandtheirfamiliestosupportacharitableanduncontroversialdeserving

cause,especiallyonethatbenefittedbothrailwaycompaniesandthe‘railwayfamily’.

FortheLondonandSouthWestern(LSWR)RailwayCompanyinparticular,thiswas

theWidowsandOrphansFundandtheLSWROrphanage.TheLSWRGazette,which

began in1881asamagazine compiledandeditedby staff, costonepennyand the

proceedsfromthemagazineweresplitbetweentheWidowsandOrphansFundand

theLSWROrphanage.TheGazettecontainedthephrase“Theorphanspleadthatyou

willneitherborrownorlendthispaper–theyaremoreinneedofapennythanyou”

atthebottomofoneofthepagesinalmosteveryissue.229ByOctober1914theLSWR

Gazettehadcontributed£2380totheWidowsandOrphansFundand£2215tothe

LSWROrphanagethroughthesalesofthepaperandtheircontributionschemes.230The

GazettewastakenoverbytheLSWRonthe1stJanuary1918,andthedocumentsfrom

this takeover note that the Company agreed to continue funding “the Societies and

AssociationsconnectedwiththeCompanynow,orhereaftertobe,establishedforthe

benefitoftheCompany’sservantsandtheirwidowsorchildren”fromtheprofitsofthe

228Dredge,‘Companymagazinesandthecreationofindustrialcooperation’,p.275229LondonandSouthWesternRailwayGazette(LSWG),01/10/1902,p.10230LSWG,01/10/1914,p.7

94

magazine.231From1916,theLSWRGazettebegantoresembletheformatofmostother

Companymagazines, including educational articles, social notes and promoting the

welfareschemesthattheCompanysupported.

TheLSWRGazettecontainedalargenumberofarticlesabouttheWidowsand

OrphansFundand theOrphanageand theways that theCompanyand the ‘railway

family’supportedtheseinstitutions.FromApril1901,the‘OrphanageNotes’sectionof

theGazettelistedthesubscriberstotheOrphanageandtheamounttheydonated.232

Thisactedasawaythatthe‘railwayfamily’couldbecongratulatedfortheirgenerosity,

butalsoasadevicetoencouragethosewhodidnotcontribute.TheLadies’Committee

oftheOrphanageorganisedeventstoraisemoneyfortheorphansandprovidedtreats

forthechildrenincludingtheirChristmasdinner.233Thesecommitteeswereafeature

ofrailwaycompanysocialandsportingschemesandallowedthewivesofrailwaymen

toparticipateinactivitiesthatwereorganisedforcompanyemployees,drawingthem

intotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.TheOrphanagealsoprovidedtheLSWRwithready-

madeemployees,asthe“boysjointheCompany’sservice”andthenewMatronsofthe

OrphanageappointedinDecember1905“spenttheirgirlhoodintheOrphanage.”234

The children who were placed in the Orphanage were surrounded by Company

branding, Company employees and were educated in the way that the Company

workedandtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’fromayoungage.TheOrphanagechildren

participated in social and fundraising events, performing plays, singing songs and

demonstrating what they had learnt in classes in such a way as to express their

231LondonandSouthWesternRailwayCompany,ExtractfromtheProceedingsoftheCourtofDirectors,22/11/1917,TheNationalArchives,RAIL411/937232LSWG,(1901)p.12233LSWG,(1902)p.6234LSWG,(1902)p.11andLSWG,(1905)p.9

95

gratitudetothosewhodonatedtofundtheircareandalsotoattesttotheeducation

andtrainingthattheywerereceivingattheOrphanage.235TheWidowsandOrphans

FundandthemaintenanceoftheLSWROrphanagebroughtrailwayworkersandtheir

families together under the banner of the ‘railway family’ because the prospect of

leaving theirwives aswidows and their children as orphanswas somethingmany

railwayemployeesfacedonadailybasisduetothedangerousnatureoftheirjob.

Thecreationofan‘imaginedcommunity’andbyextension,thedevelopmentof

the ‘railway family’, involved reporting on news from the different branchesof the

Companyandoccasionallythisnewsinvolvedrailwaymen’sfamilies.Forexample,the

outingforemployeesandtheirfamiliesfromSwindonWorksin1907wasdescribed

withsomeprideas“thelargestexcursionintheworld”as25,539adultsandchildren

weretransportedaroundthecountryfortheirannualholiday.236Exceptionalrailway

familiesbegantofeaturemorefrequentlyintheGWRmagazinefrom1908.Theywere

praised for their long service and for the lengthy service of their families. These

familieswereupheldasanexampleofan idealrailwayfamily– longservicebythe

father, encouraging his sons to follow the same course. This provided railway

companies with amenable and easily managed employees who knew that loyalty

providedstabilityfortheirfamily.Thesefamilieswithatraditionoflongservicetothe

GWRwerehighlightedintheMagazine,includingonefamilywithatotalof800years’

service in the GWR Locomotive Department between them. In this case a GWR

employee, William Henry Robson wrote to the Magazine to highlight his family’s

heritagewiththeCompany,anditwasstatedthat“Thisrecordofonefamilyspeaks

235LSWG,(1908)p.5236GWRM,19,8(1907)p.180

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volumes for an employmentwhichmanywould have us believe is shunned by the

averageworkingman,butourcorrespondentadds…thathecanwithouttheslightest

hesitationsaythathehasneverseenemployés(sic)treatedsoconsideratelyasthose

oftheGreatWesternRailway.”237TheGWRwasusingtheexampleofthelong-serving

history of their employees as a positive comment on their welfare schemes and

relationswiththe‘railwayfamily’.Anotherfamilywithfourgenerationswhohadbeen

employedbytheGWRwerealsofeatured,includingphotographsofeachmember,in

theMay1913issue.

237GWRM,20,7(1908)p.143andp.157

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Figure3.PhotographsofarailwayfamilyincludedintheGWRmagazineinordertoemphasisetheloyaltyandlongserviceoftheiremployees.GWRM,25,5(1913)p.147,NationalRailwayMuseum,York,

1.0270

98

TheBaldingfamily,picturedinFigure3,claimedaconnectiontotheKennetand

AvonCanalTrafficdepartmentfortheprevious124yearsthroughfourgenerationsof

their family. The GWR Magazine continued to include these exceptional railway

familiesperiodically.During theSecondWorldWar, these reportsbegan to include

femalefamilymembers,forexample, ‘AFamilyGroup’featuredashortreportanda

photographofafatherandson,whowerethedriverandfiremanonatrainandhis

daughterwhowastheguard.238

Family reports were included in the LMS Magazine but they most often

originatedfromthestaffthemselves,whowrotelettersextollingtheirlongservicewith

the respective Companies that were then amalgamated into the LMS. One railway

family, a father and three sons, had 214 years of service in total.239 One of the

challengesforthenewly-formedLMSwastodemonstratehowloyaltheirstaffwere,

astheycouldnotcalluponthelong-servicetraditioninthesamewaythattheGWR

could.RatherthanemphasisinglongservicetotheLMSthesereportsoftenfocusedon

thenumberoffamilymembersemployed,forexamplefivebrotherswereallemployed

asenginedrivers,whilst their threesistersmarriedtwootherenginedriversanda

fireman.240AlthoughtheLMScouldnotcalluponalongheritageasarailwaycompany,

they could demonstrate how well their industrial welfare policies worked in

encouragingrailwaymentostaywiththeCompanyandinfluencingtheirownfamily

members to join theCompany’s service.This is similar to theway that theLondon

North Western railway company recognised the loyalty of their staff by including

238GWRM,56,9(1944)p.142239LMSM,2,2(1925)p.62240LMSM,15,1(1938)p.14

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reports of long-serving families as stand-alone pieces or adding such details to

retirementnoticesorobituaries,forexampleareportofonefamilyofafatherandhis

sevensonswhowereabletoworkasectionofthelineatMoldJunctionthemselves,

withjustafiremanfromoutsidethefamily.Theywerethesignalman,enginedriver,

twobreaksmen,bookingclerk,shunterandreliefsignalman,porterandmessenger.241

DuringtheFirstWorldWar,theLNWRGazettealsousedtheexampleofrailway

families“doingtheirbit”todemonstratetheprideoftheCompanyinitsemployeesand

theirfamilies;twoexamplesincludeadriverwithfivesons,allofwhomworkedforthe

Companyandallofwhomhadenlisted;anotherfeaturedadriverwithsevensonsand

twoson’s-in-lawwhohad joinedup.242Obituariesandreports fromtheFrontwere

included alongside letterswritten by LNWRmenwhohad joined up. These letters

includeddetailsoftheirlifeattheFrontandwereintendedtoinformrailwaymenhow

their colleagues were faring and ensure that the sense of community spirit was

maintained between railwaymen at home and those servingoverseas, for example,

PrivateH.G.Thomas,oftheDistrictSuperintendent’sOffice,wrote“Justalinetoletyou

knowhowwearefaringouthere…Wearehavingafineoldtimeouthere,andhavegot

allsortsofjobs,suchasshiftingpostbags,loadingshells,ammunition&c.(sic),also

carrying wounded from the train to the hospital, loading horses into vans, and

shunting;infact,wearedoinganythingandeverything…Wearealllookingforwardto

gettinginthefiringline,andalsotobehomebyChristmas…”243Thelettersincludedin

themagazinewerepositiveintheirtoneanditwasclearthatthesoldierswereaware

241LNWG,2,8(1913)p.140242LNWG,5,41(1916)p.23andLNWG,5,43(1916)p.87243LNWG,3,27(1914)pp.311-312

100

that their letterswere being scrutinised “I cannot tell youwhere, as all letters are

censoredandletterswithnamesofplacesinareburnt.”244Somelettersalsoincluded

exhortationstojoinup,“IpitythepoorchapsinLondonwhodon’tgotothefrontor

jointheR.N.V.R.”245LeadingSeamanA.G.Groom,formerlyoftheExpenditureOffice,

Euston, even wrote of his internment in Holland, “I have had amost thrilling and

dangerous experience and have come out without a scratch, although absolutely

exhausted…Itishorribletothinkthatweshallnotbeallowedtotakeanyfurtherpart

inthewar.”246Theselettersallowedrailwaymenandtheirfamiliestoreadaboutthe

experiences of fellow railwaymen in service and take pride in their efforts and by,

association, theCompany thathad fostered themand facilitated this exchange.The

‘imaginedcommunity’ofrailwayworkerswasextendedfurther,asrailwaymenwere

encouragedtosendtheircopiesoftheGazettetoLNWRrailwaymenattheFront.247

Althoughthesocialandpersonalsectionsofthemagazinewereimportantin

thecreationofasenseof‘railwayfamily’identity,itwastheeducationalandCompany-

basedaspectsthatprovidedthemajorityofthefocusforcompanymagazines.Articles

intheGWRMagazineincluded‘HowtogetonintheRailwayWorld’and‘Departmental

Doings’,asectionbegunin1906,whichensuredthatstaffknewhowtheCompanywas

run and were able to learn about the development of the GWR, the services and

products they offered and developments in the British and International railway

industry.248SomeLMSexamplesofthesetypesofarticlesinclude‘TheConstructionof

244Ibid.,p.312245LNWG,3,28(1914)p.342246Ibid.,p.341247LNWG,5,51(1916)p.337248GWRM,16(1904)andGWRM18(1906)

101

theModernLocomotive’and ‘SomeimportantLMSGoodsStations’.249Bycreatinga

knowledgeableworkforcewhowereschooledintheideathattheirrailwaycompany

was the premier railway company in theworld, in terms of both the services they

offered and the employment and stability they provided, themagazines fostered a

sense of pride in the Company. In turn, the Company hoped that this pride in

themselves, theirwork and the Company would develop into an ingrained loyalty

towardstheiremployer.

The LNWR Gazette is another example of a railway company realising the

potential a staffmagazinehad for reachingall employeesandusing the ideaof the

‘railwayfamily’tocreateatight-knit,loyalworkforce.TheGazettebeganasthesocial

andsportingarmoftheLNWRLondonAthleticsClubin1911butthecompanysoon

cametoappreciatehowsuccessfulitcouldbeandtookitoverayearlaterwiththeaim

“tointeresteachotherinallourdoings,whetheratworkorplay,gatheringtogether

the threads of casual intercourse and weaving them into a bond of mutual

understandingandappreciation,forevenifwearescatteredoveralargeareaandour

individualconcernsarenaturallynumerousandvaried,yetthereismuchwehavein

common.”250Thecreationofthenotionofa ‘railwayfamily’boundtogetherthrough

theCompany,despitedistanceorgrade,wasalsocrucialinmaintainingthisloyaltyto

eachotherandtotherailwaycompany.Thelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’wasone

thatpromotedtheCompany’sinterestsinlinewiththatofrailwaymen.Althoughitwas

intended initially to report on the social and sporting events that the Company

facilitated,theLNWRGazettealsoutilisedtheideathatthemagazinecouldbeusedfor

249LMSM,9,11(1932)p.363and10,1(1933)p.5forsomeexampleswithintheseseriesofarticles250LNWG,2,5(1913)p.3

102

educational purposes, reporting on news and developments from across the

company.251 It was beneficial to the Company for railwaymen to be sober, well-

educatedand interested inthebusinessof therailway industryandtheirparticular

railwaycompany,whichtheycouldlearnofthroughthemagazine.Thisinturnensured

that railwaymen received stable employment, the possibility of promotion and

remunerations such as housing and entertainment. This utilisation of the ‘railway

family’byrailwaycompaniesremainedconstantthroughouttheperiod.

3.3 Thelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’–anexamplefromtheGWRMagazine

TheGreatWesternRailwayCompanyhadastrongsensethattheCompanyand

workerswereboundtogetherasa‘family’.Inamoreprominentwaythanmanyother

railway companymagazines, the GWRmagazine used the language of the ‘railway

family’toencourageworkerstoidentifywiththisidea.Oneimportantreasonforthis

wasthefactthattheyneverincludedthewomen’sorchildren’spagesthatappearedin

otherrailwaycompanymagazines,thereforethelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’had

to resonate not only with their employees but also with their non-working family

members. This language first appeared just after the First World War and was

strongest during the inter-war years, when the economic position of the railway

company was particularly turbulent and the loyalty of workers and their family

membersneededtobeensured.Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasdemonstratedin

anumberofarticlesandspeechesthatwerereproducedintheMagazine.Anarticlein

251LNWG,2,5(1913)p.13.Thesectionon‘CompanyDevelopments’wasbegunveryearlyinthelifeofthemagazineandmoreeducationalandinformativematerialwasincludedoverthenexttenyears

103

July 1920 entitled ‘Our Railway’ emphasised the bond that existed between

railwaymen, “there runs throughusa sortofbrotherliness. It knitsus intoa single

family.”252In1923aftertheamalgamationofanumberofsmallerrailwaycompanies

intothelargerGreatWesternRailwaynetworkandontheinaugurationoftheGWR

SocialandEducationalUnion,anarticlewasprintedinthemagazinethatwasdesigned

todemonstratehowquicklyandsmoothlytheamalgamationofthestaffhadoccurred,

noting,“theirappreciationofthehappyfamilytheyhadjoined.”253Thisissuewasof

paramountimportancetotheGWRbecausetheyneededthenewstaff torelinquish

theirloyaltyandidentitytotheiroldcompanyandtocreateabondbetweenemployees

andtheGWRassoonaspossibleinorderthattheydidnotcausetensionwithinthe

existingsystemofworking.

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’permeatedfromthetopoftheorganisationto

thebottom,withoneshareholdersubmittinganarticletothemagazineinMay1925

entitled“TheGreatWestern‘Family’.”254AtajointeventbetweentheBristoldivision

of theSocialandEducationalUnionandtheAmbulanceClasses inChippenham,the

PresidentoftheSocialandEducationalUnionmadeaspeechthatwasreproducedin

the magazine. He emphasised the paternalism of the railway companies that still

existedundertheguiseofindustrialwelfareandthe‘railwayfamily’,“They,oftheGreat

WesternRailway,couldclaimtobeahappyfamilyfromthehighesttothelowest…The

wholeideaoftheUnionwastouniteallwhobelongedtotheGreatWesternRailway

252GWRM,32,7(1920)p.142253GWRM,35,1(1923)p.37254GWRM,37,5(1925)p.173

104

intoonehappyfamily,andasitspresident-or,ashepreferredtoputit,itsfather-he

wasproudtoseesuchagathering.”255

The paternalistic language of the GWR ‘railway family’ is a feature of the

magazinethatwasnotreplicatedonthesamescaleintheothercompanymagazines.

OneofthereasonsforthiswasthattheGWRcontinuedtobeoneofthemosttraditional

railwaycompaniesandcontinuedtorelymoreonpaternalisticpracticesandlanguage

thanindustrialwelfare,whichemphasisedself-helpalongsidecompanysupport.These

traditionalpractices,suchasthecontinuedprovisionofsocialandsportingclubs,were

stillsuccessfulinensuringthattheirworkersfeltastrongsenseofcompanyidentity

andloyaltytowardstheGWRandthe‘railwayfamily’.

This isnot to state that allGWRemployeeswerepartof this ‘happy family’.

AlfredWilliams’work,LifeinaRailwayFactorycontainscriticismoftheGWRandtheir

workingpracticesincludingtheirlackofrecognitionfortherightsofworkers,stating

that“He[employers]willnotadmitthattheoneunderhisauthorityhasanyrightsof

hisown.”256WilliamsalsocriticisedtheGWRfortheirwelfarepolicies,claimingthat

althoughtheDirectorsdeclaredthattheycaredaboutthewelfareoftheiremployees,

they still allowed “excessivelyautocratic andsevere” foremen todominateworkers

undertheircontrol.257

Williams’worked intheGWRSwindonWorksandhiscriticismreflectedthe

potentialalienationfeltbysomerailwaymen.ThedefensivereplyoftheGWRrevealed

theconcernof theCompanytothischallengetotheir ideology.Theystatedthat the

255GWRM,39,12(1927)p.504256Williams,Alfred,LifeinaRailwayFactory(SuttonPublishing,Stroud,2007)Firstpublishedin1915,p.8257Ibid.,p.58

105

viewsrepresentedinLifeinaRailwayFactorywere“fromthisparticularworker’sown

point of view”.258 In their article, they were quick to point out that Williams’

temperamentwas not suited to life in theWorks, as his “heartwas in hedgerows,

flowers, and streamlets” and that “At the forgeMr.Williamswas utterly out of his

element”.259TheCompanyquestionedWilliams’stateofmind,asking“Whatmanina

normalstateofmindwouldbemoanthattheworkshopswerenotsituatedinaflower

garden?”260Theyalsorefutedmanyofhisstatementsabout themanagementof the

Works and stated that “It is fortunate for the industrial welfare of the nation that

workersofthistypearerare,andthatthemenusuallytakeacommendableinterestin

thevastandimportantactivitiesthattheycarryonwithinthefactorywalls.”261After

questioninghiswholeattitudetowork,theauthorofthearticlequestionedwhy“he

clungtoit[employmentintheWorks]forupwardsoftwentyyears.”262Finally,they

characterisedmuchofhisbookas“bitterprejudicesandunwholesomegibes.”263By

questioningWilliams’attitude,hisstateofmindandhisabilitytodohisjob,theGWR

wereattempting todeflect any criticismof theCompanyor theirworkingpractices

ontotheauthor.Theywerekeentopointoutthat“Otherportionsofthebookshow

thattheauthor’ssouredviewoflifeintherailwayfactorywasnotsharedbyothermen

whoworkedthere.”264ItwaskeyfortheGWRtoexcludeWilliams’fromtheirversion

of the ‘railway family’ and ensure that other workers did not identify with his

statements.

258GWRM,28,2(1916)p.43259Ibid.,p.43260Ibid.,p.43261Ibid.,p.44262Ibid.,p.45263Ibid.,p.45264Ibid.,p.45

106

ThesestatementsweresomewhatrevisedinalaterarticleaboutWilliams’work

publishedin1939,nineyearsafterhedied.Withinthisarticle,itwasstatedthat“His

descriptionoffactoryconditionsthirtyyearsagoissincere,andonthewholeaccurate,

as many people have testified…”265 This was amajor retraction from their earlier

statements questioningWilliams’ state ofmindwhen the bookwas published. The

articlewaskeentostatehowever,thattheconditionsthatWilliamsdescribeswereno

longerprevalentandthatgreaterattentionwaspaidtothehealth,safetyandwelfare

ofworkers,somethingthatWilliams“wouldbemoresatisfiedwith”.266Inretrospect,

theGWRwere ‘pardoning’ the “hammermanpoet” and they stated that “The book,

however, cannot be dismissed as the outpourings of a discontented and fanciful

theorist”,ofwhichtheywereguiltyin1916.267ThisrehabilitationofWilliamsbythe

GWRdrewhimonceagain into the ideaof the ‘railway family’ andemphasised the

shared history that GWR employees of the day had with their predecessors, an

importantelementofan‘imaginedcommunity’.

TheideaoftheGWR‘railwayfamily’alsoemphasisedthebenefitsthecompany

wasabletoofferrailwaymenandtheirfamilies,socially,educationallyandmaterially.

In contrast to some of the othermagazines, the GWRMagazine did not make any

provisionwithinthepagesofthemagazineforwomenorchildrensotheuseofthe

languageofthe‘railwayfamily’wasparticularlyimportantinensuringthisideawas

takenonbythestaffandtheirnon-workingwivesandchildrenwhocameintocontact

with the magazine via their relatives employed on the GWR.When discussing the

265GWRM,51,3(1939)p.124266Ibid.,p.124267Ibid.,p124

107

‘railwayfamily’,theGWRwereclearthatitwasopentoallrailwaymen,theirwivesand

children,forexampleinanarticleontheplannednewStaffAssociationInstitutesin

1945, theCompanystatedthatonebenefitwasthat theywouldenable“employees,

their wives and families to spend many happy hours together.”268 However, it is

unclearwhetherwomenandchildren inparticularweredrawnintothe ideaof the

‘railwayfamily’bythistacticorwhetherthewomen’sandchildren’spagesweremore

successful. The example of the GWR Magazine also demonstrates that not all

railwaymenweredrawnsuccessfullyintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andwhenthis

wasthecase,aswithAlfredWilliams,therewasanattemptmadebytheCompanyto

excludethemusingthelanguagewithintheirmagazine.

3.4 Women’sPagesinrailwaycompanymagazines

The explicit language of a family relationship between railway company,

employeesandtheirnon-workingfamilymemberswasnotusedasprolificallybyother

companieswithin theirmagazines.Although theLMSEditorsemphasised that “The

Magazineisnotpublishedforanyoneparticulardepartmentorsectionofthestaff.We

trytoconsidertherequirementsofallLMSemployees,irrespectiveofgrade…”269and

“We know, of course, that in addition to our women employees there is a large

proportionofwivesofmalesubscriberswhoreadourjournal…”270theydidnotusethe

languageofthe‘railwayfamily’inthesamewayastheGWR.Ratherthanstatingthat

men,womenandchildrenwereallpartofoneCompany‘family’,therewasanimplicit

268GWRM,57,11(1945)p.185269LMSM,15,8(1938)p.375270LMSM,16,4(1939)p.159

108

understandingthatthenon-workingwivesandfamilymembersofrailwaymenwere

importanttotheCompanythroughtheadditionofchildren’spagesandwomen’spages

inrailwaycompanymagazinessuchastheLMSmagazine,theGERmagazineandthe

LNWRmagazine.TheLNWRmagazinealsostatedthat“ouraimistointeresteachother

inall ourdoings,whetheratworkorplay, gathering together the threadsof casual

intercourseandweavingthemintoabondofmutualunderstandingandappreciation,

forevenifwearescatteredoveralargeareaandourindividualconcernsarenaturally

numerousandvaried,yetthereismuchwehaveincommon.”271Ratherthanspecifying

theaudience theirpaperwasaimedat, theLNWR took theview thatbydiscussing

differentinterests,hobbiesandconcernstheywereabletocatertoallmembersofthe


Theideaofawoman’spageandthemessagesthattheycontainedduringthis

periodwerenotnewformanywomen.Thenumberofmagazinesthatweretargeted

towardswomengreatlyincreasedbetween1900and1948andincludedPeg’sPaper,

WomanandWoman’sOwn.Thesemagazinespromotedcertainfeminineidealstotheir

readers,discussingwhatwasconsideredacceptableinmanners,moralsanddomestic

life.272Theyreflectedwhatwereconsideredthemost important issuesthatwomen

facedonaday-to-daybasisacrossthecountry:topicsthatwereprimarilyconcerned

withthehomeandfamily,awomen’s“natural”place.273Workingwomendidfeature

in these women’s magazines although it was made clear that employment was

considered to be the second-best option, and not as preferred as marriage and

271LNWG,2,5(1913)p.3272Shevelow,Kathryn,WomenandPrintCulture.Theconstructionoffemininityintheearlyperiodical(Routledge,London,1989)p.195273Leman,Joy,‘’TheAdviceOfARealFriend’:CodesofIntimacyandOppressioninWomen’sMagazines1937-1955’,Women’sStudiesInternationalQuarterly,3(1980)p.65

109

motherhood.274Despitetheprominenceofthewomen’smovementduringthisperiod,

andtheirsustainedcampaignsforvotingreform,changesinmarriageanddivorcelaws

andequalworkandpayopportunitiesforwomen,thesediscussionsprimarilystayed

offthepagesofthewomen’ssectionsinrailwaycompanymagazines.275

Lemanarguesthatwomen’smagazinesusedadirectformofaddresstoappear

asiftheadvicethattheyweregivingonissuesofthehome,family,relationshipsor

behaviourwasbeinggivendirectlytothereaderfromasympatheticfriendorsister.276

ThisargumentissupportedbyGreenfieldandReiddrawingonevidencefromWomen’s

Ownmagazineinthe1930s.The“chattyeditorials”encouragedwomentoidentifywith

themagazinesandabsorbtheidealspropagatedaboutdomesticityandthetrueroleof

womenashousewivesandmothers.277Thesetacticswereemployedthroughoutthe

women’s pages that appeared in railway company magazines, aiding railway

companiesintheireffortstofostertheloyaltyofwomenanddisseminatethemessages

aboutthe‘proper’areaswithwhichwomenshouldbeconcerned.

Women’smagazineswerealsousedtoraisethestatusofhouseworkand it’s

‘professionalisation’especiallywiththegrowthoflabour-savingdevicesaftertheFirst

World War.278 Although this idea was still rooted in the ideology that a woman’s

primaryrolewasinthedomesticsphere,itemphasisedthewaythatthetraditional

skillsofthehousewifecouldbecombinedwiththenewskillsthatmanywomenhad

learnt during the FirstWorldWar or in the period ofwork they undertook before

274Ibid.,p.69275Thane,Pat(ed.)Cassell’sCompaniontoTwentiethCenturyBritain(CassellandCo.,London,2001)p.412276Leman,‘TheAdviceOfARealFriend’,p.63277Greenfield,JillandReid,Chris,‘Women’sMagazinesandthecommercialorchestrationoffemininityinthe1930s:EvidencefromWoman’sOwn’,MediaHistory,4,2(1998)p.163278Ibid.,p.162

110

marriage, for example budgeting andmanaging the household’s finances in amore

professionalmanner.279Thriftandeconomywereimportantskillsthatwerepromoted

withinthepagesofwomen’smagazinesparticularlyduringtheeconomicdepression

ofthe1930s.280Howevertheseskillsandideaswerenotnewformanyworking-class

women,whohadlivedonrestrictedbudgetsforanumberofyears.Somewomenwere

particularly offended by women’s magazines attempting to ‘teach’ working class

womenthetechniquesthattheyhadusedforsolongtofeedandclothetheirfamilies.

AnexamplecanevenbefoundintheLNWRGazetteasGertrudeWebb,theEditorof

‘TeaTableTopics’, thewomen’spage in theLNWRmagazinecriticisedthepublicity

directedatworking-classwomenduringtheFirstWorldWarthatencouragedthemto

be thrifty. Sheargued that thesewomenalreadyknewexactlywhat theyneeded to

do.281 This placed the LNWRwomen’s page at odds with much of the advice and

informationgivenonotherrailwaycompanymagazineswomen’spagesthatfollowed

thetraditionalformatespousedbyotherwomen’smagazines.

Thegrowthinwomen’smagazinesduringthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury

was significant and those railway companies that chose to includewomen’s pages

withintheirmagazinesfollowedasimilarformattomanyofthemagazinestargeted

towardsworking-classwomen.Thewomen’smagazinesacknowledgedtheactivities

thatyounggirlscouldenjoybeforemarriageincludingwork,sportandeducationbut

theywholeheartedlyemphasisedtheideathatawoman’scorrectand‘natural’place

wasinthehomeasawifeandamother.282Theseideaswerenotnewformostworking-

279Ibid.,p.169280White,Cynthia,Women’sMagazines1693-1968(MichaelJosephLtd,London,1970)p.104281LNWG,4,37(1915)p.273282Beetham,MargaretandBoardman,Kay(ed.)VictorianWomen’sMagazines:AnAnthology(ManchesterUniversityPress,Manchester,2001)

111

classwomenand the railwaycompanymagazineswere followingawell-wornpath

withtheideasthatwerediscussedontheirwomen’spages.However,therewereslight

nuancesonthesewomen’spageswhichemphasisedtheparticularcircumstancesfaced

byrailwaymen’swivesandmothersandtheirimportancetothe‘railwayfamily’which

didnotappearinmoregeneralwomen’smagazines.

3.4.1 Ananalysisof‘APageforWomen’

‘APageforWomen’intheLMSMagazinewasprimarilytargetedathousewives

particularlyinthelatterhalfofthe1930s,whenthemainthrustofthepagewasrecipes

andhouseholdhints.Examplesincludedanarticleon‘TheArtofHousekeeping’and

anotheronthe‘ChildGuidanceMovement’,designedtohelpmothersofdisobedientor

unrulychildren.283Theoriginalaimofthepagewas,whenitwasfirstbegunin1925,

tointerestfemaleLMSworkersandthewivesanddaughtersofrailwaymen.Articles

on “dress, expenditure, cookery,healthandhouseholdmatters”were forall female

readersofthemagazine.284Thefirstfewyearsof‘APageforWomen’sawamixtureof

articlesforsinglefemalerailwayworkersandmarriedhousewivesincludingarticles

ondress for the“moderngirl”,howtotellstories forchildrenand, tocelebratethe

Railway Centenary in 1925, an article that speculated on the position ofwomen in

2025,includingthepossibilityofawomanasGeneralManager.285Thislatterarticleis

particularlynoteworthybecauseitpositstheideathatwomencouldrisetotheupper

echelonsofrailwaymanagement.Atthispointintime,themostprominentposition

283LMSM,3,6(1926)p.215and9,11(1932)p.391284LMSM,2,2(1925)p.65285LMSM,2,7(1925)p.239

112

thatawomancouldachievewithinarailwaycompanywasasawelfaresupervisoror

themanager of a clericaloffice. In order to achieve these positions, female railway

workershadtoremainunmarriedanddedicatetheirlifetotheserviceofthecompany.

Thisarticlecanbeseenasanattempttoinspirefemalerailwayworkerstowardshigher

positionswithintheCompanyor,morelikely,itwasaplacatorymeasurewrittenwith

theknowledgethatthiswasinconceivableinthepresentandwasconstruedaspartof

amore-or-lessfantasticalfuture.

Theideaofthe‘respectable’housewifewasakeythemeof‘APageforWomen’

from1925onwards,andthisiscompatiblewiththecommonideasofthetime.Epithets

suchas,“Nordoesthehomeworker’sdutyendwiththepreparationofgoodmeals.She

has a duty to herself and her household, to make the best of herself and of her

surroundings.”286 and “Thereare few things thatgivegreaterpleasure to the really

goodhousewifethanastorecupboardstockedwithalargevarietyofhome-madejams

andjellies.”287demonstratedtorailwaymen’swiveswheretheirprioritiesshouldlie.

ThiswasespeciallythecaseintheeditionoftheLMSMagazinethatfocuseduponthe

workdonebyfemalerailwayworkers.‘APageforWomen’statedthatanhonourable

mentionwasduetowivesandmothersbecause,“thebestworkersarethosewhoare

thehappiestandbestlookedafterintheirhomelives.”288Inthisway,thenon-working

female members of a railwayman’s family were contributing to the success of the

Company,andthe‘railwayfamily’,bytheireffortsathome.

286LMSM,15,11(1938)p.588287LMSM,16,7(1939)p.364288LMSM,16,4(1939)p.210

113

However, it was not just the behaviour of housewives thatwas commented

upon in ‘A Page forWomen’. Advice andwarnings thatweremore appropriate for

young girls, either female railway workers or the daughters of railwaymen, were

includedinthewomen’spage.Anarticlein‘APageforWomen’intheMarch1926issue

was titled ‘Does platonic friendship exist?’ andwarned against pursuing flirtations

undertheguiseoffriendship.289Anotherbemoanedthefactthatthe“moderngirl”was

losing the art of conversation whilst another advised women to moderate their

fashionablesensibilities,otherwisetheymayhavetofacepressurefrommanyareasto

dress more conservatively.290 In this way, female railway workers and the non-

working wives and daughters of railwaymenwere treated in a similar way to the

railwaymen when it came to the advice given to them through the pages of the

Magazine.Thus,theLMSwastreatingallmembersofthe‘railwayfamily’asone;there

was no distinction between the railway workers and their non-working family

membersintheeyesoftheLMS,whowantedtoensurethatallthoseassociatedwith

theCompanywerehealthy,happyand‘respectable’.

In order to further understand the composition of ‘A Page forWomen’, the

articlesthatappearedonthepageduring1927and1937havebeenbrokendownand

analysed.Thesetwoyearswerechosenbecauseoftherelativestabilityoftherailway

industry, including few industrial disputes and the threat of international war,

althoughpresent,waslimitedandunpopular.291Therewasaneconomicdepression

289LMSM,3,3(1926)p.107290LMSM,3(1926)5and7,p.180andp.251291BritishLibrary,‘Appeasement’,http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/fpage/appeasement/appeasement.html[03/05/2016]ThefrontpageoftheDailySketchfrom29thSeptember1938describesNevilleChamberlainasheroicforpursuingapolicyofappeasement

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duringthe1920sand1930sandmanyofthearticlespublishedon‘APageforWomen’

reflectedthis.By1937thiswaseasingbutmanyareasofthecountry,includingthose

thattheLMSserved,werestillfacingdifficulteconomicconditions.292Comparingthese

twoyearscan illuminatewhether ‘APage forWomen’changedovertheperiodand

howitcontinuedtodispenseinformationandadvicetowomeninthe‘railwayfamily’.

292StevensonandCook,TheSlump,p.76.SpecialAreas(Amendment)Act,1937wasutilizedtocreatetradingestatesinareaswhereunemploymentwasstillhigh,forexample,tradingestatesinSouthWales,GatesheadandGlasgowemployed5000peopleby1939

115

Figure4.Agraphcomparingthearticlespublishedon'APageforWomen'intheLMSmagazinein1927and1937,heldattheNationalRailwayMuseum,1.0320

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Cookery Children Hobbies Home Fashion Stories Adverts The Coronation

Perc

enta

ge o

f art

icle

s disc

ussin

g to

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'A Page for Women' topic comparison

1927 1937

116

Inorder to complete this analysis, eacharticleonthepagewas countedand

dividedintothetopicsthattheycovered.In1927,thisincludedarticlesoncookery,

children,hobbies,homeandfashion. In1937,thesearticles includedcookery,home

andfashion. In1927, therewere35differentarticleswhilst in1937therewere43,

indicatingthatthearticlespublishedon‘APageforWomen’in1937wereshorterthan

thosein1927asthespacegiventothewomen’spagedidnotchange.Short“tit-bits”

werepopularbecauseofthelackofspacethatthewomen’spageswereaffordedwithin

alltherailwaycompanymagazinesinwhichtheyappeared,notjustwithintheLMS

Magazine.Theywerealsoconsideredeasiertoreadforthebusyhousewife.293There

areanomaliesinboth1927and1937whichappearonlyonceortwice.In1927,the

anomalywasafictionalstorywhichappearedin‘APageforWomen’inDecemberand

in1937,twoadvertswereincludedin‘APageforWomen’bothofwhichadvertised

productsforwomenspecifically-insuranceonlargehouseholdgoodspurchasedata

particularstoreandfreegiftsfromtheCo-operativeSociety.Anotheranomalousarticle

in1937concernedtheCoronationofKingGeorgeVIwhichwaswidelycelebratedin

theLMSMagazine.

TheresultsinFigure4showthatbroadlythesametopicswerediscussedweek

afterweekandyearafteryear.Cookingandrecipes,fashionandthehomewerethe

focusinboth1927and1937.Thesetopicswereconsideredparticularlyappropriate

forhousewivesandofferedtipsandadviceonhowtoworkwithinalimitedbudget.

Thiswasaparticularlystrongthemethroughoutthearticlespublishedon‘APagefor

Women’ during 1927 because of the economic depression affecting the railway

293BeethamandBoardman,VictorianWomen’sMagazines,p.117

117

industry and the country more generally. These articles focused on how to cook

nutritiousmeals,howtodresswellandmakeyourownclothesandhowtomakethe

mostofone’shomewithareducedincome.Anumberofarticlesalsoincludedadvice

onhowtoraisechildrenandappropriatehobbiesandpastimesforwomenandfamilies

includingaspirationalideassuchasdaysoutinamotorcarandholidays.Incontrast,

thelargemajorityofarticlespublishedin‘APageforWomen’in1937wereaboutfood,

including advice onwhat to cook and how to cook it. Therewere fewer budgetary

restrictionsformanyrailwaymen’swivesduringthisperiodandmanyoftherecipes

focused on using fresh fruit, vegetables andmeat that was freely available and in

season. Itwas during this period that the idea that cooking could also be a hobby

emerged.Therefore,thewomen’spagewasnotonlyprovidingwiveswithhealthyand

nutritious recipes that they could cook for their families but also new and exciting

recipesforthemtoexperimentwithaspartoftheirleisuretime.294Thetwodifferent

Editorsof ‘APageforWomen’duringtheseyears(VeraWebsterin1927andAgnes

Nevillein1937)mayhavebeenthedrivingfactorinthechangeoffocusthatappeared

between1927and1937,withNevillechoosingtousethepagetoimpartmainlyrecipes

andhouseholdhintsratherthandiscussingchildren,holidaysorhobbies.

Therewasverylittleemphasisonthelivesofwomenoutsidethehomeoron

workingwomen; insteadthemainthrustof thearticleswasconcernedwithhowto

takecareofoneselfandone’shome,ostensiblyforawoman’sownbenefitandthatof

her husband. In thisway, although the number of articles that concerned cookery

294Colquhoun,Kate,Taste.TheStoryofBritainthroughitsCooking(BloomsburyPublishing,London,2007)pp.332-337.Colquhoundescribesthewaysinwhichwomen’smagazinesprovidedrecipesforwomeneagertoimpresswiththeircookingabilityandwillingnesstoexperiment.

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increasedandthenumberofarticlesaboutchildrenorhobbiesdecreased,therewas

verylittledifferenceinthefocusofthearticlesthatappearedon‘APageforWomen’in

1927to1937.Theirprimaryaudiencewastherailwayman’swifeandinthiswaythe

aimof‘APageforWomen’,tobringmothers,wivesanddaughtersintotheideaofthe

‘railway family’ through the magazine was met. Railway companies were less

concerned about targeting women working in the railway industry through the

magazineinsteadchoosingtoinductthemintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’oncethey

commencedtheirservicewiththecompany.

3.4.2 Otherrailwaycompanywomen’spages

The ‘Woman’s Page’ of theGreat EasternRailway (GER) Companymagazine

usedsimilarlanguagetotargetallwomenconnectedtotherailwayindustry,“Whether

we are the wives and daughters ofmen employed on the railway, or whether we

ourselvesareemployeesoftheCompany,weshallall,Ihope,haveanopportunityof

readingthemagazine,andthusbeenabledtotakeanintelligentinterestintheworking

ofthehugeconcernfromwhichwederiveourdailybread”295.Theoriginalaimofthe

GER‘Woman’sPage’wastoencouragewomenconnectedwiththerailwayindustryto

educatethemselvesabouthowtherailways,andinparticulartheGER,worked.Inthis

way,theGERweredrawingwomenintothe‘railwayfamily’byactivelyinvolvingthem

inthedifferentaspectsoftherailwayindustrythroughtheirwomen’spage.Inreality

however,theoverallfocusofthe‘Woman’sPage’didnotmeettheoriginalaimsofthe

page,focusingonthemoretraditionaltopicsthatwomen’smagazinesandmanyofthe

295GreatEasternRailwayCompanyMagazine(GERM),1,1(1911)p.19

119

other railwaycompanymagazinewomen’spagesdiscussed including fashion, food,

childrenandthehome.Thesewereallconsideredappropriatesubjectsforwomenbut

wereoftenintermingledwithadvicethatwastargetedspecificallytowardsmembers

ofthe‘railwayfamily’.Oneissuecommentedthat“Thestridesthatwomenaremaking

is evidenced by the space devoted entirely to things feminine inmany of the great

London dailies…We are a sex to be catered for, and the demand has created a

supply.”296TheprogressofwomenwasjudgedbytheEditorofthepagetobedueto

theirconsiderationasinfluentialconsumers,animportantnewdistinctionbutonethat

hadlittleeffectoneducatingwomenabouttheGERortherailwayindustryingeneral.

Therewereasmallnumberofarticlesonthe‘Woman’sPage’thatconcerned

workingwomenbeforetheFirstWorldWar,butdescribedthesewomeninawaythat

suggestedtheywereworkingbecausetheyhadtoratherthanbecausetheywantedto,

forexamplemanyofthewomenwhoworkedintheGERcarriageshopsweredescribed

astheorphansofcompanyemployees.297Workinginthecarriageshop,upholstering

carriageseatsandmakingluggagenettingwasconsideredanappropriatelyfeminine

roleandwasoneoftheonlyareaswherewomenwereemployedinmanuallabouron

the railways. However, the employment of widows and orphans also painted the

companyinapositivelightastheyofferedjobstothoseinneed,whowereconnected

tothecompanythroughthe‘railwayfamily’.Onlyafewyearsafterthe‘Woman’sPage’

had begun,womenworkerswere already being side-lined, for example, the Editor

congratulatedthewomenreadingthepageonbeingconnectedtotheGER“through

296GERM,2,15(1912)p.80297GERM,1,9(1911)p.280

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ourfathers,brothers,sweetheartsorhusbands”missingoutthosewomenwhoworked

fortheGERentirely.298

The‘Woman’sPage’intheGERmagazinedevelopedovertimeaddingdifferent

sectionstoappealtoavarietyoffemaleaudiences.AletterspagebeganinDecember

1913encouragingreaders towrite inandofferingadviceon “womenandwomen’s

work”, primarily household queries.299 Dressmaking ideas and illustrations were

includedwhichaddedtotheaestheticsofthepageandensuredtheywereattractiveto

womenskimmingthroughthemagazine.Figure5isanexampleofapagefromtheGER

‘Woman’s Page’, with photographs and illustrations of women’s and children’s

clothing.

298GERM,2,21(1912)p.298299GERM,3,36(1913)p.414

121

Figure5.Anexampleofthe'Woman'sPage'fromtheGERmagazine,7,77(1917)p.119,NationalRailwayMuseum,York.1.0250

122

FemaleworkersalsobecameafocusduringtheFirstWorldWar,primarilydue

tothegreaternumbersofwomenwhowereemployedbytheGreatEasternRailway

Company andwere therefore taking themagazine home with them. Therewere a

numberofsegmentsthatdiscussedclothesforfemaleworkers,aKnittingAssociation

thatwasorganised forwomenworkersvia theMagazineand thepromotionof the

RailwayWomen’sConvalescentHomeinLavenhamwhichopenedjustbeforethestart

of the FirstWorldWar and housed seventy Great Easternwomen by 1920.300 The

emphasisof thepage stillpredominantly remainedondomesticmattersduring the

war,encouragingwomentostaycalmandtobeeconomicalineveryendeavour,with

sweetand savoury recipes,practical andeverydaydressmaking tipsandhousehold

hintsprovidingideasonthebestwaytorunarailwayman’shomewithlimitedmoney

andsupplies.Examplesincludeadviceontheappropriatecolourstowear,“Economy

andconsiderationsofamoreseriousnaturedictatesimplicityindressthiswinter.The

blackandwhiteofgrown-updressischangedforthenationalcoloursforchildren.”301

Economyinthekitchenwasalsoexpounded,“Athomewecanverywelldowithless

luxuryandanEcclesCakeisasgoodasanotherjustnow.”302Cleaningandhousehold

choreswerea concern,but theEditorof the ‘Woman’sPage’wasaware thatmany

womendidnothavethetimeduringthewartoattendtothesedutiesinthesameway

astheyhadpreviouslydonetherefore,“Itisofnationalimportancetobeclean.This

doesnotmeanthatthecleansingofbric-a-brac,thewashingofunneededdraperies,

300GERM,6,62(1916)p.51,8,85(1918)p.10,6,68(1916)p.204and10,110(1920)p.23301GERM,4,47(1914)p.376302GERM,4,48(1914)p.405

123

andrepaintingofinteriorsisofnationalimportance.Wehavetoreconcilethesefacts:

wemustbeclean,andwemustreducethelabourofourhouseholdstoaminimum.”303

After theendof thewar, themain focusof the ‘Woman’sPage’ remainedon

domesticmattersbutitdidacknowledgethegreaterfreedomsinworkandlifestyle

thatwomenwereenjoying,forexample,thenumberof‘men’sjobs’womenhaddone

duringthewardemonstratedtheirabilitytoperforminnewenvironmentsandunder

pressure.304TheEditoralsocriticisedthosewhotriedtoforcewomentowearmore

feminine clothes or behave in a certain way in the new climate of women’s

independenceinthepost-warperiod.305ThePagereflectedtheopinionsoftheEditor

anditisinterestingtonotethatwhilstthetoneofthe‘Woman’sPage’didchangewhen

a new Editor was appointed it still espoused the prevalent ideology of the male

breadwinner. One of the reasons for thiswas thatwhen they advertised for a new

Editorforthe‘Woman’sPage’therequestwasforawifeordaughterofarailwayman

rather thanaGER femaleemployee.306 In thisway, theirvaluesandbeliefs asnon-

workingwomen and thewivesof railwaymenbecame the focus of the page as the

Editor had control of the content and tone. Working women were side-lined and

excludedfrommuchofthecontentofthewomen’spagesinboththeLMSandtheGER

companymagazines,contrarytotheoriginalaimsofthepages.

Thistendency,however,wasinstarkcontrasttothewomen’spage,‘TeaTable

Topics’intheLondonandNorthWesternRailwayCompany(LNWR)magazine.The

LNWRmagazinebeganin1912asthesocialarmoftheLondonbranchoftheAthletics

303GERM,8,89(1918)p.91304GERM,8,95(1918)p.211305GERM,10,111(1920)p.43306GERM,2,14(1912)p.47

124

Club.Itwassosuccessfulthatitwasextendedtothewholeofthelinein1913.Theaim

oftheMagazinewasstatedas,“tointeresteachotherinallourdoings,whetheratwork

orplay,gatheringtogetherthethreadsofcasualintercourseandweavingthemintoa

bondofmutualunderstandingandappreciation, foreven ifwearescatteredovera

largeareaandourindividualconcernsarenaturallynumerousandvaried,yetthereis

muchwehaveincommon.”307Inasimilarwaytoallotherrailwaycompanymagazines,

thepurposeofthemagazinewastocreatean‘espritdecorps’betweenallstaffacross

thelargegeographicalareathattheLNWRcovered.Educationwasalsoapriorityfor

themagazine,andarticleswerepublishedwhicheducatedstaffonthehistoryofthe

companyandthemethodsthatwereusedinday-to-dayworkinalldepartmentsacross

theline.

Ofthewomen’spagesthatappearedintherailwaycompanymagazinesthiswas

byfarthemostovertlypolitical,indirectcontrasttothetitleofthatpage.Subjectsthat

werecovered includedtraditionaldomestic topics likedressandchildcare,butalso

workingwomen, both single andmarried, and awoman’s right to vote. One of the

reasonsforthiswastheperiodbetween1913and1922inwhich‘TeaTableTopics’

waswritten.Thecampaignforwomentohavetherighttovote,aswellasothersocial

andpoliticalfreedoms,wasgatheringpaceandincrementalgainsweremadeduring

thisperiod.AlthoughthecampaigningwasshelvedduringtheFirstWorldWar,women

movedintoamorepublicarenainlocalpoliticsandintheworkforce.Manywomen,

including thosewithin the RailwayWomen’s Guild, advocated for their right to be

involved in these campaigns on the basis of ‘separate spheres’. This argument

307LNWG,2,5(1913)p.3

125

proposedthatwomenhadtheright toconcernthemselveswithtopics thataffected

otherwomenandchildrenandthusdidnotneedtotrespassonthepoliticalterritory

ofmen.308

The first ‘Tea Table Topics’, written by Gertrude Webb, was published in

January1913andcontinueduntiltheLNWRwasamalgamatedintotheLMSin1923.

Eachweek,onetopicwascoveredinthecolumn;theseincludedhouseholdtips,fashion

adviceandguidanceonlifestyleforbothworkingandmarriedwomen.Again,thiswas

unusualcomparedtootherwomen’spages,whichfocusedtheirthoughtsandadvice

primarilytowardsrailwaymen’swives.‘TeaTableTopics’randuringaperiodwherea

large number of women began working in the railway industry, even if only

temporarily due to theWar. In this way, the column was used to encourage both

working women and housewives to connect with the idea of the ‘railway family’

throughthemagazine.However,manyofthearticlesthatreferencedworkingwomen

oftendidthisundertheguiseofadvicetomothers,alwaysspeakingofworkingwomen

as ‘girls’, forexample inanarticle that advocated thebenefitof exercise for female

workers.309Theonlyinstanceswhereworkingwomenwerenotreferredtoas‘girls’

was indiscussionsofmarriedwomenworkingduringtheFirstWorldWarand ina

uniquearticlein1920entitled, ‘ShouldMarriedWomenWork?’.Thearticleadopted

theattitudethataslongasamarriedwomancouldbalanceherhome,husbandand

questionsoftakingworkfromsinglegirlsandex-servicementhenshewasfreetotake

paid work as she pleased.310 Whilst not espousing a wholehearted acceptance of

308Hollis,Patricia,‘WomeninCouncil:SeparateSpheres,PublicSpace’inRendall,Jane(ed.)EqualorDifferent:Women'sPolitics1800-1914(BasilBlackwellLtd,Oxford,1987)p.208309LNWG,2,8(1913)p.124310LNWG,9,98(1920)p.216

126

marriedwomen’spaidwork,‘TeaTableTopics’wasmoreopentothepossibilitythan

thewomen’spagesinotherrailwaycompanymagazines.

Suffragewasa topic thatwasdiscussed in ‘TeaTableTopics’ throughout its

duration,beginningin1913withanarticleentitled‘WhyIamaSuffragette’inwhich

Gertrude Webb argued that women had proven themselves at home and in work

despitetoughchallenges,whichqualifiedthemtovote.Inparticular,womenneededto

be involved in creating legislation that affected themselves and their children

especiallyconcerningeducation,foodandhousing.Ineffect,thiswasencouragingthe

‘separatespheres’argumentconcerningwomenandtheirentryintopolitics.Theidea

thatmenweredisproportionallyconcernedwithnationaldefencewascounteredby

theauthorstatingthatwomenborechildren,sobothsexeswereconcernedwithissues

that the other had no idea about. Finally, Webb argued that the vast majority of

suffragetteswerenot‘anti-man',attemptingtoallaythefearsofrailwaymenandtheir

wivesregardingmilitantsuffragettesandthoseagitatingforwomentohavetheright

tovote.311Oncepoliticianswerediscussingthepossibilityofwomenbeinggrantedthe

righttovote,GertrudeWebbagaincommentedonwomen’ssuffragethat,“Meninhigh

placesareconsideringwomansuffragebecausetheysaythatwomenhaveworkedout

theirownsalvation.Itisnotonlythat,youwisemen.Thewomenwerereadyforthe

vote,oranythingelse,longbeforethewar.Theyonlyneededtheopportunity.”312In

February1918,theRepresentationofthePeopleActgrantedmany,butnotall,women

therighttovote.Oncewomenhadbeenofficiallygrantedthisright,‘TeaTableTopics’

311LNWG,2,11(1913)p.212312LNWG,6,57(1917)p.121

127

continued to exhort women to use their vote wisely particularly in the sphere of

housingpolicyandeducation.313

GertrudeWebbwasunafraidofwritingoncontroversialtopicssuchasworking

marriedwomenandsuffrageaswell aswages forwives, theneed forgirls tohave

businessambitionsandanumberofcritiquesofpopularattitudesaboutfashion,child-

rearingandtheplaceofwomenwithinthehome.314Itwasunusualtoseetheseideas,

whilst not overly radical, in the pages of a railway companymagazine. One of the

reasonsforthismaybethetraditionofpoliticalradicalismandnon-conformismthat

existedontheLNWRandwasparticularlyvisibleatCreweforanumberofyears.315

Also,thesemorepoliticalcolumnswerealwayscouchedintermsthatwerefamiliarto

railwaymenandtheirwivesandsurroundedbyarticlesinthemagazineandother‘Tea

Table Topics’ columns, which reaffirmed the status quo and were not overtly

challenging to railwaymen who might chance to read the page. The fact that

railwaymendidnotwritetothemagazinetocomplainaboutthetopicsdiscussedon

the Women’s Page, which did occur with discussions on female railway workers,

signifiestheiracceptanceoratleasttheirlackofconcern.

3.5 Children’sPages

Thechildrenofrailwaymenwereconsideredbyrailwaycompaniestobefuture

employees therefore it was important to nurture them through the pages of the

313LNWG,7,68(1918)p.93andLNWG,8,77(1919)p.14314LNWG,2,6(1913)p.63,2,9(1913)p.155,10,102(1921)p.38,9,95(1920)p.151and8,83(1919)p.134315Drummond,Crewe:RailwayTown,CompanyandPeople,p.91.Drummonddiscussesthenon-conformismandthepoliticalviewsofmanyoftherailwaymeninCrewe,whichwereusedasastrategytoresistthepaternalisticpracticesoftheCompany.

128

magazineanddraw them into the ideaof the ‘railway family’ earlyon.To this end,

children’spageswereafeatureofanumberofrailwaycompanymagazinesthroughout

thisperiod.Thesechildren’spagesfeaturedstoriesandcartoonsthatwereintendedto

teachchildrenaboutlifeontherailwaysandtheworldingeneral.Inasimilarwayto

the children’s literature discussed in Maureen Nimon’s study of Sunday school

magazines, the children’s pages of the railway company magazines promoted the

“ideologicalcurriculum”oftherespectiveinstitutionsincludingtheir“codeofvalues

andbehaviour”whichwereparticularlyimportantinthetrainingoffuturerailwaymen

andwomen.316

Therailwaycompanychildren’spagesoftencontainedstorieswhichrelatedto

the situations children found themselves in at home or at school and contained

guidancethatwasframedinmoralisticterms.317Anexampleofthiscanbeseeninthe

LMSchildren’spagewhichinJanuary1926featuredtwostoriesencouragingchildren

nottobegluttonousandtobepolitetoeveryonetheyencounteredintheirdailylife.318

An article written in 1943 in The Elementary English Review stated that children

preferredcomicbooksbecausetheyfeatured“action,color,suspense,pictorialappeal,

and drama”.319 Some of the children’s pages in the railway company magazines

contained small comicstripsdesigned toattract children to thePageandmake the

316Nimon,Maureen,‘FromFaithtoGoodFellowship:SundaySchoolMagazinesintheLateNineteenthCentury’,Children’sLiteratureinEducation,19,4(1988)p.242317Noakes,Richard,‘TheBoysOwnPaperandlate-Victorianjuvenilemagazines’in Cantor,G.,Dawson,G.,Gooday,G.,Noakes,R.,Shuttleworth,S.andTopham,J.R.,Scienceinthenineteenth-centuryperiodical:readingthemagazineofnatureCambridge(CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridge,2004)p.151318LMSM,3,1(1926)p.32319Amar,WesleyFrancis,‘Children’sMagazinesToday’,TheElementaryEnglishReview,20,7(1943)p.287

129

messagestheycontainedeasytounderstand.TheLMSmagazinecontainedarecurring

cartoonstripaboutacatcalled‘Westy’.320

TheGreatCentralRailway (GCR)Companymagazine introduced their short-

livedChildren’sPageinJuly1905.Itwaseditedby‘AuntieAgnes’who,intheformofa

lettertothechildrenofGCRrailwaymen,encouragedthemtoreadthemagazine,to

workhardatschoolandtoundertakeappropriatehobbiesthatwouldbroadentheir

horizons. The aimof the children’s pagewas to draw children into the idea of the

‘railwayfamily’andencouragethemtobeloyaltotheCompanybyportrayingitina

positive light.Notonlydidthepagedemonstratetochildrenthat theCompanywas

prepared to provide something for them, it also proved to their parents that their

offspringwerepartofthe‘railwayfamily’.AstheEditorwrote,“onepageofajournal

takenbyeveryGreatCentralmanshouldbedevotedtofuturerailwaymenandtheir

wives”makingitclearthattheGCRbelievedthechildrenoftheirrailwaymenwould

grow up to become railwaymen or the wives of railwaymen themselves.321 If the

company could encourage children to become obedient, well-educated and have a

rangeofappropriatehobbies,theyweremouldingfuturerailwaymenintotheirideal

candidates.

TheGCRMagazine’schildren’spagewasdiscontinuedinOctoberofthesame

yearbutachildren’sportraitgallerywasstill includedthatfeaturedphotographsof

the children of railwaymen. ‘Auntie Agnes’ also continued to write letters to the

magazineforanotherfewyears,detailingstoriesofhertravelsaroundtheglobeuntil

this was eventually phased out. ‘Auntie Agnes’ visited America, Mexico, Canada,

320LMSM,5,1(1928)p.27321GreatCentralRailwayCompanyMagazine(GCRM),1,2(1905)p.31

130

GermanyandHungaryandthelettersshewrotewereveryeducationalintheirtone,

encouragingchildrentolearnaboutothercultures, languagesandtheenvironment.

ThissectionwasdiscontinuedinDecember1906andanumberofrailwaymenwrote

into the GCRmagazine complaining that both they and their children had enjoyed

readingthelettersandstoriesfrom‘AuntieAgnes’.322

TheChildren’sPageandthelettersfrom‘AuntieAgnes’werehighlygendered,

demonstratingwhatwasconsideredappropriateforyoungboysandgirls;forexample,

duringsummer‘AuntieAgnes’suggestedthatgirlsshouldhelptheirmothersmakejam

whilstboysshouldhelpwiththehay-making(despitethefactthatmanyofthechildren

ofrailwaymenlivedininnercityareas).323ThisChildren’sPage,notwithstandingthe

supportivelettersandcommentsaboutitinthemagazine,didnotexistforverylong

suggestingthattheGCRdidnotseeavalueinit,orinthethemesofglobaldiversity

espousedin‘AuntieAgnes’’letters,andpreferredtousethespacewithinthemagazine

totargetamorereceptiveandeasytoreachaudiencewithalessequivocalmessage.

The Great Eastern Railway (GER) Companymagazine also included a small

sectionforchildrenthatwasembeddedwithinitswomen’spagefromJanuary1914.

Thisindicatesthatwomenandchildren,thenon-workingelementoftheideaofthe

‘railwayfamily’,wereconsideredbytheGERverymuchinthesamevein.‘Chatswith

theChildren’featuredintermittentlyandoftenfocussedoneducationalactivitiessuch

asmakingapinorganorgamesandactivities thatwouldamusethem, forexample

makingachestofdrawersfortheirdoll’sclothes.324Manyofthesepracticalactivities

322GCRM,2,6(1906)p.163323GCRM,1,2(1905)p.38324GERM4,37(1914)p.28and4,39(1914)p.90

131

wereaimedatgirlsbecausetheyfocusedonsewingandotherhandicraftsthatyoung

girlswereoftentaughtbytheirmothers.325Inthisway,theGERchildren’spagewas

gendered towards a female audience because of the contentof the column and it’s

situationonthewomen’spage.

In a similar way to the GCRmagazine’s children’s page, ‘Aunt Alice’ began

writing to the children of GER railwaymen from February 1914 about educational

topics,particularlynatureandtheenvironment.326Storieswerealsoincludedin‘Chats

withChildren’toentertainandamusethem.327TheoutbreakoftheFirstWorldWar

curtailed‘ChatswithChildren’fromJune1915andthenitdidnotreappear,evenafter

theendofthewar.Hintsandtipsaboutchildcareandactivitiesforchildrencontinued

toappearonthepagebuttheyweretargetedtowardsmothers.Thischildren’spage

was also short-lived, indicating that railway companies struggled to connect with

children through theirmagazine. Spacewithin themagazinewasat apremiumand

competitionwashigh–iftheEditorsofthemagazinecouldnotseeastrategicvaluein

thepage,itisunsurprisingthatitdidnotlastverylong.

TheLNWRmagazinebegana children’spage in1920entitled ‘CandleTime’.

Thispagewasintroducedwithverylittlefanfareandtheonlyindicationthatitwas

designedforchildrenwasthesmalldrawingthatappearedalongsidetheheading,of

two children dressed in pyjamas climbing the stairswith a candle. This page was

slightlydifferenttomanyoftheotherchildren’spagesinthecompanymagazinesasit

didnotaddressthechildrendirectly,insteaditprovidedthemwithstoriesandpoems

325GERM,5,54(1915)p.187326GERM,4,38(1914)p.58and4,44(1914)p.273327GERM,4,48(1914)p.406

132

to read,ostensiblyatbedtime.These storiesweremoral tales;however, theywere

gentlytoldandthemoralswerenotforceduponthechildrenbyan‘Aunt’oran‘Uncle’

asintheothercompanymagazineschildren’spages.Thefirststoryin‘CandleTime’

featured a Prince who fell in love with the daughter of a poor villager and was

determined to marry her despite opposition from his mother and an arranged

marriagewithanotherPrincess.328ThenexteditionoftheGazettecontainedanother

storywithamoralelement; thisstorywasaboutayounggirlwhohadtohelpwith

houseworkandtakecareofherbabybrothers.Shewishedforafairygodmotherto

turnherintoaneighbouringgirl,whowasmuchricherandneverhadtodoanywork.

Whenthiscametrue,shesoonrealisedthattheothergirl’slifewasnotwhatshehad

imagined,“Nobodywantedher–thebabies,thenurse,orthemaid.”Shethenwished

forthefairygodmothertoturnherbackandsaid,““IshallneverwanttobeBettyany

more.””329 These stories continued throughout the remaining three years that the

LNWRGazettewaspublished.Eachweekitappearednextto‘TeaTableTopics’,the

LNWRpage forwomen, indicating that theirprovision formembersof the ‘railway

family’outsideoftheirdirectemployeeswasclusteredtogetheracrossthetwopages

only.Thestorieswereaimedatbothboysandgirlsastheycontainedbothmaleand

femaleprotagonists,varying fromprincesandprincessestoworking-classgirlsand

boys.330Althoughthesestoriesweredirectedat children,whether for themtoread

themselvesorfortheirparentstoreadtothem,themoralsthattheycontainedwere

328LNWG,9,89(1920)p.13329LNWG,9,90(1920)p.34330LNWG,10,106(1921)p.134and10,111(1921)p.249

133

alsorelevantforadults,forexample,“sympathyandkindnessarejewelswhichnever

losetheirvalue.”331

Theonlyotherrailwaycompanymagazinetoofferapageforchildrenwasthe

LMSMagazine.ThispagebeganinJanuary1925andcontinuedthroughoutthelifeof

themagazine.Thechildren’spagewastargetedatchildrenundertheageoffourteen

andwasintendedtointroducethemtothewaythattherailwayindustryworkedand

wasrunaswellasbeingeducationalandfun.332Thoseoverfourteenyearsoldwere

the target audience for the Juniors Page,whichwas aimed at those considered old

enoughtobeworking,primarilyfortheCompany.TheLMSchildren’spagewasalso

usedasanincentivetoencouragefatherstobringthemagazinehomefortheirchildren

to read, thus increasing the circulationof themagazine and thiswas stated openly

whenthepagewasfirstintroduced.333Thisalsodrewchildrenintothe‘railwayfamily’

throughtheirworkingfamilymembers.

In contrast to the children’s pages in the Great Central and Great Eastern

railwaycompanymagazines,theLMSchildren’spagewaseditedby‘Uncle’whichgave

the page a slightly different gendered appeal. Each week he wrote letters to the

childrenfilledwithinterestinginformationandstorieswhich,althoughtheywerenot

always related to the railway industry, did always contain a moral or educational

element. Competitions also encouraged the children to keep reading the page and

enhancedreaderloyalty,preventingitfrombeingremovedorminimisedastheother

examplesofchildren’spageswere.334Almostfourhundredchildrenenteredoneofthe

331LNWG,9,97(1920)p.195332LMSM,2,1(1925)p.22333Ibid.,p.22334BeethamandBoardman,VictorianWomen’sMagazines,p.190

134

firstcolouringcompetitionsonthepage,demonstratingboththelargecirculationthat

themagazinehad,thenumberofchildrenithadthepotentialtoreachandjusthow

immediatelypopulartheLMSchildren’spagewas.335

TheLMSchildren’spagealsosoughttomouldthechildrenofrailwaymeninto

ideal companyemployees fromanearlyage. They clearly saw this asan important

function of theirmagazine; other railway company children’spages ran for a short

amount of time before being sacrificed for other content but the LMS included a

children’spageinalmosteveryeditionoftheirmagazine.Moralandeducationaladvice

wereparticularlykeymessagesandincluded:howtohelpsomeonewhohasfainted,a

storyaboutthepitfallsofplayingtruantfromschoolandanarticleontheoriginsof

MayDay.336One letterwrittenby ‘Uncle’discussedappropriatehobbies forwinter,

which includedneedleworkforgirlsandwoodworkorstampcollecting forboys.337

Thesegenderedhobbiesaimedtoteachchildrenvaluableskills thatwouldcomein

particularlyuseful for future railwaymen or future railwaymen’swives. The varied

waysthatthisadvicewasgiven,intheformofanarticle,letter,cartoonorstory,helped

tokeepchildreninterestedinthepageandtakeonboardtheadvicethatwasbeing

given. By moulding the children of railwaymen into future railway workers or

railwaymen’swives,theLMSmagazinewasactingasawaytodrawchildrenintothe

ideaofthe‘railwayfamily’fromayoungageandtocreatethekindofworkersthatthey

wantedwithintheirversionoftheideal‘railwayfamily’.

335LMSM,2,3(1925)p.100336LMSM,4,2(1927)p.62,LMSM,4,7(1927)p.249andLMSM,11,5(1934)p.192337LMSM,2,11(1925)p.394

135

3.6 Companywelfareforthe‘railwayfamily’

ThefirstEditoroftheGreatWesternMagazine,FelixPole,wantedtousethe

magazine to ensure those who worked for the Company, and by extension their

families, “realise theirwelfarewas boundup in the success of the company.”338 By

doing this, Polewas reinforcing the idea that the Company and its employees had

mutualinterests.Suchinterestsalsoextendedtothenon-workingfamilymembersof

railwaymenandhenceplayedintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.TheGreatWestern

RailwayCompanyassistedrailwaymenandtheirfamiliesinbuildinghousingestates,

creatingacommunityofrailwayworkersandfurtherenhancingtheideaofthe‘railway

family’asonethatwassupportedbytheCompany.ThisbeganinAugust1923when

theGWRannouncedaschemetoassistrailwaymenwithhousebuildingprojects.The

CompanysupportedtheformationofPublicUtilityHousingSocietiesandthelandand

capitalforthehousingprojectswasloanedtothesesocietiesbytheCompanyandthen

repaidovertime.339AnumberofPublicUtilitySocietieswere formed,mostnotably

withthecreationoftheGreatWesternGardenVillageatActon.340Theplansforthe

ActonGardenVillageinitiallycomprisedofthirty‘ClassA’houseswithalivingroom,

scullery,bathroomandthreebedroomsandtwenty‘ClassB’houseswithalivingroom,

parlour, scullery, three bedrooms and an upstairs bathroom. However, the GWR

estimatedthatfourhundredandninety-sixhousescouldbebuiltontheActonsite.All

thesehousesweretobesemi-detachedandconnectedtobothelectricityandgas.341By

1931,sevenhundredandsixty-twohouseshadbeenbuiltattheActonsite,alongwith

338Thompson,‘AMasterWhoseHeartisintheLand’p.357339GWRM,35,8(1923)p.360340GWRM,36,5(1924)p.172341GWRM,35,8(1923)p.363

136

shopsandotherfacilities.342Theschemeswereopentoallcompanyemployeesand

landwas also sold to other Public Utility Societies or private contractorswith the

agreementthathousesandflatsbeprovidedforGWRemployeesandtheir families

(althoughnotsolely forrailwaymen),mostnotably withtheearlydevelopmentsat

Barry and Exeter and then others across London and the South-West including

Paddington,Ealing,Bristol,GloucesterandWeston-super-Mare.343

In January1926theextensiontotheBarryGardenSuburb,whichcomprised

212housesforGWRstaff,wasopened.344ByJanuary1935theCompanyannounced

that they had helped the Public Utility Societies build over 1,500 houses and, in a

separatescheme,hadprovided3,400mortgagestostafftoenablethemtobuytheir

ownhomes.345ThisschemesawtheGWRlendstaffmembersupto90%ofthecostof

theirhouse(upto£1000)whichwasthenrepaidwith5%interestovernomorethan

twenty years through paybill deductions.346 Company welfare such as housing

strengthened the idea of the ‘railway family’ and the impression that managers,

employeesandtheirnon-working familymemberswere ‘all in it together’.Housing

wasparticularly important for the ‘railway family’, aspoorand inadequatehousing

couldaffectthehealthandwelfareofarailwayman,hiswifeandchildren.Therefore,

byhelpingtheiremployeessecureappropriatehousingtheGWRwerecementingthe

loyaltythatrailwaymenandtheirfamiliesfelttowardstheCompany.

LiketheGWRMagazine,theLMSMagazinewasalsousedtoemphasisetheneed

formutualco-operationbetweenthestaffandthedirectorsandmanagementofthe

342GWRM,43,10(1931)p.433343GWRM,43,10(1931)p.433and47,1(1935)p.25344GWRM,39,1(1926)p.21345GWRM,47,1(1935)p.25.346GWRM,35,1(1923)p.2

137

Company. In contrast to the more paternalistic methods of the GWR, the LMS

emphasisedfromtheoutsetthatindustrialwelfarewasthewaythatthestaffandthe

railwaycompanyweregoingtobenefit:“Welfareseekstohumaniseindustry;tocreate

espritdecorps;andthussecureahappyandmoreefficientstaff.IbelieveWelfarework

to be of benefit to employer and employed alike…”347 A series of articles over the

followingmonthsdescribedtheindustrialwelfarethatLMSemployeescouldexpect

andwhatwasexpectedoftheminreturn.ThiswasaveryimportantpointfortheLMS

tostress:thatrailwaymenandtheirfamilieswereexpectedtocontributetowardsthe

Companyinreturnfortheindustrialwelfarewhichtheyreceived.TheCompanywas

keen to emphasise, following a letter from a railwayman, that although industrial

welfare was being instituted from an economic and an ethical point of view, the

Company’sstancewas“predominantlyethical”348.TheLMSMagazinewasanexcellent

vehiclefordispensingtheideaofindustrialwelfareanditwasexplainedinaclearand

obviouswaybytheEditorsandauthors.Assomanyof thestaffwere familiarwith

differentpaternalisticpracticesbeforetheiramalgamationundertheLMSumbrella,

theCompanyhadtoclearlydefinetoallstaffwhattheirpoliciesandprioritieswere.

InordertoeffectivelycommunicatethewelfarethattheLMSwasgoingtooffer

torailwaymenandtheirfamilies,thearticlesintheMagazinesetouttheideaplainly

and simply. ‘Welfare and the LMS’ constituted a series of nine articles including

‘Health’,‘OnBeingHappy’and‘FeedingtheRailwaymen’whichidentifiedhowtheLMS

wouldachievetheseaimsandwhatwasexpectedofrailwaymeninreturn.Forexample

itwasimportanttopreventaccidents“forourownsakes,forthesakeofourfamilies

347LMSM,1,1(1923)p.5348LMSM,1,2(1923)p.54

138

andfriends,forthesakeofourCompanyandournation”349andtheLMSwantedtogive

theiremployees ‘TrueDemocracy’which“demandsco-operationandthesharingof

responsibilitiesaswellasthesharingofprivilegesandrights.”350Inthisway,theLMS

continued touse the language of the ‘railway family’ as away toofferwelfare and

encourage loyalty and co-operation but there was also an increased focus on the

responsibilities of the individual employee and their relatives who were not

employees.

Thewelfareofthefamiliesofrailwaymenwasalsocentraltorailwaycompany

policy during the First and Second World War. The GER Magazine contained an

announcementinSeptember1914,ontheoutbreakoftheFirstWorldWar,thatthe

wivesandfamiliesofrailwaymenwhojoinedtheServiceswouldbepaidallowances

bytheCompany.351TheCompanyalsowantedtoensurethatthedependentsofserving

railwaymenwerenotallowedto“getoutoftouchwiththerailway”duringthewar.352

Railwaycompaniesalsoencouragedtheiremployeestosetupfundsthatsupported

serving soldiers and their families. The companies contributed to these

organizationallyandmonetarilybecause,“ourfundhasbeenthemeansofkeepingthe

homestogether.”353

The LSWR Gazette praised its readers from across the Company for raising

moneyforanumberofgeneralwartimefunds,forexamplethePrinceofWalesFund

whichwasdesignedtoprovideassistanceforallsoldiers’familiesindistress.354Other

349LMSM,1,10(1923)p.347350LMSM,1,11(1923)p.388351GERM,4,45(1914)p.285352GERM,8,87(1918)p.47353LNWG,4,30(1915)p.54354LSWG,01/11/1914,p.8

139

districts, stations and sheds were congratulated individually for the amounts they

raised, including the Western District which donated £900 to a variety of causes

includingthoseforallservingsoldiersfamiliesandincludedwidowswhose“railways

sons”hadenlistedandthewifeofarailwaymanwhohadbeeninvalidedhome.355This

encouragement from the pagesof themagazines demonstrated to railwaymen that

theyneededtosupport theextended ‘railwayfamily’ ina timeofgreatneedand in

return they could earn recognition from theirCompany and praise fromothers for

“doingtheirbit”whilstremainingontheHomeFront.356Companyofficialswerealso

applauded inthepagesof theLSWRGazette forsupportingthe ideaof the ‘railway

family’duringwartimeasthemanagementandofficialsatEastleighraisedmoneyand

organised,withhelpfromtherailwaymenattheCarriageWorks,aChristmaspartyfor

four hundred children of railwaymen who had volunteered to serve in the armed

forces.357 In thisway, themagazinewasable todemonstratethatCompanyofficials

werealsoplayingtheirpartinthewartimeeffortofsupportingthe‘railwayfamily’.

3.7 Womenworkers,railwaycompaniesandthe‘railwayfamily’

One of themost contentious issues that had the potential to cause divisions

amongstthe‘railwayfamily’wastheemploymentofwomenontherailways.Although

womenwereemployedbeforetheFirstWorldWar,itwastheirentryinmuchlarger

numbersfrom1914thatcausedthemostfriction.Asdiscussedabove,femaleworkers

wereoftenexcludedfromthewomen’spagesofthecompanymagazinesthatprimarily

355LSWG,01/10/1916,p.1356LSWG,01/11/1916,p.282357LSWG,01/02/1915

140

targetedthewivesofrailwaymenasawaytodrawthemintothe‘railwayfamily’.It

wasonlywhensomeofthosewivesbecamerailwayworkersthemselvesduringthe

First andSecondWorldWars that thewomen’spages includedany information for

femalerailwayworkers.However,thesepageswerenottheprimarywaythatwomen

workers were drawn into the idea of the ‘railway family’ from the company

perspective. From the point of view ofmany railwaymen, the status assigned to a

femaleemployeeasaworkerfortheCompanywasalsonotenoughonitsowntoallow

forherinclusionintothe‘railwayfamily’.Therailwaycompanieshadtouseavariety

ofdifferenttacticstoallowfortheinclusionoffemalerailwayworkersintotheideaof


Theintroductionoffemaleworkersintotherailwayindustrywasanissuefor

the GWR and it is possible to see how the Company approached this potential

disruptionthroughthepagesoftheirmagazine.Althoughwomenwereemployedin

therailwayindustrybefore1914,theirnumbersweresmallandtheiremploymentwas

inrolesthatweredeemedtobesuitableforwomen.TheGWRbeganemployingfemale

clerksin1909andthiswasintroducedtostaffthroughanarticleintheGWRMagazine

entitled‘EmploymentofWomenTelegraphOperators’.Thesewomenwereemployed

inofficesatPaddingtonandBristolafterpassingoutofthetrainingschool.Initially,

nineteenwomenandtwofemalesupervisorswereemployedoverthetwositesand

thearticleannouncedthatthiswouldbeanexperiment.358Theexperimentcontinued

andwasexpanded; theemploymentof femaleclerksbecamemorecommonplace in

therailway industry.TheFirstWorldWarcauseda large increase in thenumberof

358GWRM,21,7(1909)p.162

141

female clerks because thousands of clerks joined up to fight and women had

demonstratedbeforethewarthattheyweresuitablereplacements.ByAugust1918,

2,905womenwereemployedasclerksbytheGWR.359Somehistorianshavetermed

this period the “feminization” of certain white-collar employments.360 In this way,

railwaycompanieswerenodifferenttootheremployerswhenitcametotheincreasing

useofwomenwithintheirclericaloffices.

This issue demonstrates how the GWR used their Magazine to diffuse a

potentiallychallengingsituationfortheCompany.ThisresponsealsofitswithDivall’s

theorythatcompaniesneededtoallowtheiremployeestoexpressdissatisfactionin

the Magazine in order that it was not viewed purely as Company propaganda.361

Female workers were praised and criticised in almost equal measure in the GWR

Magazineduringthewarandweregiventhechancetorespondforthemselves.InMay

1915theGWRpublishedaletterfromanunemployedwomanaskingtheCompanyto

employherasaticketcollectorbecause,“Itstruckmethatawomancouldbea“ticket

collector”justaswellasaman.”362TheGWRemployedherastheirfirstfemaleticket

collectorandjustifiedtheemploymentoffemaleworkersinpositionsnotusuallyopen

tothembecauseofthesevereshortageofmalestaffandthedesireofwomen“…todo

allintheirpowertoreleasemenformilitaryservice…”363Photographsofthemwere

consistently featured in the Magazine demonstrating the able work they were

performing and reports on their satisfactory work were also included within the

359Wojtczak,Railwaywomen,p.109360Thom,Deborah,“WomenandWorkinWartimeBritain”inWall,R.andWinter,J.(eds)TheUpheavalofWar:Family,WorkandwelfareinEurope,1914–1918(CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridge,1988)p.302361Divall,‘CivilisingVelocity’p.169362GWRM,27,5(1915)p.120363Ibid.,p.120

142

Magazine,notablyaGWRSpecialConstableatPaddington,“Theemploymentofalady

inthiscapacityhasbeennotablysatisfactory,particularlyinmanyimportantmatters

requiringdelicateandtactfulinvestigation.”364

Womeninmanualgradesfacedlesscriticismthanfemaleclerks.Thesewomen

mayhavebeenthewivesordaughtersofGWRrailwaymenservingintheForcesand

thereforealreadyknowntosomeof thestaff theywereworkingwith.Accordingto

Wojtczak,theGWRgave“preference”inemploymenttowarwidowswhowereunable

tosupporttheirfamiliesontheGovernmentallowance.365Thiswasoneoftheways

thattheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasutilisedandmayhavemadeworkingwidows

immunetothecriticismfacedbyunmarriedfemaleclerks.However,astheseclerks

were also recruited from the families of GWR employees this argument is less

convincing.WhatmayhavebeenmoreimportantwasthefactthattheNationalUnion

ofRailwaymenhadnegotiatedadealwiththerailwaycompaniesandtheGovernment

thatpreventedwomenfromretainingtheirpositionsontherailwaysaftertheendof

the war. This was termed “acceptance without enthusiasm” by Hamilton when

discussingthetradeunionagreementthatwasmadebytherailwayindustryandthe

GovernmentduringtheFirstWorldWar.366Thisisreflectedintherailwaycompany

magazines, which feature very few letters or articles originating from railwaymen

complainingaboutwomenworkingasporters,guardsorinotherpredominantlymale

occupationsbutalsoveryfewpraisingthemeither.

364GWRM,29,4(1917)p.81andGWRM,27,11(1915)p.301featuresaphotographoffemalecarriagecleanersatOldOakCommonandGWRM,27,12(1915)p.322featuresphotographsoffemalerestaurantcarwaitressesandticketcollectors.365Wojtczak,Railwaywomen,p.47366Hamilton,J.A.B.,Britain’sRailwaysinWorldWarI(GeorgeAllenandUnwinLtd,London,1967)p.106andThom,‘WomenandWork’p.304

143

Male clerksdid nothave the security of knowing that thewomen employed

duringthewarwouldbe forcedtoleaveat thecessationof fightingbecause female

clerkshadbeenemployed,albeitinsmallernumbers,beforethewar.Thismademale

clerks more vulnerable and potentially more hostile. Gail Braybon and Penny

Summerfieldsubscribetothisideaintheirworkonwomen’sexperiencesduringboth

WorldWars.Theyclaimthatthemostanimositytowardswomen’sworkcamefrom

maleworkerswhofearedfortheirownjobsduringandafterthewar.367

The criticism levelled towards female clerkswas focused on their ability, or

perceivedinability,toperformtheworkadequately.Anarticlebyaclerk,J.R.Bennett,

inDecember1915arguedthatfemaleclerksneededbettertrainingbecausealthough

theywere just as good asmen at typing theywere not as competent at answering

technicalquestions.368Thereply froma femaleclerk in the following issueentitled,

‘TheFemaleClerk.FromtheFemininepointofview’statedthatitwasselfishofmale

clerks to complain about the employment of women because with so many male

relativesfightingabroad,manywomenneededtoearnawagetosupportthemselves

andtheirfamilies.Also,“TheFemaleclerksarenotonly“takingtheplacesofmen”but

gallantlyplayingmen'spartsinsupportingthehomesandfamiliesofthosewhohave

given,orarerisking,theiralltopurchasethesecuritywhichthe“maleclerk”withthe

restofus,enjoys.”369Thislanguagerecalledmaleanxietiesaboutavoidingconscription

duetotheirrailwayworkandthethreatofwomenusurpingtheirroles.

367Braybon,G.andSummerfield,P.(eds.)OutoftheCage:Women’sExperiencesintwoWorldWars(PandoraPress,London,1987)p.72368GWRM,27,12(1915)p.319369GWRM,28,1(1916)p.11

144

Thisinversionofgenderroleshasbeendebatedbyhistoriansindiscussionson

theroleofwomen’sworkduringtheFirstWorldWar.JanetWatsonhasarguedthat

ideasaboutgenderinfluencedtheperceptionofthesuitabilityofwarworkforwomen

andthedesiretoensurethepreservationoftraditionalgenderroles.370Thisattempt

topreservethesocialordersawanemphasisonmarriageandmotherhood,women’s

traditional roles, both during and after thewar. This was also in accordance with

railwaycompanyideasonthe‘railwayfamily’.371TheRestorationofPre-WarPractices

Actin1919broughtaboutare-establishmentofthisorderandallayedmen’sfearsover

the roleofwomen in the labour force.GerryRubindiscusseshowcompanieswere

morethanhappytodischargefemaleworkersattheendofthewarevenbeforethey

hadtocomplywiththeAct.Inthisway,“thepost-warthreattomaledomination,inthe

event, scarcely materialised.”372 A large number of the social notices in the GWR

MagazinefromtheendofboththeFirstandSecondWorldWarsindicatedthatahigh

proportionofthefemalestaffvoluntarilylefttheirjobsatthecessationoffightingto

“returntodomesticduties”orgetmarried.373

TheLNWRGazettedidnotenterintodebatesaboutwomenworkersandtheir

suitabilityforrailwayworkduringwartime.Astheiraimstated,theLNWRGazette

consideredthemselvesavehicleforeducationandreportingthesocialandsporting

activitiesofrailwaymenintheCompany.Theyrefusedarequestforaletterspagein

370Watson,Janet,‘KhakiGirls,VADs,andTommySisters:GenderandClassinFirstWorldWarBritain’,TheInternationalHistoryReview,19,1(1997)p.33371Grayzel,Susan,WomenandtheFirstWorldWar(Routledge,Abingdon,2013)p.77andBraybonandSummerfield,OutoftheCagepp.281-282372Rubin,Gerry,‘Lawasabargainingweapon:BritishLabourandtheRestorationofPre-WarPracticesAct1919’,TheHistoricalJournal,32,4(1989)p.933.373GWRM,58,7(1946)p.155

145

1913 because theywere a “social organ.”374 This indicates that they perceived the

letterspagetohavethepotentialtobecomeadivisiveelementwithintheirmagazine.

They did however include a large number of photographs of the LNWR’s women

workers.Someoftheseshowedmenandwomenworkingquitehappilytogether.375

Others were published of women working in the different departments of the

Company,topromotetheworkthatwomendidduringthewarbutalsotocomplywith

requestsfromrailwaymenfightingattheFrontwhowroteaskingformorepicturesof

female railway workers to be published.376 There are a number of ways that this

request could be interpreted, but it appears that the LNWR took the view that

railwaymen viewed these female workers as a novelty and the inclusion of their

photographswasusedasawaytohighlighthowunusualitwastoseewomeninthese

positions.TheywerealsousedasawaytodemonstratehowsuccessfultheCompany

were in including them in the idea of the ‘railway family’. Many of the railway

companies employed this tactic and included numerous photographs of women

workers during the twoWorldWars asFigure 6 demonstrates. Thesephotographs

includeddetailsoftherolesthatfemaleworkerswereemployedinandincludedthose

engagedasclerksandothersinmoreunusualmanualgrades.

374LNWG,2,9(1913)p.141375LNWG,4,32(1915)p.106376LNWG,5,52(1916)p.370.

146

Figure6.PhotographsofsomeofthefemaleemployeesoftheGreatWesternRailwayCompany,27,12(1915)p.322,NationalRailwayMuseum,York,1.0270.

147

On the formation of the LMS in 1923, a number of women worked for the

Company,mostpredominantlyasclerks.Althoughtheywereencouragedtobecome

partofthe‘railwayfamily’through‘APageforWomen’,ashasbeendiscussedearlier,

this page did not cater to their specific needs. Many of the LMS sports clubs had

women’s sectionsbut itwasnotuntil1930 thatwomenwereable toparticipate in

Ambulancecompetitions,whichforsolonghadbeenastapleofrailwaymen’ssocial

and educational life. The first competition attracted eighteen teams,whilst another

attractedtwenty-fourwomen’steams.377Thepopularityoftheambulanceclassesfor

womenindicatehowkeenwomenweretoparticipate inactivitiesorganisedbythe

Companyforthe‘railwayfamily’.

InApril1939,theLMSMagazinepublishedaspecialedition,“Prideofplacein

thisissuehasbeengiventoourthousandsofwomencolleagues,andwearehappyto

havethisopportunityofpayingtributetothemfortheimportantandintegralpartthey

playinourgreatorganisation.”378Thisissueintroducedanumberofwomenworkers

fromdifferentdepartmentstothereaders,includedalargenumberofphotographsof

themandalsofocusedonthewivesanddaughtersofrailwaymen.Ittracedthehistory

ofwomenworking for the LMS and focused on their achievements, including long

serviceandsportingprowessinaverysimilarwaytothewaysthatlargenumbersof

railwaymenwerecelebratedeverymonth.Atthispointin1939,Britainwasheading

towards another war. Female labour would likely need to be utilised again, so to

dedicatethisparticularissuetotheirfemalestaffwasaveryusefultooltoboostmorale

andensurethatfemaleemployeesandnon-workingwivesanddaughtersfeltincluded

377LMSM,7,6(1930)p.210andLMSM,9,5(1932)p.172378LMSM,16,4(1939)p.159

148

intheLMSCompanyandintheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’atacriticalpointforthe

RailwayCompany.

ItisinterestingtocomparethisattitudefromtheFirstWorldWartothearticles

thatappearedinthemagazinesfrom1939.OntheoutbreakoftheSecondWorldWar,

womenwereagainemployed ingreaternumbers thaneverbeforeon the railways,

howevertherewasagreatdeallesscriticismofwomenworkersinthepagesofthe

GWRMagazine than during the FirstWorldWar. One reason for thiswas that the

Letterspage,thefocusofmanycriticalmissivesfrommalestaffmembersduringthe

First World War, had been discontinued many years earlier so there were fewer

vehicles for complaint. Also, women workers made up a larger percentage of the

workforce on the outbreak of the Second World War and the precedent for their

employmenthadbeensetduringtheFirstWorldWar,thereforetheiremploymentdid

notcomeasasurprisetothemaleworkforce.

Articlesdidappearthat focusedonthemoreunusual jobsthatwomenwere

employedtodoforthedurationoftheWarinasimilarveintothosewhichappeared

duringtheFirstWorldWar,forexample,‘WomenPorters“GoToIt”ontheGWR’and

the success of an experimental trial of female train announcers, “passengers have

commentedfavourablyontheclearnessandaudibilityoftheirannouncements.”379An

articleon ‘War-timeWomenEmployees’commentedonthe fact that fourthousand

femaleclerkshadbeendoingthejobforanumberofyearsbuttherewerenowalso

twothousandfemaleporters.Itcontinued,“Notallrailwayworkshopsaresuitablefor

womenemployees”butfiftyfemalepoliceofficerswerealsoemployed,andtheycould

379GWRM,53,(1941)3and5,p.73andp.126

149

do the job just aswell as theirmale colleagues,who “have readily recognised their

abilities.”380Thisdemonstratedthatwomenweremoreacceptedthaneverbeforeas

railwayworkers,fromtheCompany’sperspectiveatleast.

TheExtendedEmploymentofWomenAgreementof1940grantedwomenwho

wereworkingin‘men’sjobs’withoutassistanceorsupervisiontherighttoequalpay,

ensuringthattheycouldnotbeemployedtoundercutmen’swages.TheRestorationof

Pre-warTradePracticesActof1942guaranteedthatwomenwouldnotcontinue in

rolesdesignatedasmale-onlyafterthewar.Thishelpedtoallaymanyrailwaymen’s

fears and does not appear to have elicited much opposition from female railway

workers.AnarticleinGWRMagazineinJuly1942demonstratesthattheCompanywas

onlytooawareoftheseconcernsandsoughttoprevent,withsomesuccess,unrestand

tension between male and female workers. ‘Women Locomotive Builders at the

SwindonWorks’explainedhowtheintroductionofwomenintoSwindonWorkswas

managedbythe“co-operationofthemanagementandthemen”.Thearticlestatedthat

itwasdifficulttodecidewhichjobswomenweresuitableforandinthatrespect,they

oftentooktheplacesofjuniorsorsemi-skilledmenintheWorks.Althoughthearticle

argued that the “introduction ofwomen atSwindonhas beenwell justified” it also

statedthatmen’sjobsneededtobeprotected.381Thiswasinordertominimizeany

conflictbetweenmaleandfemaleemployeesorrailwaymenandtheiremployersand

tocreatesustainedbarrierstowomen’sparticipationintherailwayindustry.

380GWRM,53,9(1941)p.233381GWRM,54,7(1942)pp.123-124

150

3.8 Conclusion

Theloyaltythattherailwaycompanieswereabletofosterintheirrailwaymen

andthewider‘railwayfamily’ismostaptlydemonstratedbyapoem,writtenbyElbert

Hubbard,whichwassentintotheGWRmagazinebyoneofthestaffatGloucesterand

wasaffixedtothewallintheiroffice:

“Ifyouworkforaman,inheaven'snameworkforhim.Ifhepaysyouwages

whichsupplyyoubreadandbutter,workforhim;speakwellofhim;standbyhim,and

standbytheinstitutionherepresents.Ifputtoapinch,anounceofloyaltyiswortha

poundofcleverness.Ifyoumustvilify,condemn,andeternallydisparage,resignyour

position,andwhenyouareoutside,damntoyourheart'scontent,butaslongasyou

are part of the institutiondo not condemn it. If you do that, you are loosening the

tendrilsthatareholdingyoutotheinstitution,andatthefirsthighwindthatcomes

along,youwillbeuprootedandblownaway,andwillprobablyneverknowthereason

why.”382

Thispoemencapsulateshowrailwaymenweresupposedtofeeltowardstheir

railwaycompanyandwaspublishedintheGWRmagazinetodemonstratetheloyalty

theywere able to inspire in theirworkers. The subtext of the poem is also critical

towardsunions,anotherreasonforitspublicationinthecompanymagazine.Oneof

themostimportantusesoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’forrailwaycompanieswas

tocompetewiththegrowingstrengthoftradeunionsfortheloyaltyoftheiremployees

and non-working familymembers. Loyalty, they believed,would prevent industrial

unrest,createabetter,moreefficientworkforceandencourageworkerstorealisethat

382GWRM,59,2(1947)p.36

151

theirwelfarewasboundupwiththeCompany,ratherthanwithatradeunion.Aswell

astakingcareoftheiremployees,withhighly-skilledandmoreefficientworkersthe

railwaycompaniesstoodtomakemoreprofitsandearnabetterreputation.

Therailwaycompaniesusedtheirmagazinesindifferingwaystomaintainthe

ideaof the ‘railwayfamily’andevenextend it in timesofcrisis.Byencouragingthe

participationofrailwaymen,femaleworkersandnon-workingwivesandchildrenin

companysponsoredsocialandsportingactivitiesandbyprovidingforthehousingand

educationalneedsofthestaff,railwaycompaniesdemonstratedtotheiremployeesand

moreimportantly,totheirnon-workingfamilymemberswhytheyshouldremainloyal

to the company and what the Company could offer to them in return. Railway

companies experienced difficult circumstances in this period, such as economic

depressionorduringthetwoWorldWars,andtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasused

to demonstrate to railwaymen why they needed to work hard and help make the

companymoreefficient.Manyotheremployeescouldnotclaimtoworkforacompany

thatprovidedhousing,sportingfacilities,socialclubsandeducationfortheirworkers

aswellasastablejobandrelativelygoodwages.Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’was

alsousedtostabilizethecompaniesduringtimesofinternalcrisis,forexamplewith

the introductionofwomenworkersor theamalgamationsof1923.Despite facinga

hostilereception,womenworkersweredrawnintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’with

positivearticlesandphotographs featuring inthemagazineandtheir inclusion into

most sports and social clubs supported by the railway companies. By allowing

railwaymen theopportunity toexpress their feelingsaboutwomenworkerson the

pages of the magazines and allowing these female workers the right to reply, the

152

company were attempting to prevent this discord from entering their workspaces

whichtheydidwithsomesuccess.

Fromtheliteratureconcerningcompanymagazines,thewaysthattherailway

companies utilised the idea of the ‘railway family’ within theirmagazineswas not

unexpected.Occasionally,dependingontheviewsofthewritersoreditors,someofthe

opinionspropoundedinthemagazinesdidnotconformtothetraditionalfamilyvalues

thatthemagazinesespoused.ThiswasparticularlythecasewiththeLNWRwomen’s

page,‘TeaTableTopics’whichwasaprogressiveforceforwomeninanerawhenmany

werecampaigningforgreatersocial,economicandpoliticalrightsforwomen.Afterthe

FirstWorldWar,andparticularlyduringthelatterhalfofthe1920sandintothe1930s,

the contentofmanyof the railwaycompanymagazinesbecamemorehomogenous,

propagatingaversionoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’thatwasverytraditionaland

focusedaroundmalebreadwinnersandwivesashomemakers.Throughouttheperiod

1900to1948however,theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’asatraditionalfamilyunitand

as awider railway communitywas a consistent force inmuch of the content that

appearedwithin railway companymagazines.Change over timewithin the railway

companymagazines was limited – they found a successful formula for dispensing

paternalism, and later their industrial welfare, which encouraged a community of

railwayworkersandtheirfamiliestoformaroundeachdiscretecompany.Inturn,this

enhancedthebondfeltbyemployeesandtheirfamilymemberstothecompanythat

tookcareofthem.Thus,theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasasuccessfultoolinensuring

the loyalty of railway company employees and their non-working familymembers

throughouttheperiod.

153

TRADE UNIONS AND THE ‘RAILWAY FAMILY’ IN PRINT MEDIA

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasapproachedinadifferentwaybyrailway

tradeunionsthanitwasbyrailwaycompanies.Theactualterm‘railwayfamily’was

usedverylittleinliteraturedirectedtowardstradeunionmembersandtheirfamilies.

However, themainthemesof loyalty,supportandmutualendeavourwerestrongly

encouraged and implied within much of the writing that was issued by and for

railwaymenandtheirnon-workingfamilymembers.Theuseoftheterms‘brother’and

‘sister’ to refer to fellowmembers of the trade union, rather thanmembers of the

nuclear family, was common practice amongst trade unions but it has wider

significance forthe ideaof the ‘railwayfamily’andrailwaytradeunions.Theuseof

these terms implies that there was already an existing quasi-family relationship

between trade union members without the intervention of the unions or their

emphasisonthe‘railwayfamily’.Therefore,tradeunionssoughttofocusontheroleof

womenandchildrenwhowerenotfulltradeunionmembersintheirdeploymentof


Itwas in the interestsof the tradeunions tosecure the loyaltyof thewider

‘railway family’; they preferred to include women and children in the idea of the

‘railwayfamily’throughtheirownseparateactivities.Thisallowedthetradeunionsto

maintainanappropriatedistancebetweentheirfullmalemembersandtheassociated

or temporary femalemembers.This tacticofkeepingwomenseparateandunequal

was primarily to ensure the continued domination of the rights of male railway

154

workersovertheirfemalecolleagues,includingprotectingmen’swages,theirjobsand

theideologyofthemalebreadwinner.383Bydrawingwomenandchildrenintotheidea

ofthe‘railwayfamily’,therailwaytradeunionswereattemptingtostrengthentheir

membership base and encourage the involvement of a railwayman’s family in

campaigns that affected them, yet prevent any discord amongst members or

accusationsthatthegrowingnumberoffemalerailwayworkerswerethreateningthe

wagesandlivelihoodsoftheirmalemembers.Thesuccessofthesestrategieswillbe

discussedinthischapter.

4.1 Thegrowthofrailwaytradeunions

As A.E. Musson has argued, trade union history cannot be written in a

vacuum.384 It is important to consider the political, economic, legal, and the social

conditionswithwhichrailwaytradeunionismandtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’was

founded, grew andmaintained. Trade unions emergedwithin the railway industry

fromthe1870sbuttheygrewslowlyandfacedmanychallengesoverthefirstforty

years.PhillipBagwell,inhishistoryoftheNationalUnionofRailwaymenstatesthat,

“Therecanbenodoubtthatthescaleswereheavilyweightedagainstanytradeunion

activityontherailwaysduringthefirstfortyyearsoftheirrapidexpansion.”385The

Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS)was founded in 1871 as the first

generalunionforrailwayworkers.Previouslyonlyskilledrailwaymenwereable to

joinacraftunion,whichattemptedtoprotecttheirskillsratherthantheiremployment

383Fraser,W.Hamish,AHistoryofBritishTradeUnionism1700-1998(MacmillanPress,London,1999)p.133384Musson,A.E.,TradeUnionsandSocialHistory(FrankCassandCompanyLtd,London,1974)p.1385Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,p.28

155

rights. The formation of the ASRS opened up trade unionism to larger numbers of

railway workers, although it was not until the foundation of the General Railway

WorkersUnionin1889thatlow-paidgradesandworkshopstaffwereencouragedto

join a trade union.386 Trade union activity gradually became more widespread

throughoutallindustriesinBritainduringthelatterhalfofthenineteenthcentury.The

formationoftheTradesUnionCongressin1868cementedthesegains.387Thegrowth

in trade unionism also encouraged the formation of the Labour Party in 1906,

supportedbyfinancialcontributionsfromtradeunionmembers.388Theorganisations

withwhichrailwaytradeunionsalliedthemselveswithdictatedsomeofthecontent

of their newspapers and magazines, as the trade unions sought to inform their

members on these associations and encourage them to give their wholehearted

support.

In 1913, the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR)was formed through the

amalgamationof theASRSwiththeGeneralRailwayWorkersUnionandtheUnited

PointsmenandSignalmen’sSociety.389Theamalgamatedunionopeneditselfuptoany

male railwayworkeremployedon therailways.390Theearlyyearsof the twentieth

centurywereaturningpointforrailwaytradeunionsanditwasduringthiserathat

theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’becameanimportantstrategyfortradeunions.Itwas

usedinmultiplewaysinordertofosterloyaltyamongstthemembershipofthevarious

national railway trade unions both in relation to one another and against railway

386Howell,RespectableRadicals,pp.6-7387Thane,Cassell’sCompanion,p.387388Ibid.,p.224389Throughoutthischapter,NURreferstotheamalgamatedunionfrom1913whilstASRSreferstotheunionbefore1913only.390Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,p.335

156

company management as industrial relations became increasingly strained. Trade

unionswerepresentedwithaseriesofchallengesduringthefirsthalfofthetwentieth

centurywhichforcedthemtoadaptthewaythattheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’was

deployedinordertofostersolidaritybetweenandbeyondtheirmembership.

Trade unions in the railway industry emerged late and grew slowly in

comparisontootherlarge-scaleBritishindustries,forexampletheunionswithinthe

cottonindustry.391Craftunions,prevalentintheworkshopsofrailwaytownssuchas

Derby and Crewe, emerged much earlier, but these were a way of protecting the

integrityofthecraftaswellasensuringthecontinuedjobsecurityoftheskilledmen

withintheunion.Thecraftunionsencouragedtheirmemberstore-enterthelabour

market forhigherwages, established strict codesofdisciplineandprovidedawide

varietyofsocialeventstobondmemberstogetherandwelfareschemesandsickclubs

toprotectmembersintheeventofillhealthorunemployment.392Theyrecruitedonly

theskilledmenoftheworkshops,meaningotherrailwaygradesandsemi-skilledand

unskilled labourers were left without a union and reinforced the divisions and

stratificationsamongstrailwayemployees.Tradeunionsatthispointintimewerenot

actingasacohesiveforceamongstrailwayemployeesandwereinsteadenhancingthe

divisionsbetweenrailwaymenofdifferinggradeboundariesandskilllevels.

From1871,workersfromallgradeswererecruitedintotheASRSexceptthe

semi-skilledandunskilled fromtheworkshopswhohadtowaituntil1889andthe

formationoftheGeneralRailwayWorkersUnion(GRWU).393Locomotivedriversand

391Joyce,P,Work,SocietyandPolitics(MethuenandCoLtd,London,1982)discussestheadventoftradeunionsinthecottonindustryfromthe1830sand1840s.392Drummond,Crewe:RailwayTown,CompanyandPeople,p.76393Howell,RespectableRadicals,p.6

157

firemenhad a separate union, theAssociatedSociety of Locomotive Engineers and

Firemen (ASLEF), which was formed in 1880 after the Great Western Railway

Company’slongestservingdriversandfiremenhadtheirpaycutandtheASRSrefused

tosupportanyactiontorectifythissituation.Railwaycompaniesvehementlydisliked

these new unions and promised that they would not recognise or deal with

representativesfromtheunionsandwouldtakeactionagainstemployeeswhowere

foundtobemembers.394Thisprovedtobecomemorechallengingwhenrailwaytrade

unionsgrewinsizeandstrength.

Railway clerks also formed their own union in 1897, and members were

sanctionedforjoiningtheRailwayClerksAssociation(RCA)byrailwaycompanies.395

Thisstuntedthegrowthoftheunion,althoughby1904theyhad4000members.396

Between1904and1918,membershiprosefrom7%ofrailwayclerksto61%.397The

concertedoppositionofrailwaycompaniesandtheirfrequentamalgamationswhich

threatenedsecurityandpromotionslaidthefoundationsforthemassunionisationof

railwayclerks.398However,theintroductionofthousandsoffemaleclerksduringthe

FirstWorldWarwasalsoofprimaryconcerntotheRCA.Theentryoffemaleclerks

into the railway workforce occurred much later than many other white-collar

industries; the GreatWestern Railway Company (GWR) experimentedwith female

clerks from 1909,whereas the Prudential Insurance firmwas the first business to

394Ward,J.TandFraser,W.Hamish,WorkersandEmployers.DocumentsonTradeUnionsandIndustrialRelationsinBritainsincetheEighteenthCentury(MacmillanPress,London,1980)p.164395RailwayClerksAssociationofGreatBritainandNorthernIreland,RailwayClerksAssociation1897–1947:FiftyyearsofTradeUnionEndeavour(London,1947)p.5396Ibid.,p.7397Lockwood,TheBlackCoatedWorker,p.149398Ibid.,p.149

158

utilise female labour in theiroffices in1871.399Thehuge increase in thenumberof

female clerks during the First World War threatened the stability and security of

employment for male railway clerks and these roles were not covered by the

RestorationofPre-WarPracticesAct,1919whichforcedwomenfromthe‘men’sjobs’

thattheyhadundertakenduringthewar.400By1917membershipoftheRCAhadrisen

to58,661, indicatingtheperceivednecessityof theunionforbothmaleandfemale

clerks.401Womenworkerswereagrowing factor in the ideaof the ‘railway family’

throughoutthisperiodandthewaysthatthetradeunions,andparticularlytheRCA,

dealtwithwomenworkerswillbediscussedinthischapter.

Thelackofrecognitionaffordedtothetradeunionsbytherailwaycompanies

beforetheFirstWorldWarcontributedtotheirslowemergence.Asrailwaycompanies

didnotofficiallyrecognisetherightsoftradeunions,theyrefusedtonegotiatewith

themorevenmeettheirleaders.ItwasnotuntiltheConciliationAgreementin1907

thatrailwaycompanieswereforcedtoconsiderthepetitionsoftradeunionsinorder

toavoidastrike.Manyoftherailwaycompaniesdislikedthisagreementandviewedit

asanalternativetotradeunionrecognition.402 Workerscomplainedthattheyfaced

intimidation by managers who disrupted negotiations and continued to ignore

petitions.403This continued tomake itdifficult for theunions tonegotiatewith the

railwaycompaniesandtherefore,inthefaceofadverseworkingconditionsandlow

wages,railwaymenwentonstrikein1911.Thiswasawellorganisedstrikethatunited

399Jordan,Ellen,‘TheLadyClerksatthePrudential:TheBeginningofVerticalSegregationbySexinClericalWorkinNineteenthCenturyBritain’,GenderandHistory,8,1(1996)p.67400Scott,PeterandWalker,JamesTrevor,‘Demonstratingdistinctionat‘thelowestedgeoftheblack-coatedclass’:ThefamilyexpenditureofEdwardianrailwayclerks’,BusinessHistory,57,4(2015)p.568401RailwayClerksAssociation,RailwayClerksAssociation1897–1947,p.17402Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,p.271403Howell,RespectableRadicals,p.14

159

alltherailwayunionsandforcedthecompaniesintoanuntenableposition.Timetables

weregreatlydisruptedandtherewereanxietiesovercoalandfoodsupplies.Troops

weredispatchedtocertainareas,leadingtoconfrontationsbetweenthetroops,police

andtheworking-classcrowdsthathadgathered.404Aftertwodays,theGovernment

forcedtherailwaycompaniesandtheunionstogetherthusaffordingtheunionsthe

recognitionthattheydesired.

McKennaclaimsthatitwasthisstrikethatgavetherailwaytradeunionsthe

recognitionthattheyhadbeenfightingfor.Yetitappearsthatsomerailwaycompanies

stillcontinuedtotakeahardlineagainstthem;HowellstatesthattheMidlandRailway

CompanywascondemnedbytheASRSfortheirbullyingandintimidationofworkers

who had taken part in the 1911 strike on their return to work.405 Although some

Companiescontinuedtopenalisestrikersandmembersofrailwaytradeunions,the

processofrecognitionhadbegun.WiththeadventoftheNationalUnionofRailwaymen

in1913andFirstWorldWarin1914,railwaycompanieshadtonegotiatewithtrade

unionstoensurethesmoothrunningoftherailways.

Political cases and judgements also adverselyaffected the capabilities of the

railwaytradeunionsduringtheearly1900s.ItwastheTaffValecaseof1901andthe

Osbornejudgementof1909thatpreoccupiedtherailwayunionsintheearlyyearsof

thetwentiethcenturyandstuntedtheirgrowthandeffectiveness.TheTaffValecase

wasbroughtagainsttheASRSbytheTaffValeRailwayCompanyin1900.Theywanted

tosuetheASRSforlossofearningscausedbyastrikeontheirrailwayin1890.This

was the first strike officially sponsored by the ASRS after the company refused to

404Ibid.,p.15405McKenna,TheRailwayWorkers,p.58andHowell,RespectableRadicals,p.21

160

negotiatewiththeiremployeesovertheirpetitionforaguaranteedweek’spayanda

maximum60-hourweek.AfteraweekofnegotiationwithEdwardHarford,theASRS

Secretary,theTaffValeCompanyagreedtothedemandsforallfull-timeemployees.406

However,in1900theTaffValeRailwayCompanybroughtanactionagainsttheASRS.

AfteraseriesofjudgementsandappealstheHouseofLordsupheldthat,“althoughthe

ASRSwasnotacorporatebody,theunioncouldbesuedinacorporatecapacityfor

damagesallegedtohavebeencausedbytheactionsofitsofficers.”407TheASRShadto

pay£23,000fromitsfundstotheTaffValeCompany.408Thepositionoftheunionswas

nowin jeopardy-althoughstrikingwasnot illegal,unions facedbeingsued if their

memberswentonstrike.Thus,thenumberoftradedisputesduringtheyears1901to

1906wasminimalandcertainlybroughtaboutaquietperiodinthehistoryofrailway

trade unions. During this period, membership of the Labour Representation

Committee(LRC)greatlyincreasedastradeunionsaffiliatedtothegroupinthehope

ofparliamentaryreformintheirfavour.409AftertheGeneralElectionof1906returned

twenty-nine Labour MPs and a Liberal landslide, Keir Hardie the Labour MP for

MerthyrTydfil introducedtheTradeDisputesBill intoParliamentthatreversedthe

decisionoftheHouseofLordsintheTaffValecaseandensuredthattradeunionscould

notbesuedforstrikeactiontakenbytheirmembers.410

TheOsbornecaseand judgementalsodiverted theattentionsof tradeunion

Executive Committees and members away from campaigns about wages and

406Ibid.,pp.137–139.407Saville,John,‘TheTradeDisputesActof1906’HistoricalStudiesinIndustrialRelations,1(1996),p.15408Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,p.224409Saville,‘TheTradeDisputesAct’,p.15410Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,pp.226–227andSaville,‘TheTradeDisputesAct’,AppendixAandAppendixB,pp.41-43

161

conditionsbetween1909and1913.In1903,ASRSmembershadtopayaoneshilling

levy in support of ASRS parliamentary candidates and the union decreed that all

railwaymencandidateshadtobeapprovedbytheLRC.411Thiscausedagreatdealof

consternationforsupportersoftheLiberalandConservativePartieswithintheASRS.

Walter Osborne, branch Secretary for Walthamstow ASRS threatened legal action

against theUnion in1905 if this situationwasnot remedied.412By1906, theASRS

requiredallparliamentarycandidatestosigntheLabourPartyconstitutionsoOsborne

decidedtomountacaseagainst theASRS,claimingthat tradeunionrepresentation

shouldbeindependentandnotassociatedwiththeLabourParty.TheHouseofLords

delivered their judgement in 1909 and found that “trade union spending on

parliamentary representation was ultra vires – that is, beyond the lawful powers

possessed by unions under governing statute.”413 As Klarman argues, this decision

wentfurtherthanOsborneexpected–notonlydiditpreventtheASRSfundingLabour

Party candidates, they were also prohibited from funding Liberal or Conservative

candidatesaswellas“contributionstolocaltradescouncilsandtheTUC,deputations

toministers, educational spending, investment in a Labour newspaper, and several

otherunionactivities.”414This severely limited the scopeof theASRSand all other

tradeunions.ThedecisionplacedallunionsandtheirrepresentativeMPs,regardless

ofpoliticalaffiliation,inthesamesituation;by1911areversaloftherulingwasbeing

debatedinParliamentandin1913theTradeUnionActpartiallyreversedtheOsborne

judgement.415TheTradeUnionActdeclaredthatTradeUnionscouldspendmoneyon

411Klarman,M.,‘Osborne:ajudgementgonetoofar?’,EnglishHistoricalReview,1988,p.21412Ibid.,p.22413Ibid.,p.27414Ibid.,p.34415Ibid.,p.39

162

politicalaimsaslongasmembersvotedforitinasecretballot,moneycamefroma

separatefundtothegeneralfundandmemberscouldoptoutiftheydidnotwantto

paytowardstheseaims.416AshasbeendemonstratedbyBagwell,SavilleandKlarman

and indicatedby these conclusions, the firstdecadesof the twentieth centurywere

dominated by political upheaval that prevented the trade unions from effectively

pursuingtheiraimsandassistingtheirmembers.

DuringtheFirstWorldWar,theNURcampaignedforawarbonusforrailway

workers and their families who were hit hard by rising prices and rationing. The

Governmentwasanxioustoavoidanystoppagesandstrikesweremadeillegalin1915

bytheMunitionsofWarAct.417Bagwellclaimsthatrailwaymenwererestrainedwhen

itcametocampaigningformoremoneyduringtheWarastheyweremindfuloftheir

colleagues fighting at the Front.418 Therefore in 1919 with the end of the War,

railwaymenexpectedtoberewardedfor theirdedicationandhardwork.However,

they continued to suffer from poor working conditions, long hours and a reduced

standardofliving.NegotiationsbetweentheNUR,ASLEFandtheGovernmentbroke

downandajointstrikewasdeclared.Theco-operationbetweenthetwounionsproved

tobeeffectivewithmanyRCAmembersalsorefusingtoactasblacklegsandstrike

breakersforthecompanies.419Duringthenine-daystrike,unionmembersusedtheir

timetohelpraise funds,utilisedthemediatopublicise thestrugglesof therailway

workersandorganisedentertainments tokeep strikersamused.Activities included

416Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,p.256417‘TradeUnionsandtheLaw’,http://humanities.uwe.ac.uk/bhr/Main/trade_union/6_law.htmfromDawson,K.,&Wall,P.,SocietyandIndustryinthe19thCentury:Theproblemofpoverty(Vol.5).(OxfordUP,1969)(24/11/14)418Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,p.356419TheRailwayServiceJournal,16,192(1919)p.262

163

marchesandfootballmatcheswhilstwivesofrailwaymenprovidedtherefreshments

at these events and also organised concerts in the evenings.420 Fearing that other

unionswouldbepromptedtojointhestrike,theGovernmentagreedasettlementwith

theNURandALSEF,stabilisingwageswiththecostof living.421This then ledtothe

PrimeMinister,LloydGeorge,invitingmembersoftheNURandASLEFtojoinboththe

Central and the National Wages Board, both of which were established to help

negotiate wages and working conditions. The Government also published aWhite

PaperinJune1920whichstatedthat,“theGovernmentareoftheopinionthatthetime

hasarrivedwhentheworkers,bothofficialandmanualworkers,shouldhavesome

voiceinmanagement.”422Thisstep,combinedwiththefullrecognitionoftradeunions

byrailwaycompaniesachievedby1918,helpedtocreatetheideathatrailwaytrade

unionismcouldbeviewedas‘respectable’andencouragedthefurtherextensionofthe

ideaofthe‘railwayfamily’toincludethewivesandnon-workingfamilymembersof

tradeunionrailwaymen.423By1920bothrailwayworkersandtherailwayunionswere

in a much stronger position and had finally emerged as powers able to rival the

authority,controlandpaternalismofrailwaycompanies.

4.2 Tradeunionsandtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

Tradeunionsutilisedtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’inadifferentwaytorailway

companiesalthoughtheyusedasimilarmedium–theirnewspapers.Initially,theidea

ofthe‘railwayfamily’wasusedtobondmalememberstogetherwitheachotherand

420Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,pp.391-392421Ibid.,p.398422Ibid.,pp.408-409423Howell,RespectableRadicals,p.9

164

withotherrailwayunions inBritainand internationally.Womenandchildrenwere

included in the ideabut inamoredistinct and separateway;women’s tradeunion

auxiliaries,discussedinChapter5,providedseparatespacesfornon-workingwomen

to become involved in trade union fundraising, campaigning and the creation of a

supportnetworkforthefemalemembersofthetradeunion‘railwayfamily’.Another

importantfactorintheextensionofthetradeunionideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasthat

railway workers came to the realisation that loyalty to their Company could be

subdivided,andthiswasmostkeenlydemonstratedbyunionandcompanyinsignia

beingworntogether.424AsdiscussedinChapter3inrelationtotherailwaycompanies,

therewasashiftinideasaboutthenatureofloyaltyandthe‘railwayfamily’whichalso

affectedtradeunions.Thischapterwillfocusonhowtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

wasusedandextendedbyboththeASRS,theNUR,theRCAandASLEF.Alltheseunions

hadanewspaperfortheirmemberswhichwasanimportanttoolinthedissemination

oftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Women’spages,compiledandeditedbythewivesof

railwaymenandmembersofthewomen’stradeunionauxiliaries,drewnon-working

womenandchildrenintotherailwayfamilyandcontrastedwiththemale-editedpages

oftherestofthenewspaper.

4.2.1 TheRailwayReview

The NUR utilised The Railway Review to shape andmanage the idea of the

‘railway family’. One of the key ways that the idea of the ‘railway family’ was

promulgatedwasthroughthelanguageusedtodescribethe‘railwayfamily’andthe

424McKenna,TheRailwayWorkers,p.60

165

relationshipbetweenNURmembers,theirfamiliesandthetradeunioningeneral.The

term ‘railwayfamily’wasnotoftenusedexplicitly todescribethisrelationship.The

language that was used included describing all railwaymen and their wives and

children as “members of one family” and encouraging all members and those

associatedwiththeuniontounderstandthebenefitsthattheNURcouldprovide.425It

wascommonduringthisperiodfortradeunionmemberstodescribethemselvesas

‘brothers’ – thiswasnotunique torailway tradeunions.However,membersof the

RailwayWomen’sGuildalsobegantodescribethemselvesas“sisters”.426Anotherterm

thatwas utilised in relation to olderGuildmemberswas “railwaymothers”,which

againmadereferencetotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andalsoaffordedthesewomen

extrarespectfromGuildmembersandfromrailwaymen.Thistermwasusedinaletter

from a railwayman in 1940 that characterised Guildmembersworking on railway

stations as “our railway mothers”.427 One member of the Guild also used the

pseudonym‘GuildMother’whenshewrotetoTheRailwayReviewpraisingtheworkof

theunion,theGuildandtheReview.428Thus,thelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’was

beingusedbythoseitcametodescribe.

Membership of the ASRS was considered to be “the truest index of a

railwaymen’sloveforhiswifeandchildren”.429Byconflatingmembershipoftheunion

withtheamountamancared forhis family, thetradeunionwasattemptingtouse

emotionaltiestoencouragerailwaymentojoin.Byextension,membershipwasaway

to take care of their family through associational benefits. The link between

425TheRailwayReview,1/6/1900,p9and11/10/1901,p.11426TheRailwayReview,22/9/1905,p12427TheRailwayReview,3/5/1940,p.11428TheRailwayReview,7/1/1921,p.7429TheRailwayReview,2/11/1900

166

membership of the union and care shown towards family and other dependents

continuedthroughouttheperiod,asanarticle in1923statedthat“Thesentimental

sideofsuchanindustryastherailwaysisverypronouncedamongstrailwaymen.”430

Imageswereoftenusedofwomenandchildrentoemphasisethepointthattheunion

was trying tomakewith regard towages and conditions. The cartoon in Figure 7

depictsthestrugglefamiliesfacedduetoaccidentsandinjuriesandwasintendedto

encouragerailwaymentojointheunion,ortogivetheirwivesthenecessarytoolsto

persuadethemtobecomemembers.

430TheRailwayReview,5/1/1923,p.1

167

Figure7.AcartoonfromTheRailwayReview,08/01/1904,p.9.MSS.127/AS/4/1/11

168

AnotherparticularlyimportantwaythatfemalereadersofTheRailwayReview

wereengagedintheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasthroughtheprovisionofacolumn

forwomenwhichexpandedin1928tobecomeafullpage.Initiallythiscolumnwasfor

theRailwayWomen’sGuild,thewomen’sauxiliaryoftheNUR,asawayforthemto

correspondwitheachotherandsharenewsabouttheiractivities.431In1928,another

columnbeganentitled‘MainlyforWomen’whichincludedrecipes,healthandlifestyle

tips.432Thetitleisinterestingasitsuggeststhatthecontentofthecolumnwasnotjust

forwomen, although it contained very little thatwas typically thought of to be of

interest to men. The column was targeted towards the wives of railwaymen and

discussedavarietyofinstructiveandentertainingtopics.Onecolumn,shortlyafterits

introduction, included information about the history of dancing, a poem about the

weather,adviceonhowtoremovescarsandhowtocleanbrasses.Therewasalsoa

recipe forbeefballs anda recommendation toavoid “marriedslackness”as“It is a

mistaketoleavealltheefforttothemanandthentoblamehimwhenheadmiresand

praisessomeplainlittlewomanwhounderstandsthemeaningof“makingthemostof

herself”.”433Thisadvicecolumncontinuedtoentrenchgenderdivisionsamongstmen

andwomenwithinthetradeunionandpromotedthesortsoftopicsthatwivesshould

concernthemselveswith,whichfocusedparticularlyonthehomeandfamily.

Byincludingacolumnforwomenintheirnewspaper,theNURwerehopingto

encouragethewivesofrailwaymentoreadtheirnewspaperanddrawthemintothe

ideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Theywereusingasimilartactictorailwaycompanieswho

431TheRailwayWomen’sGuildwillbediscussedindetailinthenextchapter432TheRailwayReview,6/1/1928,p.6433TheRailwayReview,20/1/1928,p.6

169

alsoproducedwomen’spageswithintheirmagazines.Byincludingapageforwomen,

thenewspaper couldhaveamorediverse audience andwiveswere encouraged to

learnabout the issuesaffecting railwaymen inorder tobecomemorewell-rounded

members of the ‘railway family’. The interaction of women with this page, as

demonstratedby the letters thatwere featured, confirms that this aimwasat least

partlysuccessful.However,itwasclaimedonthepagethatithadbeenan“awfuljob”

togettheEditortograntawomen’spage–ifthiswasthecase,itseemsatoddswith

the NUR’s aim of encouraging non-workingwomen to become part of the ‘railway

family’.434

Thiscolumnwasextendedtoapagein1928because“thewomenhavebecome

importantnowthenewfranchisehasgiventhemamajority,andalltheworkofthe

menintheTradeUnionscanbeeasilysetasidebyawrongvoteatelectiontimes.”435

ThisacknowledgesthatwomenbecameanimportantforcetotheNURwhentheywere

included in the extension of the franchise.Women voters could upset the political

undertakingsoftradeunionsinrelationtotheLabourParty,especiallyiftheydidnot

voteinawaythatassistedtheunions.Thepagewasinitiallyalengthierversionofthe

‘MainlyforWomen’columnandincludedacookerysectionandafreesewingpattern

introducedduringthe1930s.Early initsextendedformat, thepagewasthreatened

duetoaperceivedlackofinterest.However,itwascontinuedandmetwithgreater

success,possiblyafterthethreattoremovethepageentirelywasreceivedandletters

weresentprotestingaboutthis.436Suchpageswereusedtoencouragethriftandself-

434TheRailwayReview,27/4/1928,p.5435TheRailwayReview,13/4/1928,p.3436TheRailwayReview,8/6/1928,p.6

170

sufficiencyamongstthewivesanddaughtersofrailwaymen.Theseelementshelpedto

appealtoabroadersectionofrailwaymen’swives,apingpopulistwomen’smagazines

ofthetime.437Inasimilarwaytothecompanymagazinewomen’spagesdiscussedin

Chapter 3, the increased cookery and sewing contentwere designed to encourage

appropriatehobbiesforwomen;notonlywascookeryandsewingpractical,theycould

alsobeconsideredafunwayfornon-workingwivesanddaughterstopassthetime.

Childrenwereakeypriority for theNURas theywere considered tobe the

futureof the tradeunionand labourmovement ingeneral.Theywere also seenas

importantmembersof the ‘railwayfamily’.Articlesappeared inTheRailwayReview

thatdiscussedthevalueofeducatingchildrenintradeunionismandthebenefitsthe

NUR could reap from parents undertaking this task.438 The discussion of the best

practicesforraisingchildrenoftenappearedonthewomen’spage,astheNURstrongly

believedinthemalebreadwinnermodel,wherebymenearnedenoughthroughtheir

wagestoprovide for their families,andwivesprimarily tookcareof thehouseand

children.439TheRailwayReviewappealedtochildrendirectly,introducingacolouring

competition inSeptember1934which the childrenwere required tosend to “Aunt

Kitty”,suggestingapersonalandfamilialrelationshipwiththeEditorofthepage.440

This created a relationship between the children of railwaymen and the NUR,

extendingtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Thiselementforchildrenwasnotincluded

onthepageeveryweek,butwhenitdidappearitwasoftenintheformofacolouring

competitionthattheEditorsknewwouldappealtobothboysandgirls.441Storieswere

437White,Women’sMagazines1693–1968,p.104438TheRailwayReview,2/12/1932,p.1439TheRailwayReview,4/5/1928,p.3440TheRailwayReview,7/9/1934,p.10441TheRailwayReview,7/9/1934,p.10

171

alsoincludedforchildren,particularlyatChristmastime,whichdrewchildrenfurther

intothe‘railwayfamily’throughreadingtheseinTheRailwayReviewdirectlyorasa

resultoftheirparentsreadingthesestoriestothem.442Engagingwiththenewspaper

encouragedchildrentoseethemselvesasanimportantfacetofthetradeunionandthe

‘railwayfamily’.Therewasnosectionassuchforolderchildrenorteenagersbecause

itwasassumedthattheywouldalreadybeworkingandenrolledintheunionorpart

oftheRailwayWomen’sGuildwiththeirmothers.Therefore,theyweresubsumedinto

thewideraudienceofTheRailwayReview.

From the 1920s onwards, the NUR used targeted advertising within their

newspaperaimedtowardsthefamilymembersofrailwaymen,inordertopersuade

themtojointheapprovedsocietiesoftheNUR.TheadvertinFigure8isjustoneofa

numberthatappearedinTheRailwayReviewencouragingrailwaymentoenroltheir

familymembersintheNURApprovedSociety.


172

Figure8.AnadvertinTheRailwayReview,4/5/1928,p.16.MSS.127/NU/4/1/16

173

These societies provided similar benefits to the railway company approved

societies–insuranceagainstillness,deathoraccidentandprotectionforwidowsand

orphans.Byencouragingfamilymemberstojointhesocieties,theNURwaswidening

their reachandutilising the ideaof the ‘railway family’ to competeagainst railway

company approved societies for the support of railwaymen and their families.

Increasedmembershipalsoensuredthatthefundsofthesesocietieswerebolstered

andthereforemoreabletoprovidesupportduringdifficulttimes.Wives,widowsand

daughters were also encouraged to join the “approved section for women” in the

RailwayWomen’sGuildcolumninTheRailwayReviewasearlyas1913.443

The Railway Reviewprovided a platform for debate aboutmany issues that

affectedtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’anditsmembers.Oneofthemostimportantof

thesewastheprovisionoffamilyallowances.Familyallowanceswerefirstproposed

byEleanorRathbonein1918whofeltthata‘familywage’wasnotsufficienttoprevent

risingchildpoverty.Allowancesweretobepaidtomothersinorderthattheyhada

separateincomethatwasnotdependantontheirhusband’sabilitytoearnawageor

theirwillingnesstoshareit.444TheywerefirstdebatedinRathbone’sproposedform

at the Labour Party Conference in 1926 with reports being produced by a joint

committeeoftheLabourPartyandtheTradeUnionCongressin1928and1929.445The

majorityreportstatedthatfamilyallowancesfinancedbytheStateshouldbepaidto

allthosewithchildrenwhowerenotpayingincometax–“Thosepayingincometax

wereexcludedonthegroundsthattheirincomewasalreadyadjustedtofamilysize.”

443TheRailwayReview,14/2/1913,p.7444Land,Hilary,‘TheFamilyWage’,FeministReview,6(1980)p.55445Hall,Phoebe;Land,Hilary;Parker,RoyandWebb,Adrian,‘TheIntroductionofFamilyAllowances:anActofHistoricJustice?’inChange,ChoiceandConflictinSocialPolicy(Heinemann,London,1975)p.167andp.169

174

Theminorityreportconcludedthatsocialservices forallshouldbedevelopedfirst,

rather thana focuson familyallowances.446At theTUCConference in1930, itwas

recommendedthattheminorityreportbeaccepted.Sometradeunionistsvoicedfears

against family allowances due to their perceived ability to weaken the collective

bargaining power of the unions and the potential for discord between single and

marriedmenwithinthetradeunions.447TheminorityreportwasacceptedandtheTUC

didnotdiscusstheprospectofFamilyAllowancesagainuntil1941.TheLabourParty

similarlyfollowedsuit.448

Family allowances were first debated within The Railway Review in 1930,

reflectingthediscussionsattheTUCConferenceandtheacceptanceof theminority

report. The RWG had already indicated that they did not support the ‘Mothers

Pensions’ at the Annual Conference in 1923 as they fearedmen’swageswould be

reducedasaresult.449ArticleswereprintedinTheRailwayReviewthroughout1930

thatrailedagainstfamilyallowances,callinginsteadforhigherwagesformeninorder

thattheycouldbettersupporttheirfamiliesandforthedevelopmentofexistingsocial

services.Lettersandarticlessupportingfamilyallowanceswereprintedinreply.450By

allowingthisdebate,theNURweredemonstratingthattheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

wasimportanttothemandnotonlyweretheydeterminedtoprotectthewagesofthe

malebreadwinner, theywanted toensure that the livesof railwaymen’swivesand

children were improved and allow their members voices to be heard. The Family

AllowancesActcameintoforceinJune1945,withthefirstpaymentsbeingmadeon

446Ibid.,p.169447Land,‘TheFamilyWage’,p.56andHalletal,‘TheIntroductionofFamilyAllowances’,p.169448Halletal,‘TheIntroductionofFamilyAllowances’,p.170andp.186449TheRailwayReview,6/7/1923,p.13450Forexample,TheRailwayReview,21/3/1930,p.1and2/5/1930,p.5

175

the 6th August 1946, sixteen years after they were first discussed in The Railway

Review.451

AnotherissuethatwasdiscussedanddebatedinTheRailwayReviewwasbirth

control. This was an unusual step for a trade union with a male-dominated

membership,howeveritindicatesthestrengthoffeelingthatemergedamongstNUR

members where the health and well-being of their wives, and that of the ‘railway

family’,wasconcerned.KateFisherhasusedoraltestimonytodisputetheassumption

that men held negative attitudes towards birth control in practice.452 The Railway

Review approached the question of birth control as an industrial question; they

believedsmallerfamilieswereofbenefittotheworkerastheyensuredbettermaternal

healthandpreventedhighmortalityand“extremepoverty”.Railwaymenwereadvised

to readMaternity, published by theWomen’s Co-operative Guildwhich included a

numberoflettersfromthewivesofrailwaymen.Theywerethentoaskthemselvesthe

following questions: “Is the health of your wife, the happiness of your home, an

industrialmatter?Arewagesallthatmatter?”453Inthisrespect,theywereputtingthe

welfareofwomen,andthe‘railwayfamily’,abovewages.

TheEditoroftheReviewalsohitoutatmembersofthe“CatholicPress”who

challengedtherightoftradeunionnewspaperstoaddressissueswhichdidnotdirectly

affect theeconomicpositionofworkers– theEditorstatedthat, “Wedonotliveby

breadalone,andthere ismorethanonewayof improvingeconomicconditions.”454

451Revenuebenefits,(9/6/2016)‘ChildBenefitandGuardian’sAllowance:Whereitallstarted’,http://revenuebenefits.org.uk/child-benefit/policy/where_it_all_started/[30/6/2017]452Fisher,Kate,‘’SheWasQuiteSatisfiedWithTheArrangementsIMade’:GenderandBirthControlinBritain1920–1950’,PastandPresent,169(2000)p.164453TheRailwayReview,16/1/1925,p.11454TheRailwayReview,6/2/1925,p.8

176

However, the Editor was clear that he did not expect the NUR to adopt any

constitutionalrulingonthebirthcontrolissue,andthereforeTheRailwayReviewwas

anopenforumfordiscussionandabletoconveytheirownopinions.Articlesdiscussing

birth control continued to be printedover the comingmonths and theReviewalso

advertised talks by DrMarie Stopes on birth control and published reports of her

talks.455 This demonstrated the union’s commitment to the welfare of the ‘railway

family’.456

Thepaternalpracticesofrailwaycompaniesinrelationtothe‘railwayfamily’

weredisputed.AsdiscussedinChapter3,J.HThomas,GeneralSecretaryoftheNUR

from1916to1931advocatedthatrailwaymenacceptedthesegesturesas“lubrication”

fortheirhardwork,howeverTheRailwayReviewsuggestedthatthecompanieswere

usingtheirsportsandsocial facilities todistractrailwaymenfromjoiningthetrade

union.457Letters to theReviewalsosuggestedthatrailwaymenwouldpreferhigher

wages to more industrial welfare.458 This placed the basic tenants of the ‘railway

family’asdefinedbyrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionsinideologicalopposition.

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’appearedmoreofteninTheRailwayReviewfrom

the1920sonwards.Thiswasduetothemoresecurepositionthatrailwaytradeunions

hadnegotiatedwiththerailwaycompanies,meaningthattheycouldconcentrateon

issues other than reacting to industrial disputes. Trade unionism had become a

‘respectable’avenueforrailwaymen,thereforeencouragingthewivesandchildrenof

455TheRailwayReview,6/11/1925,p.10456AnarticleinTheRailwayReview,16/1/1925,p.11onthebenefitsofbirthcontrol,andtheimportanceofittobothmenandwomenpromptedaseriesofletters,articlesanddebateswithintheReview457TheRailwayReview,31/8/1923,p.9458TheRailwayReview,19/10/1923,p.13

177

railwaymen into the ‘railway family’was appropriate.Also, therewasan increased

focus on the wives and children of NUR railwaymen who were becoming more

influentialpoliticallyandeconomically.However,thewaysthattheideaofthe‘railway

family’wasengagedfocusedontraditionalnotionsoffamilywiththerailwaymanas

breadwinnerandhiswifecommittedtoprovidingahappy,healthyhousehold.

4.2.2 TheASLEFLocomotiveJournal

TheASLEFLocomotiveJournalmadelittleoutrightmentionoftheideaofthe

‘railwayfamily’,particularlyinrelationtotheconnectionbetweenrailwaymeninother

tradeunions.Oneof thereasons for thiswasthe fact that therewasagreatdealof

conflict betweenASLEF and theNUR throughout this period. In 1904, therewas a

federationagreedbetweenASLEFandtheASRSwhichencouragedjointmeetingsand

conferencestodiscussissuesthatfacedallrailwaymen.However,thesectionalnature

ofASLEF,focusingsolelyontheneedsoflocomotivemenincludingdrivers,firemen

andcleanerswentagainsttheall-gradesmovementthattheASRS,andlatertheNUR,

werekeentopromotethroughoutthisperiod.Ratherthanfosteringasenseoftheidea

ofthe‘railwayfamily’betweenalltradeunionmembersandalinkbetweenthetwo

unions,ASLEFwereadamantthattheyalonewerethebesthopeforlocomotivemento

improvetheirpayandworkingconditions.Repeatedassertionsweremadewithinthe

LocomotiveJournaltoencourageASRSandNURlocomotivementoleavetheirunion

andjoinASLEF.459Therewereheateddebatesandanumberofscathingarticlesand

lettersprintedinbothTheRailwayReviewandtheLocomotiveJournalregardingthe

459LocomotiveJournal,17,7(1904)p.321

178

relationshipbetweenthetwounions.DuringtheFirstWorldWartheNURthreatened

legal action over alleged comments made by John Bromley, the ASLEF General

Secretary,aboutthewarbonusnegotiations.460Debatesalsoragedintheearly1920s

whentheNURrefusedtosupportASLEFinastrike.461Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

could not be used to unite railwaymen from both unions when there was such

animositypresentfrombothsides,fuelledbysectionalism.

Exceptionalrailwayfamilies,sooftenpresentonthepagesofrailwaycompany

magazines,didnotmakearegularappearance in theLocomotive Journal.Thetrade

uniondidnotuseexamplesofthesefamiliestoemphasisetheloyaltyoftheirmembers

as they felt the this was tacitly demonstrated through recruiting new members,

backingallASLEFcampaigns,andtheirwillingnesstostrikeatthebehestoftheunion.

Solitary examples of individual railway families did appear occasionally and as the

author of one particular article acknowledges, “if the Society had not perceived its

valueweshouldnothavebeenabletosubmitsuchanarticle…”462Duetothenatureof

railwaywork thatoften required transfer to different areas of the country and the

challengesrailwaymenfacedintheirambitionstobecomefiremenanddrivers,itwas

ofteneasiertofindmembersofonefamilyworkingforthesamecompanythanitwas

to find drivers and firemen from the same family working in the same shed and

belongingtothesamesectionalunion.

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’asawaytodrawwomenandchildrenintothe

tradeunionwasusedintheLocomotiveJournalevenbeforetheformationoftheASLEF

460LocomotiveJournal,28,10(1915)p.449461Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,p.437462LocomotiveJournal,53,2(1940)p.78

179

Women’s Society in 1924, particularly in relation to the Orphan Fund and the

BenevolentFund.FamiliessupportedbytheBenevolentFundwrotetotheLocomotive

Journal thanking them for themonetary paymentwhich, for example, “will greatly

assistme inbringingmyfamilyuprespectably.”463Respectabilitywasan important

notionforwomen,aswillbediscussedinChapter5,andthisletterwouldhaveacted

asanencouragementforrailwaymen’swivestoensurethattheirfamilywaspartof

theFund.Theseletterscontinuedtoappearthroughouttheperiodandwereoneway

that families could demonstrate their gratitude to the Benevolent Fund and by

extension, to the ‘railway family’, for their support. They also helped encourage

railwaymen to join the Benevolent Fund as theywere combinedwith articles that

describedtheassistancetheBenevolentFundandtheOrphanFundderivedfor the


The ASLEF Women’s Society was formed in 1924 and will be discussed in

Chapter 5. Prior to this, women were mentioned sporadically throughout the

LocomotiveJournal.TheideaofwomenassistingtheSocietywasfirstmootedin1910

whenASLEFstruckuparelationshipwiththeAmericanBrotherhoodofLocomotive

Engineers and Firemen who had their own women’s auxiliary. These women

supportedtheBrotherhoodintimesoflabourunrest,fundraisedandorganisedsocial

events.464Internationallinkstoothertradeunions,particularlythosewhichwerefor

locomotivemen,werefosteredbyASLEFandwereademonstrationoftheinternational

nature of the idea of the ‘railway family’ extending between railwaymen and their

familiesacrossnationalboundaries.AlettertotheLocomotiveJournalin1911called

463LocomotiveJournal,17,4(1904)p.188464LocomotiveJournal,23,1(1910)p.26

180

forthefoundationofanASLEFWomen’sSociety,extollingtheorganisingcapabilityof

womenandthesupporttheycouldrendertotheSocietyandthefamiliesofunionmen

particularlyintimesofsicknessandbereavement.465DuringtheFirstWorldWar,when

thenumberoffemalerailwayworkersincreased,theEditoroftheLocomotiveJournal

considered a column for female readers because “they have begun towrite to the

Journal,andtocriticiseus.”466Inthisspirit,theEditorstatedthathewelcomedletters

fromfemalereadersandfeaturedaletterfrom“AMember’sWifeandaninterested

reader of the Journal” about the position German socialists and trade unionists,

indicatingthedepthofknowledgeaboutthewiderlabourmovementthatmanywives

of railwaymen held.467 However, this women’s page failed to be realised until the

Women’sSocietycameintobeingin1924.

ThewivesofASLEFmembersdidstarttobecomemoreinvolvedinthesocial

and fundraisingsideof theunionafter theendof theFirstWorldWar.Two letters

featuredintheJuly1919issueindicatethewillingnessofbothmenandwomenfora

greaterinvolvementofwomenintheSociety.Onerailwaymanwrotethathavingmore

socialopportunities forbothmenandwomenconnectedtothetradeunion“would

bringtogetherthewivesandfamiliesofourmembers.”468Anotherwifeofamember

wrote,“GetwewomeninterestedintheworkingsoftheSocietyandyouwillfindthat

weshallberealmatesinthegreatandgloriouscauseofthe‘Associated’.”Theletter

arguedthatifthemalemembersdidthis,theycouldguaranteethatwomenwouldbe

moresupportiveoftheirhusbands,helpraisemoneyfortheSocietyandtheOrphan

465LocomotiveJournal,24,4(1911)p.191466LocomotiveJournal,28,2(1915)p.49467LocomotiveJournal,28,2(1915)p.94468LocomotiveJournal,32,7(1919)p.217

181

Fundandeducatewomeninthebenefitsoftradeunionsandthelabourmovement.469

Anarticleinthefollowingissueentitled‘EducationBeginsAtHome-AWifeandFamily

Affair’encouragedmentodiscusstheirtradeunionbusinessandlabourpoliticswith

theirwivesandforwomentoavoidregalingtheirhusbandswiththeday’sgossipon

their returnand insteaddiscussdomestic affairsandwork-related issues.Bydoing

this,bothparentswouldsetanexampletotheirchildren.470

TheselettersandarticlesindicatethataftertheFirstWorldWarthewivesof

ASLEF railwaymen were considered a potential asset to the union and a force to

mobilise. It is interesting tonote that thisshift correspondswith theentryofmore

womenintotheworkforceandtheirgreatersocialandpoliticalfreedoms.However,

the latter article in particular highlights the contradictions that arose when trade

unions encouraged the involvement of women in their activities – women were

expected not only to conform with stereotypical gender expectations including

supportingtheirhusbandsandtakingcareoftheirchildrenbutwerealsoexpectedto

educatethemselvesinlabourpoliticsandwidertradeunionaffairs.

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasusedbyASLEFmostoftenwhendescribing

theirrelationshipwithinternationalrailwaytradeunions.Apageof theLocomotive

Journal was often dedicated to reports of the international situation. This was

particularlypertinentfromtheFirstWorldWaronwards,wherelinksweremadewith

railwaymen in Norway, Sweden, New Zealand and the USA.471 After the war,

connectionswere establishedwith locomotive unions inmany European countries

469LocomotiveJournal,32,7(1919)p.218470LocomotiveJournal,32,8(1919)p.232471LocomotiveJournal,28,1(1915)p.16

182

including Germany, Austria and Russia. During the ASLEF strike of 1924, the

international nature of the idea of the ‘railway family’ was demonstrated by the

telegrams of support that the union received fromDenmark, New Zealand, Russia,

Germany, Australia and America.472 Disseminating the idea of the ‘railway family’

across railway trade unions in different countries encouraged ASLEFmembers to

develop fraternalbondsacrossnationalboundariesand the support that theunion

showedwasreciprocatedintimesoflabourunrestordifficultyforrailwaymen.The

languageofbrotherhoodandsisterhood,acommonelementwithinalltradeunions,

wasreflectedinlettersandarticlesthatconcernedforeignrailwaytradeunions,for

example,anarticleaboutASLEFloaning£500toanAustrianlocomotiveunionduring

theFirstWorldWarwasentitled‘AnotherProofoftheInternationalBrotherhoodof

Workers’.473

4.2.3 TheRailwayClerk/TheRailwayServiceJournal

TheRailwayClerk,thenewspaperoftheRailwayClerksAssociation(RCA)was

firstprintedin1904,sevenyearsaftertheformationoftheunion.Itwasrenamedto

beTheRailwayServiceJournalin1919inordertoencompassallsalariedstaffincluding

clerks,andthoseinadministrativeandsupervisoryroles.Withinthefirstfewissuesof

thenewspapertherewerecallsto“joinhandsacrossthesea”withthenationalRailway

ClerksAssociationofNorthAmericaandanarticlewhichextolledthevirtuesof the

union including “the Warmth of Friendship and Fraternity” and “It puts one in

472ASLEF,SpecialStrikeIssue,February(1924)p.51473LocomotiveJournal,38,4(1925)p.148

183

communicationwithmenworthknowingalloverthecountry”.474TheRCArecognised

thattheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’couldbeusedtocreatean‘imaginedcommunity’

betweenclerksacrosstherailwaynetworkinBritainandacrosstheworld.TheRCA

werealsokeentofightclaimsthat“theRCAiskillingespritdecorps”byencouraging

thiscommunityspiritbetweentheirmembersinoffices,branchesanddivisions.475

TheRCAdescribedthemselvesasafamilyunitthatencompassedbothmenand

womenfromrelativelyearlywithintheperiod.Anarticleontheopeningofthenew

RCAHeadquartersin1915statedthat“Tradeunions,likefamilies,usuallyobservethe

custom of house-warming”.476 Another article about the role of womenwithin the

historyoftheRCAstatedthat“allthewaythrough,thewivesandmothersofrailway

clerkshaveinspiredandhelpedtheirmen-folktoholdonandbetruetothemselves

andtheirfellows…itisacknowledgedtobeintenselyhardertostrugglealoneinthe

kitchenthantofightonthecompanyofyourfellowclerksintheBoard-room.”477There

wasaclearacknowledgementbytheRCAthatwomenwereanintegralpartoftheir

union and of the idea of the ‘railway family’ even before they entered the railway

workforce inanysignificantnumbers. Incontrast to theotherrailwaytradeunions

discussedinthischapter,theRCAmademoredirectuseofthelanguageofthe‘railway

family’.

It is clear fromTheRailway Clerk that clerks did not appreciate thewelfare

effortsofrailwaycompaniesandwereoutspokenagainstthiswithintheirnewspaper,

statingthatwelfarewasused“tostrengthentheshackleswhichalreadybindustoo

474TheRailwayClerk,1,2(1904)p.15and1,3(1904)pp.27-28475TheRailwayClerk,6,71(1909)p.207476TheRailwayClerk,12,137(1915)p.104477TheRailwayClerk,13,152(1916)p.196

184

strongly to the service.”478 Rather than spendingmoneyonwelfare schemes clerks

arguedthat“IftheCompanyhaveanymoneytospare,theycanspenditinawaythat

will preventmanywives and childrenbecomingwidows and orphans.”479 TheRCA

wantedtomaketheirmembersawareofthefactthatrailwaycompanieswereusing

welfareschemesandeducationalandsportsfacilitiesasawaytobuildupasenseof

goodwillamongsttheiremployeesinordertocontinuetodominatethetradeunions

whowerenowtoostrongforthemto“tyrannise”.480Anarticlethatappearedinthe

Journalin1923,writtenbytheGeneralWelfareSuperintendentoftheLMS,described

theindustrialwelfareschemesthattheyplannedtoinitiatethroughouttheCompany

which they hopedwould bring about “a strengtheningof harmonious relationships

betweenall thoseengagedontheRailway,agrowthof the feelingofespritdecorps

under the new conditions brought about by amalgamations, healthier and happier

staff, andan ever-increasingefficiency andpride in theundertaking.”481Within the

same issue, welfare schemes were praised by Scottish members of the RCA who

describedtheircommunalspiritashavingbeen“shattered”overthepastfewyears.482

AftertheFirstWorldWar,withtheacceptanceofrailwaytradeunionsandabetter

bargaining position, the RCA and their members were more willing to accept the

industrialwelfareofferedbyrailwaycompanies.

Not only did railway clerks dislike the paternalistic welfare of railway

companiesbut theyalso rejected the systemof employmentandpromotionon the

basisofone’sfamilyconnections.AseriesoflettersthatappearedinTheRailwayClerk

478TheRailwayClerk,11,123(1914)p.79479TheRailwayClerk,11,126(1914)p.165480TheRailwayServiceJournal,18,207(1921)p.64481TheRailwayServiceJournal,20,236(1923)p.237482Ibid.,p.255

185

in1917and1918criticised“TheRailway“Family”System”includingallegationsthat

“I think I can statewithouthesitation that theL&NWCompany is themostperfect

familyorganisationintheworld.Thesuperiorapprenticesimplymeans,notsuperior

inabilityandeducation,butsuperiorinbloodrelationshipfromtherailwaypointof

view.”483Thepositiveviewsthattherailwaycompaniesandtheotherrailwaytrade

unionshadforrailwayfamilies,thegenerationsoffathersandsonsfollowinginthe

same profession, were not held by clerkswho struggledwith lowwages and poor

promotion prospectswithout the nepotism that surrounded these railway families.

Despite these concerns, a retiring clerk was described as being from “A Railway

Family”inthepersonalcolumnsofTheRailwayServiceJournalashisgrandfatherand

twounclesworkedforthesamecompany.484Thisneatlyencapsulatesthedivergent

feelingamongstrailwayclerksabout the ‘railwayfamily’andhowtheexperienceof

being part of the ‘railway family’ could be an exclusionary experience for some. If

railwayclerksdidnotfeeltheywereapartofthecompany‘railwayfamily’,through

theirassociationwithacompanyandtheirbloodrelativeswhohadworkedinthesame

or similar roles, then they were more likely to complain about the preferential

treatmentandallegednepotismwhichoccurredwithintherailwayindustry.Thisisa

view that does not appear elsewhere in other trade union or railway company

literature, indicating that it was a view held predominantly by clerks. They were

certainlyinamoreunusualpositionthanotherrailwayworkers,straddlingbetween

thefirmlyworking-classrailwaymanandthemiddle-classmanagement.485

483TheRailwayClerk,15,169(1918)p.13484TheRailwayServiceJournal,25,295(1928)p.265485Lockwood,TheBlackcoatedWorker,p.81

186

In 1908, a column for the wives of railway clerks was begun because “The

majorityofwomendonottakesufficientinterestintradeunionism.Theydonotseem

torealisethatitisreallytheirbattleaswellwhichthemenarefighting.”486Thismarked

thestartofaseriesofcolumnsandarticlesforthewivesofrailwaymenthatexplained

thebenefitsoftradeunionismforthemselvesandtheirfamilies.Thearticleswerealso

keyinexplainingtoclerk’swiveswhytheyneededtosupporttheirhusband’sefforts

andthoseof theRCAwhichdrewthemfurther intothe ideaof the ‘railwayfamily’.

Thesearticlesalwaysrelatedtheirdiscussionofpolitical,socialandeconomic ideas

backtoawoman’shomeandfamily,forexamplehowthenationalisationofrailways

andcoalmineswouldallowfortheproductionofcheaperelectricityforcookingand

cleaning.487Anothercolumnattackedthe“HomeDrivel”ofotherwomen’spagesthat

causedwomentowastehoursfantasisingoverthingstheycouldnotaffordduetotheir

husband’slowwages.488Comparedtothepagesandcolumnsthatwereprovidedfor

thewivesofrailwaymeninothertradeunionandrailwaycompanynewspapersand

magazines,theRCAwomen’scolumnrecognisedtheneedanddesireofRCAmembers

wives to be included in the union. It also emphasised the importance of a political

education which they required to join in with a meaningful discussion with their

husbands,fathers,sonsandbrothers.

However, the column forwiveswas dispensedwith during 1915due to the

shortageofspaceandtheentryofthousandsoffemaleclerksintotheworkforce.Any

furtherarticlesorcolumnswereprimarilyaimedatthenewfemaleworkers,inorder

486TheRailwayClerk,5,49(1908)p.12487TheRailwayClerk,5,50(1908)p.25488TheRailwayClerk,5,57(1908)p.148

187

toencouragethemtojointheRCA.Thiswasaverydifferenttactictotheothertwo

railway trade unions. These articles included open letters to female clerks from

‘Melissa’,theeditorofthewomen’scolumnwhichcalledonwomentojointheRCAto

preventtheinjusticesbeingdonetothembytherailwaycompanies.Shearguedthat

theyneededtobecomemoreknowledgeableabouttheiremploymentrightsandwhy

theyneeded topush forwomen toget thevote inorder that theRCAcouldensure

greaterstrengthinParliamentwiththeirownMPs.489

After the end of the First World War, wives and children were again a

considerationfortheRCA,althoughthebulkofmaterialcontinuedtobeaimedatthe

femaleclerkswhoremainedinemployment.Atthe1923RCAAnnualConference,the

argumentsforthelimitationofnightdutywasprefacedwiththeideathat,“Wivesand

children,aswellasthemenimmediatelyconcerned,hadsomerightconsideration.”490

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasstillevidentintheRCAwiththeirconcernforthe

standardoflivingofRCAmember’swivesandchildrenaswellastheirownmembers.

FemaleRCAdelegatesattendedtheScottishWomen’sTradeUnionCongressin1926

whichrecognisedthedifficultyofmaintainingcontactwithwomenoncetheyleftthe

workforceformarriageandmotherhoodandstatedthat“theeconomicstrugglewas

feltmostkeenlyinthehome,somethingshouldbedonetomaintaincontactbetween

womenandtheTradeUnionMovementaftertheyhadleftindustry”.491Despitethis

recognition, very few trade unions inBritain hadwomen’s Guilds thatwould have

maintainedthislinkbetweenmarriedwomenoutsidetheworkforceandtradeunions.

489TheRailwayClerk,12,143(1915)p.268,12,144(1915)p.308and13,148(1916)p.89490TheRailwayServiceJournal,20,234(1923)p.171491TheRailwayServiceJournal,23,275(1926)p.379

188

During the 1930s, ‘Our Woman’s Page’ (which was restarted with a new

contributor, ‘M’, in 1932) was primarily directed towards female clerks. However,

therewasanunderstandingthatthewivesofRCAmemberswerealsoimportantin

supportingthestrugglesofbothmenandwomenforimprovedpayandconditions.The

columnpraisedtheworkofRCAmember’swivesattheLabourWomen’sConference,

callingforameetingbetweenfemaleworkersandwivesinorderthattheycanassist

each otherwith their “common bond of interest”.492When a proposed 10% cut in

wageswasmooted by railway companies, ‘OurWoman’s Page’ insisted that itwas

importantforwomentoorganiseasworkersandaswivesinordertoavoidthegreat

hardshipthatthiswouldbringforallmembersofthe‘railwayfamily’.493RCAmember’s

wivesalsowrotetotheJournalcommendingtheRCAfortheirworkbutalsoimploring

their husbands to be more open-minded and allow their wives to attend branch

meetingssothattheymightunderstandandbemoreinvolvedintheRCAstrugglesas

“It would help to create a more sympathetic understanding than sometimes

prevails.”494Again,theRCAtookamoreunusualapproachtotheideaofthe‘railway

family’,acknowledgingthattherewerewaysthatitcouldbeimprovedbutalsothatit

remainedoneofthemostimportantelementsofthesupportstructurethattradeunion

memberscoulddependupon.

However, despite calls for RCAmember’swives to unitewith female clerks

there was also criticism of the attitude of non-working women to their working

counterparts.Anarticlebythethenwomen’sofficeroftheTUCstatedthattheendof

492TheRailwayServiceJournal,29,344(1932)p.346493TheRailwayServiceJournal,29,347(1932)p.452494TheRailwayServiceJournal,43,515(1946)p.506

189

theFirstWorldWarbroughtabout“areactionagainstwomen’swork-evenamong

womenthemselves”.495Other femalecontributors to the Journalnotedthatworking

womenwerenotencouragedtodiscussissuesthatprimarilyaffectedhousewivesand

mothersat theLabourWomen’sConference; the followingyearthisdividebetween

workingandnon-workingwomenwasstillconsideredtobeanissuebyRCAdelegates

who argued that “I findmuch confusion inmanyminds as towhat equality really

means…toooftendoesthehouse-wifeshowalackofknowledgeandunderstandingof

tradeunionism,provingthatthereisstillmuchorganisingandeducatingtobedone

amongtheyounggirlsatworkto-day,whowillbeto-morrow’shousewives.”496

Familyallowances,whichprovokedmuchdiscussionwithinthepagesofThe

RailwayReviewwerealso the subjectofdebatewithinTheRailwayService Journal;

althoughsomeclerksairedapositiveopinionofthisstatewelfareschemeotherstook

amoreprotectionist approach,whilst themajorityof thosewhocontributed to the

debatestatedthattheydidnothaveenoughinformationontheformfamilyallowances

wouldtake,theircostandtheireffect.497Despitethis,theRCAdelegatesattheLabour

Women’s Conference voted against family allowances at the behest of the RCA

Conference.498Railwayclerksusedthepagesoftheirnewspapertoagitateforhigher

wagesontheprovisothattheirwivesandchildrenweresufferinginpoorhousingand

were goingwithout food, stating for example, “The husbandmay not buy a paper,

smokeapipe,treathiswifetoaconcertorthetheatre,givehisboyapennyforatop

orball,without feeling thathe isdeprivinghis familyofsomepartof theirmeagre

495TheRailwayServiceJournal,31,364(1934)p.143496TheRailwayServiceJournal,42,501(1945)pp.302-303and43,515(1946)p.495497TheRailwayServiceJournal,27,318(1930)p.241498TheRailwayServiceJournal,27,320(1930)p.301and27,322(1930)p.390

190

allowanceforfood.”499Despitethis,theRCArefusedtosupportaschemewhichwould

providewomenandchildrenwithanallowanceforfearthatitwouldjeopardisetheir

alreadyweakpositionwithintherailwaymarketplace.Thus, theprotectionof their

jobsand,inherentlylinkedtothis,theirmasculinitytrumpedconcernsforthe‘railway

family’andeventheirownwivesandchildren.

4.3 Womenworkersandtradeunions

Therelationshipbetweenwomenworkersandtradeunionswascomplex.The

RCAwasthefirstrailwaytradeuniontoadmitwomenworkersandcampaignedfor

themonanequalpayforequalworkplatform.WomenwereadmittedintotheNURin

1915,duringthepeakoftheiremploymentduringtheFirstWorldWarhoweverthe

NURandtheotherrailwaytradeunionsdemandedthatwomen’sworkontherailways

wastemporary,notonlyduringtheiremploymentintheFirstandSecondWorldWars

butalsointheinterwaryears.500Thiswasimplementedwithamarriagebarinthe

clericalgradesandanunwillingnesstoemploywomeninothergradesoutsideofthe

exceptionalwartimesituation.

4.3.1 TheRCAandfemaleclerks

Railwayclerkswereonegroupmostaffectedbytheemploymentofwomenin

therailwayindustry;theentryofwomenintorailwayofficesincreasedthroughoutthis

period. David Lockwood has argued that clerical work had been stigmatised as

‘unmanly’ even before women entered the workforce due to the safe, clean, non-

499TheRailwayClerk,5,52(1908)p.58500Howell,RespectableRadicals,p.9

191

manualwork that clerksundertook.501 TheRCAnewspaper,TheRailway Clerk/The

RailwayServiceJournalusedthelanguageofmasculinitytoinspireclerkstojointhe

unionandpushforimprovedpayandconditions,forexamplestatingthat“clerksare

men”inanarticleabouttherightsofrailwayclerksandafrontpagearticleentitled

“Don’t be Intimidated, BeMen!”502 Reiterations that clerkswere just asmanly and

masculineasmanualrailwayworkerswereintendedtobolstermaleRCAmembersin

theirstruggletoaccepttheentryoffemaleclerksintotheirworkplace.

Whilst theRCAcouldnotprevent theemploymentofwomenas clerks, they

workedhardtoprotectthepayandpromotionprospectsoftheirmalemembersand

theirstatuswithintherailwayindustry.TheRCAwas,accordingtoLockwood,oneof

themostclass-consciouswhite-collarunionsoftheperiod.503Onereasonforthiswas

therelativelowpayofrailwayclerksinrelationtoclerksinotherindustriesandthe

fact thatmany railway clerks came from families of railwayworkers. According to

Lockwoodtherailwayclerkhadasmuchincommonwiththemanualrailwayworker

ashedidwiththebankclerk,thereforetheRCAwascommittedtoensuringtheplace

oftherailwayclerkinthewiderlabourmovement.504AstatementinTheRailwayClerk

isindicativeofthis:“Theideathateverybodywho“looksniceanddressy”isasnoband

lackinginclassconsciousnessisneitherinaccordwithlogicnorfacts.Someindividuals

giveonetheimpressionthattobe“advancedthinkers”andclassconscious,onemust

wearadirtycollar,shabbyclothesandageneralairofslovenliness.”505Theirclass-

consciousnessengendered support fromboththeNUR andASLEF, especiallywhen

501Lockwood,TheBlackcoatedWorker,p.123502TheRailwayClerk,6,67(1909)p.134and8,95(1911)p.221503Ibid.,p.156504Ibid.,p.197505TheRailwayClerk,October1917,inLockwood,TheBlackcoatedWorker,p.136

192

RCAmembers refused to act as strike-breakers.506 Articles and letters in the 1926

strike issue of The Railway Service Journal demonstrated pride in their class-

consciousness,whichwasdescribedas“aclashofloyalties,andwiththevastmajority

ofmembersthehigherloyaltywon”.507Thishigherloyaltywastowardsotherworkers

of their own class, joined through their mutual trade unionism, rather than the

companyloyaltythathadbeeningrainedintorailwayclerksformanyyears.However,

thissupportfromotherunionsdidnotmanifestitselfduringtheRCA’sdealingwith

femaleclerksleavingthemtocreateasolutionthatbalancedtheneedsandpriorities

oftheirmalememberswiththespecificchallengesthatarosewiththeemploymentof

womeninamale-dominatedindustry.

Fromtheoutsetoftheemploymentoffemaleclerks,theRCAinsistedthatmale

andfemaleclerksbeemployedandpaidonthesamescalesinordertopreventfemale

clerksundercuttingtheirmalecounterparts,statingthat,“ItiswellknownthattheRCA

hasnoobjectionstoladyclerksbeingemployedonthesametermsasmen”.508Thecall

for equal pay for equal work continued throughout the period although this

progressiveattitudewasmoreinaidofsecuringthepayandpositionsofmaleclerks

in the faceofmassemploymentofwomen thanencouraging female clerks into the

‘railwayfamily’.ItwasmostprominentduringtheFirstandSecondWorldWars,when

maleclerkswereatseriousriskofbeingreplacedbythe“cheapfemalelabour”that

theydetested.509However,theRCAcametorealisethatencouragingfemaleclerksto

become temporarymembersof the ‘railway family’mightwork to their advantage.

506Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,p.297507TheRailwayServiceJournal,23,270(1926)p.193508TheRailwayClerk,7,75(1910)p.56509TheRailwayClerk,6,67(1909)p.130

193

Theystatedthattheywerenotonlyconcernedwithprotectingtherightsandbenefits

oftheirmalemembersbut“Wehavejustasmuchconcernforthewelfareofthegirls

whomaybeemployedaswehaveforthemenwhomayberemovedtomakeroomfor

them.”510Byensuring that their tonewaswelcoming, caringand inclusive, theRCA

wereattemptingtoensurethatfemaleclerksfeltobligedtojointheRCAbecausethey

werepartof the ‘railwayfamily’. Itwasonlyonemonthafter theabovearticlewas

publishedthattheRCAenrolledtheirfirstfemalemember;thefollowingyearthefirst

resolutiononequalpayforfemaleclerkswaspassedattheRCAAnnualConference.511

TheRCAwereyearsaheadoftheNURorASLEFwhenitcametoacceptingwomenas

member’sandcampaigningforafairwagefortheworktheywereundertaking,due

primarilytothefactthattheyhadtonegotiatetheissueofwomenintheworkforcefar

earlierthantheNURorASLEF.Inthisrespect,theRCAsetoutthetemplateforhowthe

NURandASLEFwouldlatercometodealwithwomenworkers–byencouragingthem

totemporarilybecomemembersofthe‘railwayfamily’andinsistingthattheywere

paidtheminimumrateformen’sworkwhentheywereundertakingthejobthatwas

definedasa‘man’srole’.

Thisdoesnotmeanthat theRCAor itsmemberswerecomplimentaryabout

theirfemalecolleagues,particularlybeforefemaleclerkswereencouragedtojointhe

union in significant numbers. One article in 1913 stated “That the introduction of

femaletelegraphistsonourrailwayshasacteddetrimentallytothemalescannot,we

think,begainsaid.”512Complaintswerevoicedoverthequalityofwomen’swork,the

510TheRailwayClerk,7,81(1910)p.172511TheRailwayClerk,7,82(1910)p.191and8,90(1911)p.128512TheRailwayClerk,10,109(1913)p.4

194

factthattheywereslowerandthatmaleclerksoftengotpunishedfortheirmistakes.

TheincreaseinnightandSundaydutywasalsoblamedontheintroductionoffemale

clerks,whowerepreventedfromworkingtheseshiftsduetoconsiderationsfortheir

safety.513Somemaleclerksevenwentasfarasstatingthatiffemaleclerkswerepaid

on thesamescalesasmen,manywould find themselvesquickly redundantas they

werenotascompetentasmaleclerks.514Ascathingarticlejustbeforethestartofthe

FirstWorldWar in1914characterised the introductionofmore femaleworkersas

“Ladyitis”,a“dreaddisease” fromwhich“nocentre,nodepartment is immunefrom

attack.”515OncetheWarbeganthetoneoftheseattackschangedasmanymaleclerks

recognisedthatfornumerouswomen,workwasthewayinwhichtheywereableto

supporttheirfamiliesanddependants.516Itwasatthispointthatthecallsforequal

payforequalworkintensifiedinordertoprotectthejobsofmaleclerkswhohadjoined

upandtoallowfemaleclerksasatisfactorywagewhichwouldallowthemtosupport

theirfamilies.ThePresidentoftheRCAstatedthat“theRCAwilldoeverythingpossible

to prevent the employment of women being developed and perpetuated to the

detrimentofthepresentconditionsofserviceformen.”517Equalpayforequalwork

wasanimportantwayinwhichtheseconditionscouldbeprotected.

ThefirstfemaledelegatetoanRCAAnnualConference,MamieThompson,was

electedin1915.ShealsoactedasthefemaleorganiserforherbranchinOldham.The

RCA considered it imperative that all female clerks joined the union and Miss

ThompsonspokeattheConferenceontheneedfortheRCAto“organiseandeducate

513TheRailwayClerk,10,111(1913)p.56514TheRailwayClerk,10,112(1913)p.76515TheRailwayClerk,11,127(1914)p.179516TheRailwayClerk,12,136(1915)p.66517TheRailwayClerk,12,138(1915)p.125

195

them[women],thoughsomemenweresoprejudicedthattheywouldnotdothis.”518

Miss Thompson became a stalwart of the RCA and the labour movement more

generally,firstinherroleasorganiserthenasamarriedvisitortotheConferencewith

herhusband.Shewasalsoappointedasawomen’sorganiserfortheLabourPartyin

1918,forwhichshelefttherailwayservice.519In1928shecontributedanarticletoThe

RailwayServiceJournalspecialrecruitingissueforwomenunderhermarriedname,

MaryElizabethAndersonentitled‘LookingBackward…andForward’whichdescribed

herexperiencesasanRCAmember,conferencedelegateandwomen’sorganiserand

encouraged female clerks to “accept the invitation to share in the life of the

Association.”520 Therewere a number of prominent femaleRCAmembers between

1910and1948,whoseprimaryfocuswasontheorganisationandeducationoffemale

clerks. A special meeting of female clerks in London encapsulated their important

functionto,““educate,agitate,organise.””521

Theorganisationoffemaleworkerswasapproachedinavarietyofways.One

tacticwasthededicationof thewomen’scolumn/pageto femaleclerks; thecolumn

attemptedtoexplainwhyitwassoimportantforwomentojointheRCAandwhythey

neededtocampaignforequalpay.ByJune1916,2000womenwereRCAmembersand

a specialwomen’s conferencewas held to discusshow theRCA could handle their

specificneeds.522ThereportofthisConferencestatedthatamongstthemeasuresthe

RCA should take, the branches needed to be more open to women members and

518TheRailwayClerk,12,138(1915)p.139519TheRailwayClerk,15,178(1918)p.16520TheRailwayServiceJournal,25,299(1928)p.418521TheRailwayServiceJournal,27,317(1930)p.192522TheRailwayClerk,13,150(1916)p.149

196

facilitatetheirneedsaswellasthoseofmalemembers.523Inordertodothis,andto

prevent the “smouldering dissatisfaction” that was occurring within many men’s

branches theRCAproposedadebateon the roleofwomen’sworkon the railways

within their newspaperwith questions like “Is railway clericalwork likely to unfit

womenforthebearingandrearingofchildren,andifsoshouldnottheirpermanent

employment after the war be vigorously opposed on the high ground of race

preservation?”and“ShouldnotsomeeffortbemadetogettheRailwayCompaniesto

keepasmanyaspossibleof thesewomeninordertoreducetheexcessivehoursof

duty of many of the male clerks?”524 This debate never materialised; however,

complaints about women workers from male clerks ceased to appear within the

magazineandwere replacedwith letters from female clerks thaturged theRCA to

continuetocampaignforequalpayandafairerwageandwarbonusforwomen.525It

isunclearwhetherthiswasanEditorialdecisionordrivenbythedesireofreaders,but

theincreasedfocusonfemaleclerksfromafemaleperspectiveenhancedthecreation

ofacollectiveidentityamongsttheserailwayworkersandestablishedtheirposition

withinthe‘railwayfamily’,whethermaleclerkswerehappyaboutthatornot.

ThesuccessoftheRCAcampaigntoorganisewomencanbeseeninthefactthat

in1917femalemembersmadeup10%ofRCAmembership,roughly5000members.526

However themembershipwas still divided over the employment ofwomen in the

inter-war period. An article entitled ‘Should women clerks make way for ex-

servicemen?’ resulted in a heated debate on both sides, although the majority of

523TheRailwayClerk,13,151(1916)pp.173-174524TheRailwayClerk,13,152(1916)pp.200-201525TheRailwayClerk,13,155(1916)p.278526TheRailwayClerk,14,160(1917)p.51

197

correspondencewas split alonggender lineswithmale clerks insisting that female

clerkswereworkingfor“pinmoney”whilst“thousandswithwivesandchildrenare

walkingthestreetsinsearchofemployment,whilemarriedwomenwithhusbandsto

provideforthemarestillintheG.Eheadoffices.”Incontrast,femaleclerksarguedthat

“many girls have suffered owing to thewar, and are the sole support of widowed

motherswhose sonswere killed in action” and “somemen ignore the fact that the

necessitiesoflifecostwomenasmuchastheydomen.”527Despitetheirclaimsthat

theydesired female clerks tohaveequalpay forequalwork,male clerkswere still

hostile to their femalecolleaguesand itappearsthat forsome, therewasvery little

‘family’feelingamongstthem.

The idea that male clerks needed to be encouraged to accept their female

colleaguescontinuedthroughouttheinter-warperiodwithonefemaledelegateatthe

AnnualConferencein1923stating“Finally,tothemenIshouldsay:Don’tpassover

thewomenintheservicetoolightly.Remembertheyhavecometostay,andaround

theirconditionsyourswillrevolve.Givethemachance…”528Anotherapproachfocused

onencouragingmaleclerksintheirroleasfatherstoensurethattheirdaughterswere

membersoftheunion,“Manytradeunionistswhowouldneverdreamofbeingoutside

theirownUnionandwhosee theirsonsareeducated in tradeunionprinciplesare

quitecontent that theirowndaughtersshouldbenon-unionists.”529Byencouraging

maleclerkstoconsidertheirownfamilyrelationships,theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

wasbeingusedtoencouragemaleclerkstoviewfemaleworkersinamoresympathetic

527TheRailwayServiceJournal,17,204(1920)pp.277-278528TheRailwayServiceJournal,20,235(1923)p.221529TheRailwayServiceJournal,23,270(1926)p.212

198

light. However, this also highlighted the fact that formanymen, the true role of a

woman was as a wife andmother, as one letter in 1932 stated, “A woman’s true

professionisthatofWoman,andIpraythatalleffortstotransformitintoanythingelse

willbedoomedtoeverlastingfailure.”530Theseprotestationswereswiftlyrebuttedby

femaleclerksstatingthat,“WecandoverylittletoaltertheNaturalOrder,butwecan

doagreatdealtoimprovetheRailway“Order”.”531However,thisattitudewasonethat

wasverydeeplyingrainedandformanyrailwaymen,whoconsideredthemselvesthe

breadwinner,itwasachallengetotheideastheyheldaboutthetraditional ‘railway

family’.

Femaleclerksalsodecidedonadifferenttacticintheirapproachforinclusion

intothe‘railwayfamily’,whichwastocampaignfortheirownwomen’sdelegateonthe

ExecutiveCommittee(EC).532TheRCAhadgrownintoaunionnotonlyforclerksbut

other administrative and supervisory railway employees including stationmasters,

whoweregrantedtheirownECmemberduetotheirperceivedspecialneeds.Female

RCAmembersarguedthat theytoohadspecialneedsthatrequiredtheattentionof

theirowncommitteemember.In1930,MissElsieOrman,anexperiencedRCAmember

wasappointedasthefirstfemaleECmember.533Thisseparatebutequalstatusseemed

tobe themostharmoniousapproach that femaleRCAmembersundertookand the

organisation of RCAwomen’s conferences allowed a space forwomenmembers to

discusstheirownissueswithoutcomingintoopenconflictwithmalemembers.Atone

such Conference itwas agreed that all districtswould appoint a female organising

530TheRailwayServiceJournal,29,347(1932)p.478531TheRailwayServiceJournal,31,369(1934)p.380532TheRailwayServiceJournal,20,235(1923)p.221533TheRailwayServiceJournal,27,319(1930)p.270

199

secretarywhoseduty itwouldbe toorganisethe female clerks inherdistrict, thus

againkeeping themseparate from themaleorganisingsecretaries.534Thenotionof

‘separate spheres’ was one that was used successfully by women’s trade union

auxiliaries,otherwomen’sorganisations,andbywomenwithintheirownfamilies,and

thereforedidnotnegatetheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’beingusedbythetradeunion

andbyRCAmembers.Itwasalsothewaythatwomenwereincludedwithinthetrade

unionnewspapersandmagazines,withtheirownseparatepagesthatallowedthemto

discussissueswhichaffectedwomenandchildrenwithintheirown‘separatesphere’.

As Patricia Hollis has argued in her work on women in local politics, “separate

spheres…couldbedeployedineitherconservativeorradicalways”.535

Thechallengeoflargenumbersof femaleworkerswasagainraisedwiththe

adventoftheSecondWorldWarinSeptember1939.However,theRCAencountereda

furtherdifficultywith their renewed calls forequal pay for equalwork in order to

protect male clerks. In 1920, the RCA had accepted a settlement with the railway

companieswhichsettheratesofpay forwomenthatwerenotonanequalscale to

men’sratesofpay.536TheRCApromisedtokeeppushingforequalpayforfemaleclerks

butthemomentumwaslostintheinter-waryearswhenotherissuescametothefore.

Withtheadventofgreaternumbersoffemaleclerks,theRCAagainsoughttoprotect

theirmalemember’sjobsandpayrateswithcallsforequalpay.Duetothesettlement

thattheyhadacceptedhowever,femaleclerkswereplacedontheselowerpayscales

andtherewasverylittlethattheRCAwereabletodotochallengethis.Theunioncalled

534TheRailwayServiceJournal,27,323(1930)p.418535Hollis,‘WomeninCouncil’,p.210536TheRailwayServiceJournal,17,201(1920)p.213

200

forareclassificationoffemaleclerksastheirrolesanddutiesshiftedandchangedwith

thenecessityofwarworkbutrailwaycompaniescontinuallyfailedtodothis.537

Railwaycompaniesalsostatedthat theevolutionofclericalworkmeant that

manywomendidjobsthathadformerlybeentheprovinceofmenandthereforeequal

pay claimswere not valid as thesewere now ‘women’s jobs’. According to railway

companies,equalpayclaimswere“unsoundonsocialgrounds”.538Femaleorganising

secretariesfoundtheireffortswerehamperedbythesedifferentialpayscaleswhich

preventedanylineofpromotionforwomen.Aletterfromafemaleclerkstatedthat

recruitingwouldbemadeeasieriftheRCAemphasisedthattheywouldnotsettlefor

thesedifferentialsbutwantedequalpayandprospectsforallwomen.539TheRCAdid

attempttodothisthroughpamphlets,circularsandtheirnewspaperandmorefemale

clerkswererecruitedintotheunion,howeverequalpaystillremainedelusive.Revised

payscaleswereintroducedin1944andtheECstatedthatalthoughtheystillwanted

equalpay,“Theyareanattempttobringadegreeofequityintoexistingscales,and

membersmaybeassuredthattheutmostwillbedonetoachievethatend.”540Even

aftertheendofthewar,theRCAwerestillcampaigningforequalpayforfemaleclerks

but had not achieved their aims by Nationalisation in 1948. The RCA solution to

increasednumbersoffemaleworkers,ofcampaigningforequalpayforequalwork,

wasintendedtoprotecttheirmalemembersratherthananyattemptattruegender

equalityandassuch,createdmoredivisionsamongstthe‘railwayfamily’.

537TheRailwayServiceJournal,37,436(1940)p.105538TheRailwayServiceJournal,39,459(1942)p.52539TheRailwayServiceJournal,38,456(1941)p.293540TheRailwayServiceJournal,41,482(1944)p.35

201

TheRCAwereabletopreventmarriedwomenfromthreateningthelivelihoods

of both theirmale and single femalemembers during the inter-war periodwith a

marriagebarthatprohibitedamarriedwomanfromcontinuingheremployment.This

causedagreatdealofdebatewithinthepagesofTheRailwayClerk/TheRailwayService

Journalwith‘Melissa’,theoriginalcorrespondentonthewoman’scolumn,statingthat

“Ihave saidoverandoveragain that it is apity forawomannot tokeepup, after

marriage,anyworkinwhichshehasbecomeproficient,ifshecanatthesametime,

fromthejointearningsofherselfandherhusband,payforproperhelpinthehouse.”541

RCAbranchesdisagreedwiththisstancehowever,asin1920theWestminsterbranch

proposedaConferenceresolutionthat“nomarriedwomenshouldberetainedinthe

Company’sserviceifherhusbandisinapositiontomaintainher.”542Thetraditional

versionofthe‘railwayfamily’,withhusbandasbreadwinnerandwifeashome-maker

wasclearlypreferentialtomalemembersoftheRCA.

AftertheSecondWorldWar,thisdebateagainragedwithaparticularlyheated

discussion at the 1947 Annual Conference where a resolution on removal of the

marriagebarwasproposed.ThisstatedthattheRCAcouldnotjuststandforequality

of pay, they must also pursue an equal opportunity agenda. An amendment that

marriedwomenshouldonlybeallowedtocontinueinexceptionalcircumstanceswas

proposed,inordertoprotectsinglewomen.Onedelegatedstatedthat,“Ifyoucarry

this amendment,” he said, “you will have liberty on your lips but tyranny in your

hearts.”Theamendmentwascarriedandthemarriagebarwasnotlifted.Following

thisdebate,aresolutiononequalpaywasdiscussedwhereonefemalememberstated

541TheRailwayClerk,12,141(1915)p.215542TheRailwayServiceJournal,17,199(1920)p.158

202

that““Equalpayalsomeansequalconditions.Youhavejustpassedaresolutionthat

washypocritical;nowpassthisonetoatone.””543Thisissuedidnotjustsplitmaleand

female clerks along gender lines but also divided married and single women and

demonstrates how women’s work placed trade unions in particularly challenging

positionsforwhichtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasofverylittleusetounitetheir

diversemembership.From theirdealingswithwomenworkers, it appears that the

motif of the ‘railway family’ was at its most useful to trade unions when gender

stereotypeswerenotbeingchallengedandtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’co-existed

alongside traditional notionsof thenuclear family. Temporarywork forunmarried

womenwaspermissiblewithintheboundsofthe ‘railwayfamily’but itdidtestthe

limitsofmaleacceptanceofworkingwomen.

4.3.2 TheNURandwomenworkers

PriortotheFirstWorldWar,womendidworkinanumberofroleswithinthe

railway industry, for example they were employed as crossing keepers, carriage

cleanersandwaiting-roomattendants.544Theseroleswereconsideredappropriately

femininebecause, for themostpart, theymirroredthe jobsthatwomenwouldalso

undertake in the home, including cleaning and serving refreshments. Female

employeeswerenotpermittedtobecomeunionmembersanddidnotfeatureinthe

pages of The Railway Review, even on those pages targeted towards women and

children.TheASRSandtheRailwayWomen’sGuildsupportedtheeffortsofwomen

workerstoorganisestatingthat“Womencannotexpecttogetequalpaywithmenfor

543TheRailwayServiceJournal,44,520(1947)p.239544Wojtczak,Railwaywomen,p.5

203

equalworkbymerelyaskingforitonthegroundofinjustice…Womenshouldorganise,

andcompelequalpaymentonthestrengthoftheirorganisation,andthedamage it

couldinflictonthosewhorefusejustice.”545However,whenitcametotheorganisation

offemalerailwayworkersneithertheASRSortheRWGofferedmuch,ifany,support.

Inareportonamoralcrusadeagainstrailwaybarmaids,theASRSstatedthat,“Ifthe

petitionerswouldcondescendtointerviewanyoftherefreshmentroomgirlstheywill

findthatthemostdisagreeableexperiencesofthelattercomefromtheprivatesideof

thebar,andnotthecustomers’side.Theywilltellofshockinglylonghoursoflabour,

of indignities placed upon them by suspicious and prying manageresses, and of

interferencewiththeirprivateaffairswhichnecessityalonecompelsthemtosubmit

to.”546Despiteunderstandingthestrugglesfemalerailwayrefreshmentroomworkers

faced,therewasnohelpofferedtothembytheunionoranyattempttodrawtheminto


The Railway Review contained a number of conflicting messages for female

railwayworkersupto1914.Anarticle in July1905suggestedthat theASRSwould

amendtheirconstitutiontoadmitwomen,“withaplatformofequalpayforequalwork,

whethertheworkisperformedbymenorwomen”.547Thissuggestionwasnotenacted

until the outbreak of the FirstWorldWar when thousands of women entered the

railwayworkplace.PriortotheFirstWorldWar,TheRailwayReviewdidnotappear

overlyhostile tothe ideaof femalerailwayworkers,althoughthisambivalencewas

onlytothoseroleswherewomendidnotencroachontomen’semployment,payand

545TheRailwayReview,2/8/1901p7546TheRailwayReview,26/8/1904p8547TheRailwayReview,7/7/1905,p9

204

prospects.Smallarticlescommentingontheworkof femaleclerks, trainattendants

andwomen “stationmasters”werenot criticalof thework thesewomenundertook

although in the case of the article about female stationmasters, the tone was

condescending, “At Langford, near Maldon, Essex, a “stationmistress” reigns

supreme”.548Thestationsthesewomenwereinchargeofweresmall,outoftheway

stationsandthewomennamedinthearticlewereallmarried,indicatingthattheymay

havebeengiventhepositionsbecausetheywerethewivesofrailwaymenandwere

assistingtheirhusbandsorwerewidows,andthiswasawayfortherailwaycompany

to ‘takecare’of the ‘railwayfamily’.Duetothese factors the femalestationmasters,

althoughtheywereundertakingjobsthatwerepredominantlymen’s,werenotviewed

asathreattoanyrailwaymen.

However, with the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 large

numbers of railwaymen began to join up, leaving railway companies severely

understaffed.Theybegan to recruit femaleworkers inpositionspreviouslyheldby

men including porter, guard and cleaner.549 TheNURExecutive Committee quickly

realisedthattheyneededtoenrolthesenewwartimewomenworkersintothetrade

unioninordertoprotectthewagesandworkingconditionsoftheirmalemembers.

Thiswaspartlypromptedbythefearsofrailwaymen,whostatedwithinthepagesof

TheRailwayReviewthat,“Itwouldbepureaffectationtodenythattheadventofgirls

onourrailwayshasnotcreatedanatmosphereofprofounduneasinessthattendsto

upset the recent smooth and harmonious relationship between the men and the

companies’headquarters.Notonemanintenthousandbelievestheirpresenceisofa

548TheRailwayReview,13/7/1906,p11549Wojtczak,Railwaywomen,p.46

205

temporaryduration, inviewof thepermanent structural alterationsmade for their

accommodation…Our E.C. will be wise to deal firmly with this question, yet

diplomatically.”550 The RWG shared their concerns, stating in their Conference

resolutioninMay1915“ThatthisConferenceoftheNURWGviewwithapprehension

theintroductionoffemaleinplaceofmalelabouronrailways,andurgetheECofthe

NURtocarefullywatchthenewdevelopments,andtofurthersafeguardtheinterests

ofallconcernedbyinsistingthatwomenshallbepaidthesamerateofwagesasmen

whenperformingsimilarwork.”551Thepreviousambivalenceshowntowardsfemale

railwayworkersdissipatedwhenmen’spayandpositionswerebeingthreatened.In

thisway, the traditional ‘railway family’ closed ranks and acted as an exclusionary

forcewhen it felt threatened,specificallywhengenderstereotypeswerechallenged

andthebreadwinnermodelwassubverted.

Women were admitted into the NUR from June 1915 despite the concerns

raisedbysomemembers.552TheNURarguedthatwomenmustbegiventheminimum

rate of pay that would be given to men due to the temporary nature of their

employment.Theuniondidnotwantlow-paidwomenreplacingmenbuttherankand

fileNURmembersdidnotsupportwomengettingthesamewagesastheywereentitled

to. Female railwayworkerswere also not eligible for the samewar bonus asmale

workers, even though the NUR argued that they suffered just as much as male

counterparts.Thejustificationusedbyrailwaycompaniesforthediscrepancywasthat

womendidnothavethesameresponsibilitytotheirfamilies,eitherbecausetheywere


206

singleorweresupportedbyamaleworkerwhowasdesignatedasthebreadwinner,

even if this was not the case.553 The justification for wage disparity included the

predominanceofwomeninunskilledorlowskilledjobs(suchascarriagecleanersor

patternshopemployees);and,mostcruciallyforrailwaycompaniesandtradeunions,

the temporary nature of women’s work and their responsibility for family and

domesticmatterswhichnecessitatedtheirremovalfromtheemploymentmarket.554

AnarticleinTheRailwayReviewreprintedfromtheRailwayGazetteespoused

theviewthattheNURhaddoneagreatservicetothemenfightingattheFrontaswell

asthemencontinuingtoworkontherailwaysinBritainbyadmittingwomentotheir

membership:“theNationalUnion is tobecongratulatedontheadoptionofapolicy

whichhasavertedapotentialcauseofunrestinthetransportationworld.”555However,

complaintscontinuedtobevoicedinTheRailwayReviewabouttheroleswomenwere

undertaking and the way they were being treated. The North Eastern Railway

Companywascriticisedfornotprovidingfemaleticketcollectorswithuniformsbut

alsoforemployingyoungwomentoundertakethesejobsinthefirstinstance,asthe

authorconsideredthatwomenactingasticketcollectors“crossingfromoneplatform

to the other on busy sections” to be a “reprehensible” practice which was too

dangerous.556 Another example of this was the complaint by railwaymen on the

LondonBrightonandSouthCoast railwayaboutusingwomenaspassengerguards

undertheguiseoftheprotectionof“publicsafety”wheninfact,itwasalsotheirpay

553Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,p.358554Todd,Selina,YoungWomen,WorkandFamilyinEngland,1918-1950(OxfordUniversityPress,Oxford,2005)pp.51-54.Thesejustificationsarestillconsideredsomeoftheforemostreasonsfortheinequalityofpaybetweenmenandwomentoday.555TheRailwayReview,13/8/1915,p.9556TheRailwayReview,7/1/1916,p.3

207

andpromotionprospectsthattheywereconcernedwith.557Thisexemplifiestheway

thattheNURtreatedfemalerailwayworkers,viewingthemas‘damselsindistress’in

needofprotectionaspartofthe‘railwayfamily’butalsoascontinuedthreatstosafety

andtomalerailwayworkers.

AftertheendoftheFirstWorldWar,theunionrefusedtosupportanyoftheir

femalememberswhoweredismissed,claimingthattheyhadalwaysknownthattheir

employmentwastemporary.558Femaleclerksweretheonlysectionoftheworkforce

whowerepermittedtoremaininemploymentandamarriagebarwasputinplacethat

necessitatedtheirresignationonmarriage.559Thosewomenwhodidremainemployed

bytherailwaycompaniesforatimeaftertheendofthewarweresubjecttoverbal

attacksbymalerailwayworkers,asanapologyprintedonthefrontpageofTheRailway

Reviewdemonstrates.HoraceBird,aforemanontheSouthEastandChathamrailway

apologised to Miss Jessie Jordan, ticket examiner, “for my unprovoked assault on

her…and unreservedly apologise for and withdraw the statements I then made

concerning her character and reputation”.560Womenwho continued toworkwere

consideredtobetaking jobsawayfrommenwhowerereturning fromthewarand

werethereforedeemedtobeselfishandconcernedwiththeirownwelfare,ratherthan

thatofthe‘railwayfamily’.561

Womendidstillcontinuetoworkinrolesthattheyhadundertakenbeforethe

war, as gate and crossing keepers, office cleaners and waiting room attendants.

Nevertheless,debatesabouttheirrighttoworkandtohavethesupportoftheNUR

557TheRailwayReview,6/4/1917,p.5558TheRailwayReview,27/12/1918,p.6559Wojtczak,Railwaywomen,p.133560TheRailwayReview,4/7/1919,p.1561Grayzel,WomenandtheFirstWorldWar,p.107

208

appeared occasionally in The Railway Review from the early 1920s onwards. For

exampleafterasettlementimprovingtheworkingconditionsformalegatekeepers,a

femalegatekeeperwroteinaskingtheNURtosupporttheirrights.562Therepliesto

thislettervariedincludingonewhichstatedthat“Thisisaneasycasetosettleasthe

ladyshouldnotbeemployedbythecompany.”563Althoughthisletterrepresentedthe

viewsheldbysomerailwaymen,aslongasfemalerailwayworkersdidnottrespass

intotoomanyjobrolesorthehighergradesofrailwayemployment,theygenerallydid

notfacetoomuchofabacklashwithinTheRailwayReview,ontheprovisothatthey

were widowed or unmarried and not seeking to disturb the status quo.Women

workerswereencouragedtojointheNURinextraordinarycircumstancesinorderto

campaignforimprovementsintheirownpayandconditionsbutalsotosupportthe

‘railwayfamily’.564

TheSecondWorldWarcreatedasimilarsituationforrailwaymenandtheNUR

astheysawanotherinfluxoffemaleworkersintotherailwayindustry.Anagreement

wasreachedthatreplicatedconditionsplaceduponwomenworkersduringtheFirst

WorldWar–womenwereacceptedintomen’srolesonatemporarybasisonly.565This

didnotmeanthatwomenwereentitledtothesamewageshowever,asaletterfroma

femalewaitingroomattendantaskedforawagerisefromtheir24shillingbaserate

as,“wehavetheresponsibilityofbeingbreadwinnerofthehome”.566Equalpayfor

femalerailwayworkersagainbecameaprioritycampaignfortheNUR.567Althoughthe

562TheRailwayReview,15/6/1923,p.12563TheRailwayReview,22/6/1923,p.11564TheRailwayReview,27/4/1934,p.5565Wojtczak,Railwaywomen,p.143566TheRailwayReview,9/2/1940,p.14567TheRailwayReview,5/7/1940,p.5and19/7/1940,p.4

209

NURwereabletonegotiateequalpayforwomentakingovermen’srolesinconciliation

gradesaftertheirprobationaryperiods,theywerenotabletodothesameforshopmen

because,“whenonehad37unionsinvolved,withsometimes37differentpoliciesand

views,itwasnoteasytoreconcilethemandpresentacasetotheothersidewhichwas

watertight.”568Althoughrailwaymenhadan ideaofwhat toexpect in thissituation,

therewas renewedcriticismof female railwayworkers, especiallywhen theywere

considereddamagingtorailwaymen’scareerprospects.OnerailwaymanwrotetoThe

RailwayReviewthat,“Iamgiventounderstandthatawoman’splacewasinthehome,

butthatseemstobethelastplaceintheseso-calledmoderndays.”569

Themain criticism focused on the promotion ofwomenovermenwhohad

moretrainingandexperience,andthelackofattendancebyfemalemembersatbranch

meetingsasaccordingtotheNURdelegateattheRWGConferencein1942,“regular

attendance [atbranchmeetings] andpunctualitywereaprimenecessityof railway

service.”570 Certain occupations were the focus of ire from railwaymen, especially

femaleguardswhowereconsidered“unqualified”andlackingthenecessaryskillsand

trainingthatmeninthesepositionshadtakenyearstocomeby.571Femalesignallers

werealsoatargetforcriticism,againbecausethesewereconsideredhighgradejobs

whichsinglewomenaimed“withtheconnivanceofthecompany,ofcourse,toousta

marriedmanfromhisjob.”572Thesecomplaintsfocusedontheprecariousnatureof

the‘railwayfamily’duringwartime,particularlyontheassumptionthatsinglewomen

didnothavetotakecareoffamiliesasmarriedrailwaymendid.Therewasaconcern

568TheRailwayReview,10/7/1942,p.3569TheRailwayReview,22/11/1940,p.10570TheRailwayReview,5/6/1942,p.4and3/7/1942,p.8571TheRailwayReview,6/11/1942,p.4572TheRailwayReview,28/7/1944,p.4

210

amongst somerailwaymen that,despite theagreements,womenwouldbe retained

aftertheendofthewar,“Theemploymentofwomeninindustryhascreatedadifficult

post-warproblem.Theonlysolutionistheeliminationoffemalelabourwheresuitable

male labour is available.”573Formostrailwaymen, theydidnothave togo to these

extremelengthsasmanywomenremovedthemselvesfromrailwayemploymentfrom

1946. Again, complaints about women workers were reduced as their numbers

decreasedandthetraditional‘railwayfamily’re-establisheditself.

4.3.3 ASLEFandwomenworkers

TheASLEFLocomotiveJournaldidnotconsidertheemploymentofwomenin

therailwayindustrytobeagreatthreattotheirmembers.In1913,whentheGreat

WesternRailwayCompanybeganemployingwomenascarriagecleanersatOldOak

Commonfor15shillingsaweekratherthanthe21shillingsaweekthemenwerepaid,

theJournalstatedthat“Itisnotunlikelythatthewomenwillhavetogo.”574Itisnot

clearhowever,whatactionwastakenbyASLEFagainstthesecarriagecleaners.Asthe

lowestgradeofemploymentintheunion,cleanersdidnotoftenmeritamentioninthe

LocomotiveJournalalthoughtheemploymentstructureoftherailwayindustrymeant

thatmost firemenanddrivershadbeguntheircareersascleaners.Evenduringthe

war, whenwomen entered themanual grades of employment on the railways the

Editorcommentedthat“Femalelabourisbecomingquiteafeatureofrailwaylife…we

shallsoonhaveonlytheheavierlabourlefttothepoormalekind.Butwethinkitwill

besometimebeforeeventhemostrobustandcleverofourladyfriendswillbefound

573TheRailwayReview,29/9/1944,p.3574LocomotiveJournal,26,8(1913)p.353

211

actingasshunters,driversorfiremen,oronthepermanentway,althoughtheymayfill

someofthechairsofdirectorsboardrooms,withadvantagetoallconcerned.”575This

statementfromtheEditorappearstosuggestthatthoseonthefootplate,i.e.members

of ASLEF, need not be concernedwith the encroachmentof female labouron their

workplaceastheywerewellprotectedbythedifficultnatureofthejobwhichleftit

unsuitableforwomen.

ThislackofconcernwasthereasonASLEFdidnotjoininanyofthenegotiations

aboutfemalelabourandtheirpay,positionsandworkingconditionsduringtheFirst

WorldWar.576 ItwasonlywiththeadventofconscriptionduringtheSecondWorld

WarandtheshortageofdriversandfirementhatASLEFdisplayedanysensethattheir

membersfeltthreatenedbytheintroductionoffemaleworkerswithintheirmagazine.

Anarticleandletter,bothappearingintheAugust1942issue,criticisedanysuggestion

thatwomenshouldbeallowedtoworkonthefootplate.TheletterencouragedASLEF

to remain strong in the faceofpressure fromtheNUR toaccept femaleworkersas

footplatecrew.577ASLEFwassuccessfulinensuringthatwomendidnotencroachonto

themale-onlyspaceofthefootplateuntilthe1970sandwereoneoftheunionsthat

heldoutthelongestagainstfemalemembership.578OnlytheintroductionoftheSex

Discrimination Act on the 1st January 1975 paved the way for the employment of

womenonthesametermsasmen.579LondonUndergroundLimited(LUL)becamethe

firstemployerofafemaledriverinOctober1978,whilstASLEF’sfirstfemalemember,

575LocomotiveJournal,28,6(1915)p.260576LocomotiveJournal,30,5(1917)p.151577LocomotiveJournal,55,8(1942)p.165andp.179578TransportforLondon,https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/londons-transport-a-history/women-in-transport[20/07/2016]579TheNationalArchives,‘SexDiscriminationAct,1975’http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/65[11/1/2017]

212

atraineedriverforLUL,joinedtheunioninApril1977.However,ittookanotherfive

years,untilFebruary1983,forBritishRailtoemploytheirfirstfemaletraindriver.580

Duetothelackofemploymentopportunitiesaffordedtothemonthefootplate,women

workersdidnotfeatureinanyaspectoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’asimaginedby

ASLEF.Itwastheirwomen’stradeunionauxiliary,theASLEFWomen’sSocietythat

becamethe focusofwomen’s involvementwiththetradeunionandthe ideaof the

‘railwayfamily’andthiswillbeexaminedindetailinChapter5

4.4 Conclusion

The idea of the ‘railway family’was amore complex phenomenon for trade

unions than itwas for railway companies. Itwas not used to unite all trade union

membersfromthethreedifferentunions,ratheritwasusedtoinspiresectionsofeach

individualuniontocometogether.Menindifferentgradesandworkingfordifferent

companieswereencouragedtounitetofightforbetterpayandworkingconditions.

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’fromthetradeunionperspectivewasmostimportant

inthewaythatitwasusedtocreateseparatespacesformenandwomen.Onereason

forthiswasthatthetradeunionsdidnotwantnon-workingwivesortheincreasing

numberoffemaleworkerstohavethesamestakeinthetradeunionasthefullypaid-

up male members; it was the men’swages and working conditions that the trade

unions sought to defend in the face of any encroachment by railway companiesor

female labour. The idea of the ‘railway family’ did appear within the trade union

newspapersbutitappearedmoreofteninconnectionwithinternationaltradeunions

580Wojtczak,Railwaywomen,p.283

213

inordertogeneratefraternalfeelingandcomradeshipamongstworkersinthesame,

orsimilar,industriesandofthesameclass.The‘railwayfamily’wasalsoakeyaspect

intradeuniondealingswiththewivesandchildrenoftheirmembers.Thetradeunion

‘railwayfamily’wasanarrowerandmoreclearlydefinedversionofthenuclearfamily

–theywereveryclearonwhocouldwork,forhowlongandatwhatpointsubverting

gender norms became a challenge to the traditional notion of family and, in this

respect,tothe‘railwayfamily’.

Thethreemainrailwaytradeunions,theNUR,ASLEFandtheRCA,utilisedthe

ideaofthe‘railwayfamily’asanexclusionaryforceaswellasaninclusiveone,ensuring

thatrailwaymenandtheirfamilieswereprotectedfirstandforemost,overtherights

ofwomenworkers.Columnsandpagesintheirnewspaperdrewthewives,sistersand

mothersofrailwaymenintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andencouragedthemto

share the fierce loyalty that their husbands, sons, brothers and fathers felt for the

union. They created a ‘separate sphere’ for non-working women and another for

femaleworkers,attimesplacingthesewomenintoconflictwithoneanother.

Womenworkers,oneofthemostchallengingphenomenaofthefirsthalfofthe

twentieth century for trade unions,were accepted into the ‘railway family’ only in

timesofextremenecessity.Theywereincludedintheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’when

thenumbersoffemaleworkersincreasedinorderthatthesefemalerailwayworkers

did not threaten the pay and employment prospects of the railwaymen theywere

replacing. Each trade union treated this issue separately and in their own way,

however the RCA’s handling of female clerks acted as a blueprint for other trade

unions. They encouragedwomen to join andcampaigned for equal paywhilst also

allowing their male members to register their displeasure at the threat women

214

workersposed to them in thepagesof theirnewspaper.TheRCAcreated separate

spacesforfemaleclerksbyprovidingthemwiththeirownECmembers,women-only

conferencesandsportsand social facilities.TheNURonlyhad todealwithwomen

workersduringtheFirstandSecondWorldWars.Theyactedinasimilarwaytothe

RCA,althoughtheydidattempttogoonestepfurtheranddrawwomenintotheiridea

of the ‘railway family’ in the knowledge that these female workers had been

guaranteedbytheGovernmentastemporaryemployeesonly.ASLEFincontrastwere

unconcernedabout femaleworkersbecause theyencroached littleonto theirunion

andwereonlyaminimalthreattotheirmembers.Bybeingreluctantlyincludedinthe

idea of the ‘railway family’ not only were women workers less threatening to

railwaymenandtheirnon-workingwivesbutthetradeunionsalsohopedthatthese

workingwomenwould feel a bond towards their colleagues and their families and

thereforenotchallengethestatusquo.Itwasafearoffemaleworkersandthethreat

they posed tomale pay and promotion prospects that drovemuch of the criticism

womenworkersfacedwithinthepagesofthetradeunionnewspapersandexcluded

them from the narrative of the ‘railway family’ rather than an inherent misogyny

amongstrailwaymen.

215

‘SEPARATE SPHERES’: WOMEN’S TRADE UNION AUXILIARIES AND THE RAILWAY QUEEN

Oneofthemostimportantwaysthatrailwaytradeunionsencouragedwomen

toengagewiththeideaofthe‘railwayfamily’waswiththeformationofwomen’strade

unionauxiliaries.Auxiliarieswerecreatedtoallowthewivesanddaughtersoftrade

union railwaymen the opportunity to participate in union activities, such as

fundraising,socialisingandimprovingtheirpoliticaleducationwithoutundermining

the authority of the male-dominated trade union branches. The two auxiliaries

associatedwiththerailwaytradeunions, theASRS/NURWomen’sGuild founded in

1900andtheASLEFWomen’sSocietyfoundedin1924,wereformedbywomen,for

womenbut theywereacceptedandhadadegreeofsupport fromthetradeunions’

coremalemembership. This chapterwill examine the role these auxiliaries played

withintheirparenttradeunionandinrelationtothewider‘railwayfamily’.Itwillalso

considerhowtheintroductionoftheofficeoftheRailwayQueen,chosenfromamongst

thedaughtersofrailwaymentorepresenttheindustryfrom1925onwards,provided

furtheropportunitiesfortheinvolvementofwomenintherailwayindustryandthe

‘railwayfamily’inparticular.

AsArdis Cameronhas argued, it is important to consider non-wage-earners

withinthelabourmovementandinlabourhistory.Women’sauxiliariesdemonstrate

“theextensionofclassconsciousnessoutsidetheworkplace”andintothehomesand

216

familiesofthoseinthetradeunionmovement.581MelindaChateauvertalsosupports

thisargumentinherworkontheBrotherhoodofSleepingCarPortersontheAmerican

railways stating that “Telling thewomen's sideof the talemakes clearhowgender

matteredtoboththewomenandthemen.”582Studyingtradeunionauxiliariesraisesa

numberofquestionsabouttheroleofwomenintradeunionsandthesearelinkedto

theaimsoftheauxiliaryitself.Wastheirrolepurelyinthesupportoftheunionorwas

the recruitmentandpolitical educationofwomenan important function in itsown

right? How independentwerewomen’s auxiliaries from themale-dominated trade

unionanddidthispotentialindependencecauseconflictwiththeunion?Thischapter

willexaminetheRailwayWomen’sGuildandtheASLEFWomen’sSocietyinorderto

addressthesequestions.

Theeffectauxiliarieshadonthewomenwhoweremembers,theirimmediate

familiesandthelocalrailwaycommunityisanimportantquestiontobeconsidered.

ResearchonNorthAmericanandAustralianwomen’stradeunionauxiliariessuggests

thattheyhadaprofoundimpactonthelivesoftheirmembersandthe‘railwayfamily’.

Itwillbearguedthatintheeyesofthemaletradeunionmembers,theprimaryfunction

of thewomen’sauxiliarieswas tosupport thepolitical aimsof the tradeunionand

fundraise for union causes, particularly the Orphan Fund. The social side of the

women’s auxiliaries was, for the male branch members, a by-product of this

fundraisingeffortandmoreforthebenefitoftheirwivesthanthemselves.

581Cameron,Ardis,“BreadandRosesrevisited:Women’scultureandworking-classactivismintheLawrencestrikeof1912”inMilkman,R.,(ed.)Women,WorkandProtest.AcenturyofUSwomen’slaborhistory(Routledge,Boston,1985)p.45582Chateauvert,Melinda,MarchingTogether:WomenoftheBrotherhoodofSleepingCarPorters(UniversityofIllinoisPress,Chicago,1998)p.XIII

217

For thewomenwhoweremembers of auxiliaries however, fundraising and

socialisingshapedtheiridentitiesasquasi-tradeunionmembersandcementedtheir

place within the idea of the ‘railway family’. Education was an important facet of

women’sauxiliariesbecausemembersneededtounderstandtheroleoftradeunions

in the labourmovement in order to better assist the trade union in their political

endeavours.Agreaterunderstandingoflocalandnationalpoliticsencouragedsome

branchesoftheNURWomen’sGuildinparticulartocampaignonissuesthataffected

the ‘railway family’, most prominently maternal and infant welfare and old age

pensions. For some of the campaigns they were supported by their trade union

brethren and for others they stood united with other working-class women’s

organisations such as the Women’s Co-operative Guild and the Women’s Labour

League.Forthetradeunions,politicaleducationledtosomeunforeseenconsequences,

includingagreaterawarenessoftheissuesfacingwomenandthe‘railwayfamily’.For

somewomenwithintheauxiliariesthisdroveagreaterdesiretoeffectchangesocially,

politicallyandeconomically,andtocementtheiremergingindependenceandfreedom

fromthepatriarchalinstitutionsbywhichtheyhadbeenbound.

5.1 Thehistoryofwomen’stradeunionauxiliaries

TheRWGandASLEFWomen’sSocietydemonstrateoneofthemostimportant

waysthattheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasusedbytradeunionsinordertodraw

non-workingwomenintothetradeunionstructureandfacilitatetheirsupportofeach

otherandthewider‘railwayfamily’.Women’stradeunionauxiliariesalsoplayedan

importantroleinsupportingtheirunions,withthepoliticaleducationofwomenand

campaigning forwomen’sandworking-class rights.Between1900and1948, there

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wereanumberofwomen’stradeunionauxiliariesinNorthAmericaandAustraliathat

havebeenresearchedbyhistoriansyetthereisverylittleliteratureaboutequivalent

auxiliariesinBritain.Therewereveryfewofficialwomen’stradeunionauxiliariesin

Britaincontributingtothepaucityofliterature.EvenwithintheNURandASLEF,their

women’s auxiliaries merit little consideration within the official histories of the

organisations.583 The RWG and the ASLEF Women’s Guild were not substantially

differentintheirscopeandtheeffecttheywereabletohaveontheirrespectiveunions

andthewiderrailwaycommunity,howevertheydidoperateindistinctivewaysand

haddifferingprioritiesoutsidetheirroleassupportersoftheirparentunion.

Caroline Merithew argues that during the Depression in the USA, women

becamemoreinvolvedwithunionmatters.WhentheMineworkersunionsplitinthe

1930s, wives formed awomen’s auxiliary in order to fight for their husbands and

themselves–for“breadandfreedom”.584AsattestedbybothWolfsonandMerithew,

writingeightyyearsapart,unionswerenoteagertoorganisefemaleworkersbutthey

werenotopposedtotheformationofauxiliariesbyfemalerelatives.585Merithewviews

theseauxiliariesasawayforwomentobecomeinvolvedinpoliticalactivismalbeitas

part of a class struggle rather than campaigning separately on women’s issues.586

These issuesdidnothave tobe incompatible unlessonewas subsumedwithin the

other.Womeninauxiliariesdidnotusuallychallengegenderstereotypesbutusedthe

583Forexample,TheRailwayWomen’sGuildarethefocusoflessthanhalfapageinBagwell’svoluminousTheRailwaymenwhilsttheASLEFWomen’sSocietyfeatureverylittleinMcKillop’sTheLightedFlame584Merithew,CarolineW.,‘“WeWereNotLadies’”:Gender,ClassandaWomen’sauxiliary’sBattleforMiningUnionism’JournalofWomen’sHistory,18,2(2006)p.64585Ibid.,p.65andWolfson,Theresa,‘TradeUnionActivitiesofWomen’,AnnalsoftheAmericanAcademyofPoliticalandSocialScience,142,WomenintheModernWorld(1929)p.125586Merithew,‘”WeWereNotLadies”’,p.67

219

ideologyof ‘separate spheres’ to justify their involvementwith tradeunionismand

political activism.587 A paper written by Miss James of the Swansea branch of the

RailwayWomen’sGuildwasreproducedinTheRailwayReviewin1900andwastitled

‘Womanandhersphere’.Itarguedthattheeducationofwomenintradeunionismwas

important,andtheGuildwerewellplacedtodothis,buttherewasaneedforwomen

tobalancetheirpublicworkwiththeirhomelife.588

InherworkonthepoliticalroleofhousewivesintheGreatDepression,Annelise

Orleckhasargued that in timesof crisis for families, suchas industrialdisputesor

economicdifficulties,womenacceptedthesexualdivisionoflabourandtheideology

of ‘separate spheres’ but realised they could not “fulfil their responsibilities to the

homewithout leaving it.”589Byworking in thepublicsphere,working-classwomen

wereabletoforgeanotheraspecttotheiridentities.AnneO’Brienhasarguedthatthe

Mothers’ Union in Australia “provided women with a sense of identity.”590 The

Mothers’Unionemphasisedtheimportantroleofwomenasmothersanditwasfrom

thisthatwomenwereabletofostertheiridentity.Inasimilarwaytootherpolitical

groupsandtradeunions,theChurchchosetofocusontheimportanceofwomeninthe

private, domestic sphere. In 1902, an Archbishop in Sydney identified “domestic

Christianity”asakey functionof femalemembersof theChurch.591Domestic issues

featuredintherolewomenplayedwithintradeunionsandtheirauxiliaries:women

couldproduceandeducatethenextgenerationoftradeunionmembersandthiswasa

587Dennis,Michael,‘ChicagoandtheLittleSteelstrike’LaborHistory,53,2(2012)p.172588TheRailwayReview,8/6/1900p11589Orleck,Annelise,‘“Wearethatmythicalthingcalledthepublic”:MilitantHousewivesduringtheGreatDepression’FeministStudies,19,1(1993)p.150590O’Brien,Anne,‘Militantmothers:faith,powerandidentityintheMothers’UnioninSydney,1896–1950’Women’sHistoryReview,9,1(2000)p.36591Ibid.,p.39

220

keyfacetoftheiridentityasauxiliarymembers.InBritain,theMothers’Unionsought

to influence Government policy on issues such as education and housing, which

directlyaffectedtheirmembers.592Womenwerejudgedtobeuniquelyplacedtodeal

withthesemattersfromtheir‘separatesphere’ofthedomesticworld.

TheRWGandtheASLEFWomen’sSocietyundertookimportantworkduring

railway strikes that assisted the trade union and preventedmanymembers of the

‘railwayfamily’ fromunduesuffering.Thevariedcampaignsthat theysupported, in

conjunctionwith the trade unions and as independentwomen’s groups, fostered a

senseof‘separatespheres’astheRWGandASLEFWomen’sSocietytackledthesefrom

theiruniqueperspectiveaswomen.Thecampaigns,andthewaythattheRWGandthe

ASLEFWomen’sSocietyorganisedandsupportedthesewillbediscussedin5.2and

5.3.Theideaofcontainingwomenwithintheir‘separatesphere’wasanimportantway

thattherailwaytradeunionsutilisedtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’–theyprovided

womenwith their own space, their own ‘imagined community’ within the ‘railway

family’,buttheyalsowantedtoensurethatitwasaboundedcommunitythatdidnot

threatenthedominanceofmaletradeunionists.Thewaythat thetradeunionsand

women’sauxiliariesnegotiatedthese‘separatespheres’ofthe‘railwayfamily’willbe

examined in this chapter. The role of the Railway Queen was, in some senses, a

‘separatesphere’inhabitedonlybythewomenwhoundertooktheroleandherfemale

retinue.However,itwasaspherethatwascontrolledbythemaledominatedrailway

companiesandtradeunions.ThefunctionsandremitoftheRailwayQueen,andher

effectonwomenandthe‘railwayfamily’willbediscussedlaterinthischapter.

592Prochaska,F,‘AMother’sCountry:Mother’smeetingsandfamilywelfareinBritain,1850–1950’History,74,242(1989)p.392

221

Femaleactivismwasnotalwaysviewed favourably, evenwhere therewasa

longertraditionofauxiliarymembership,suchasintheUSA.TheleaderoftheUnited

MineworkersofAmericadenouncedtheunionmenwho“shovetheirwomenouton

the picket linewhile they remained at home and did the cooking” at their Annual

Conference in1934.593Themembersof thisunion’sauxiliarydevelopedamilitancy

whichtooktheformofpicketing,protestingandevendamagingproperty,aswellas

othernon-violentmethods.594However, theydidnot renounce theirdomestic roles

andcontinuedtobondthroughthewomen’spageoftheunionjournaloverissuessuch

as childcare, household problems and the shared concern over their husband’s

profession.595

Merithewarguesthatthroughtheirroleinthewomen’sauxiliary,asmilitants

andpersuasiveorganisers,mineworkers’wivescreatedanewidentityforthemselves,

intermsoftheirsharedpartintheclassstrugglewithmenandtheirrelationshipas

allies to their husbands, rather than their subordinates.596 The creation of a strong

partnershipbetweenmenandwomenandhusbandsandwivesisalsodemonstrated

byDennisinhisworkontheChicagosteelstrikeof1937.Byworkinginauxiliaries,

womenrealisedthat“wehavemoreincommonwithourmenfolksthanwethought-

wecanworktogether forabetter life.”597TheASLEFWomen’sSocietywaspraised

withintheLocomotiveJournalfortheirworkfor,andwith,themembersofASLEF.On

the21stanniversaryoftheirfoundation,thePontypoolWomen’sSocietywerelauded

593UMWPresidentJohnL.LewisquotedinMerithew,“WeWereNotLadies”,p.64594Orleck,“Wearethatmythicalthing”,p.162595Merithew,“WeWereNotLadies”,p.71596Ibid.,pp.77-83597Fromacommunistpamphlet.Johnstone,Jenny,WomeninSteel(1937)inDennis,‘ChicagoandtheLittleSteelStrike’,p.174

222

asanexampleof“whattheco-ordinationofthemenandwomen’ssectionscandoby

helpingone another andwhat a lot those brancheswithout awomen’s section are

losing.”598

Language was of particular importance to women’s auxiliaries. They were

concernedwiththelanguagethattheyusedaboutthemselves,asthiswaspartofhow

they shaped their own identity. The language that others used to describe the

auxiliarieswasalsokey,asthisreflectedhowtheywereviewedbytradeunionistsand

those outside their respective union. An excellent example of this is discussed by

Chateauvertwithregardtotheauxiliaryof theBrotherhoodofSleepingCarPorters

(BSCP). In 1938, the Women’s Economic Council of the BSCP was renamed the

International Ladies’ AuxiliaryOrder.However, according to Chateauvert the name

change from Women's Economic Council weakened the position of the Ladies’

Auxiliarybecause‘Ladies’neededprotectionfrommenandthereforeassumedamore

subordinatepositionwithin theunion.599This redefinitionas ‘Ladies’ requirednew

rulesforbehaviourandetiquette–thewayamemberoftheLadies’Auxiliarydressed

wascriticisedifshedidnotconform.600Formalteasweredesignedtoraisefundsfor

theBrotherhoodandprovideaneducationalmessageabouttradeunionism.Yetthis

educational aspect was often dispensed with as these teas provided a chance for

auxiliary members to demonstrate their respectability and as Chateavert argues,

"Parties made trade unionism appear less threatening, less masculine, and more

sociallylegitimate".601

598LocomotiveJournal,59,5(1946)p.130599Chateauvert,MarchingTogether,p.71600Ibid.,p.155601Ibid.,p.106

223

After theirre-definitionas ‘Ladies’, theauxiliarywas forcedtoadoptamuch

morerigidprogrammeoforganisationalactivitiesandeducationthanintheirformer

model.602GenerallymostofthewomenintheLadies’Auxiliarysupportedthischange

to theirprogramme;however, a smallminority “putupa spiriteddefence”of their

perceivedrightstoequalmembershipoftheunion.603Ultimatelythesewomenwere

thwartedandthemoremodestprogrammewasaccepted.Theseeducationalactivities

reinforcedtheroleofamemberoftheLadies’Auxiliaryasawifeandmotherconcerned

withdomesticissues.Inturn,thisbenefitedtheBrotherhoodbecause,accordingtothe

PresidentoftheLadiesAuxiliariesoftheBSCP,thelabourmovementreliedonwomen

“asconsumers,ashousewives,andasmothers.”604Thelanguageassociatedwiththe

Ladies’Auxiliarywasclearlyimportantindefiningtheiridentityandtheiraims.The

movementawayfrompoliticalcampaigningbroughttheLadies’Auxiliarymoreinline

withotherAmericanwomen’sauxiliaries,intermsoftheirscopeandtheimpactthey

wereable tohavewithinthemaleparentunionandthewider labourmovement in

general.ThelanguageutilisedbytheRailwayWomen’sGuildandtheASLEFWomen’s

Society,todescribethemselvesandtheirrelationshipwiththetradeunions,wasalso

crucialtoestablishingandmaintainingtheiridentity.Theuseofthislanguagewillbe

discussedlaterinthischapter.

Thereareveryfewwomen’stradeunionauxiliariesinBritainthathavebeen

significantlyresearched.Auxiliariestopoliticalparties,includingthePrimroseLeague,

theWomen’s Labour League and theWomen’s Socialist Circles emerged from the

602Ibid.,p.89603Ibid.,p.90604Ibid.,p.107

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1880s. Some women advocated the need for separate women’s groups to “ensure

women’sinterestswouldnotbeneglected.”605OtherslikeHannahMitchellpreferred

toremainwithpoliticalparties thatprovidedequalmembership forwomen,asshe

claimedtheIndependentLabourPartydid.606Manyofthesepoliticalauxiliariesdidnot

want to challenge the policies of their parent organisation because they were

dependant on them.607 The political educationofwomenwasof key importance to

auxiliariesasKarenHunthasarguedinherbookontheSocialDemocraticFederation.

TheWomen’sSocialistCircles, formed in1904,madeeducationoneof theirexplicit

aimsalongsidefundraisingandsocialentertainment.608Huntclaimsthatfundraising

and organising social activitieswere considered to be themost important bymale

members. For female members however, educating and inspiring their members

towardspoliticalactionwasakeypriority.609Itisclearthattheaimsofthisauxiliary

weredifferentdependingonwhetheritwasbeingconsideredfromtheperspectiveof

itsfemalemembersorthemalemembersoftheSocialDemocraticFederation,whofelt

theywerealsoinvestedintheauxiliary.Thecontestednatureofauxiliariesisreflected

inthewaythattheASRS/NURandASLEFtreatedthemembersoftheRWGandthe

ASLEFWomen’sGuild.

TheWomen’sCo-operativeGuild(WCG)wasanauxiliaryof theCo-operative

Guild, amale-dominatedorganisation. Itwasdefinedby itsGeneral Secretaryas “a

605Hannam,June,‘WomeninPolitics’inPurvis,June(ed.)Women’sHistoryBritain,1850–1945(Routledge,London,1995)p.228606Mitchell,Hannah,TheHardWayUp(Virago,London,1977)p.189607Hannam,‘WomeninPolitics’p.230andCollette,Christine,ForLabourandforwomen:TheWomen'sLabourLeague,1906-1918(ManchesterUniversityPress,Manchester,1989)p.156608Hunt,Karen,‘EquivocalFeminists’:TheSocialDemocraticFederationandthewomanquestion,1884–1911(CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridge,1996)p.227609Ibid.,p.224

225

marriedwomen’stradeunion”.610Emphasisingtheroleofwomenasconsumers,this

‘separate sphere’wasutilisedby theWCGbecauseof their link to theCo-operative

movementandtheCo-operativestores,whichreliedonthesupportoftheworking-

classhousewifetosellproducts.611AsGillianScottargues,theWCGwasamongstthe

bestplacedorganisationsinBritaintocampaignforworking-classwomenandtackle

theissueswomenfacedinthehomeandwiththeirfamiliesbecausetheGuildwasrun

by,andfor,working-classwives.TheWCGdrewitsmembershipfromasimilarsetof

working-class women to the RWG and the ASLEF Women’s Society. Unlike these

auxiliaries however, the WCG started life as a non-party group with few political

ambitionsbutasScottstates,“theGuildalsobecametheorganisationalexpressionof

a wide-ranging working-class Feminist agenda…it tackled issues of both class and

gender…”612TheRWGandtheASLEFWomen’sSocietywerealsoabletoexpressthis

Feministagenda,primarilyforthebenefitofwomenwithinthe‘railwayfamily’andfor

members of their sex both locally and nationally. However, this was from a more

limitedpositionthantheWCGasthelatterwaslessconstrainedbythepoliticsoftheir

parentorganisation.

The number of women’s auxiliaries in North America far overshadows the

numberevidentinBritainandthisisreflectedintheliterature.However,theirrolewas

often less political. American auxiliaries were designated as fundraising bodies,

creating a sense of community for the families of workers involved in industrial

disputes and promoting and educating their members about the trade union

610MargaretLlewelynDaviesinScott,Gillian,Feminismandthepoliticsofworkingwomen:TheWomen’sCo-operativeGuild,1880totheSecondWorldWar(Routledge,London,1998)p.3611Ibid.,p.15612Ibid.,p.4

226

movement.Thereweresomeexceptions,asMelindaChateauvert’sworkontheLadies’

AuxiliaryoftheBSCPhasdemonstrated,althoughtheentryofthefemalemembersof

thisauxiliaryintothepoliticalarenabeganonlyaftermanyyearsofloyalsupportto

theirhusbands’endeavoursinthetradeunionmovement.TheLadies’Auxiliaryofthe

BSCP was also unusual because they used the notion of female respectability to

enhancethecitizenshiprightsofmemberswhereasotherauxiliaries,secureintheir

citizenshipdidnotfeeltheneedtodothis;rathertheyconcentratedonbuildingtheir

own class consciousness.613 Militancy was acceptable during times of industrial

disputebutthepoliticisationofwivesandmotherscreatedtensionsabouttheroleof

womenwithinthetradeunionmovement.Genderpoliticsfeaturedverylittleamongst

theauxiliariesofNorthAmerica–membersdidnotchallengetheirroleinthedomestic

settingaswivesandmothers;theybasedtheirrighttobecomeinvolvedinthetrade

unionmovementonjustthosefactors.

Attheirmostbasic,women’stradeunionauxiliariesfunctionedassubordinate

groupsforwivesandfemalerelativesoftradeunioniststoshowtheirsupportforthe

trade union at times of industrial crisis. This support may have been fundraising,

collectingdonationsoffoodandclothing,providingentertainmentorboostingmorale.

Attimes,thefemalemembersofthesegroupsevendemonstratedtheirmilitancyby

protesting on the picket line and joining marches. Without any autonomy, the

auxiliaries struggled to pursue any issue that was not in line with their parent

organisation.TheRailwayWomen’sGuildandtheASLEFWomen’sSocietyalsohadto

613Chateauvert,MarchingTogether.Chateauvert’sdetailedandthoroughanalysisofthewomen’sauxiliarytotheBrotherhoodofSleepingCarPortersdemonstratestheconflictthatarosewhenauxiliarieswerepresentedwithachoicetocampaignandlendtheirsupporttoissuesthatpredominantlyaffectedmenandwomenseparately.

227

dealwith issues of identity and autonomy, however there are examples of certain

branchesbeingabletopursuecampaigningonmattersthatwereconsidereduniquely

feminine, such as maternal and infant mortality, divorce reform and housing. The

languageutilisedbyauxiliarieswasimportantinthewaythattheydefinedthemselves

andasareflectionofhowotherssawthem.ThefoundationsoftheRWGandtheASLEF

Women’sSociety,thecampaignsthattheysupportedandthewaysinwhichtheywere

deployedasanaspectofthe‘railwayfamily’willbeexaminedindetailinthefollowing

sections.

5.2 TheASRS/NURRailwayWomen’sGuild

Turning exclusively to discuss the British railway industry, there were two

women’stradeunionauxiliaries:theASLEFWomen’sSociety,formedin1924andthe

National Union of RailwaymenWomen’s Guild (RWG), formed in 1900 in order to

promote“socialintercourseamongstthewivesanddaughtersofrailwayworkersof

thedistrict;torendersuchassistancetoanyofitsmembersasmaybenecessary;to

co-operate with the local branch of the ASRS in any worthy object they may

undertake.”614TheGuildexemplifiedthewaythat theNURdeployedthe ideaof the

‘railway family’. By extending a formof trade unionmembership to thewives and

daughtersofunionisedrailwaymen,theunionwasactivelyattemptingtoincludethose

women in the union and secure their loyalty. Primarily the Guildwas intended to

support their parent union; to care for the wives of trade union railwaymen and

provideawayforthemtosocialiseinamannerthattheuniondeemedconstructive.

614Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,p.227

228

However,theirinfluenceextendedoutsidethesphereofrailwaytradeunionismand

the Railway Women’s Guild supported local and national political campaigns that

affectedwomenandthoseinvestedintheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.

As Benedict Anderson has argued, print media allowed for the greater

developmentof‘imaginedcommunities’.615Railwaytradeunionsproducedtheirown

newspapers, availableweekly formembers to purchase that included elements for

non-workingwives and children.The Railway Review included awomen’s column,

entitled ‘Our Women’s Corner’, which ran every week. It provided a way for the

RailwayWomen’sGuildtoorganiseConferencesanddiscusspoliticalresolutionsand

campaigns,aswellasadvertisingthemeetingsofgroupsthattheGuildwereaffiliated

with, such as theWomen’s Labour League (WLL). Their Annual Conferences were

advertisedin‘OurWomen’sCorner’andtheGuildbrancheswereencouragedtosend

resolutions intothecolumn,whichwouldthenbetakentotheConferencebyGuild

representatives.616TheWLLwerealsokeentosolicittheopinionsofGuildmembers

ontheirproposednewcampaigns.617AfterthedissolutionoftheWLLandthecreation

oftheWomen’sSectionsoftheLabourParty,Guildmemberswereencouragedtojoin

thePartyandcontributeresolutionsfortheirConferencewhichwerediscussedand

proposed to the main body of members.618 This again ensured that women were

contained within a ‘separate sphere’ of the Labour Party and mainly confined to

discussingmattersthataffectedwomen,predominantlythehomeandfamily.

615Anderson,ImaginedCommunities,p.33616TheRailwayReview,20/01/1911,p.6.617TheRailwayReview,26/05/1911,p.7.618TheRailwayReview,8/2/1918,p.5

229

Encouragingtheeducationoftheirmembersintradeunionandwiderlabour

issueswasalsoakeyaimof ‘OurWomen’sCorner’andthecolumnEditor,anRWG

memberherself,suggestedpamphlets,articlesandbooksthatGuildmemberscould

readanddiscuss.619TheRWGdelegateattheNURAnnualConferencein1938stated

that“OurmenfolksometimesthinkoftheGuildasbeingonlyconcernedwithsocial

activities,butwedomanyotherthings.WetrytoeducatethewomeninLabourideas

andidealsandtheworkoftheNUR.”620‘Athoughtfortheweek’wasintroducedonthe

Women’sPagein1934(thispagewasanamalgamationoftheGuildcolumnandthe

‘Mainly forWomen’ column)which provided items for discussion atmeetings that

week, and thought-provoking vignettes to challenge all those who read the page,

whethertheywereGuildmembersornot.Theseincluded,“Sisters,wakeup!Christian

England and people allowed to starve in a land of plenty. Demand work or full

maintenance for all: Abolitionof theMeansTest: Lower rents forworkers’ houses:

Raisingof the school leavingage:Adequatepensions forall at60yearsof age, and

pensioners taken out of industry to make room for the younger ones who are

unemployed”621andmoresimply,“Whydon’twomenjointheGuild?”.622

SpeakersatGuildandNURconferencesandmeetingsoftenpraisedtheRailway

Women’s Guild on the training for home and public life that they provided for

members.ThisindicatesthedualpurposethattheGuildsoughttofulfilwithregardto

the ‘railway family’: to supportwomen in their roles aswives andmothers and to

encouragethemtocampaignonbehalfofthetradeunion,onissuesthataffectedthe

619TheRailwayReview,16/02/1912,p.7.620TheRailwayReview,15/7/1938,p.4621TheRailwayReview,2/3/1934,p.7622TheRailwayReview,25/3/1934,p.7

230

‘railwayfamily’inparticular.623ThefraternaldelegatetotheNURAnnualConference

in1928,MrsRoberts, emphasised that “Womenhadproved that they couldstilldo

their housework effectively and come out and take an interest in the things that

matteredtoeveryone.”624Despitetheencouragementtoparticipatefullyinpubliccivic

lifethatGuildwomenweregiven,theirdutytotheirhusbands,familyandhomewas

alsocontinuouslystressedwithinthepagesofTheRailwayReview,particularlyonthe

‘MainlyforWomen’page.

ThemembersofindividualbranchesoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildmaynever

have met those from other branches spread across the country, but an ‘imagined

community’ was created through ‘OurWomen’s Corner’ inTheRailway Review. By

includingreportsfrombranches,obituariesofprominentmembersandmessagesof

congratulations, the column helped connect these women over large geographical

distances. Focusing on the shared interests of the women in the Guild helped

accentuate their common bonds. By 1921, the Railway Women’s Guild had 3299

membersacrossthecountryin84branchesandby1936thishadrisento5000.625The

idea that print media could foster a sense of an ‘imagined community’ amongst

women’sauxiliarieswasexemplifiedinbothBritainandAmerica.TheWomen’sPage

includedintheASLEFLocomotiveJournalfromtheWomen’sGuild’sformationin1924

andtheWomen’sPageintheIllinoisMiner,publishedbymembersoftheUnitedMine

WorkersofAmericafrom1921to1931,discussedsubjectswhichmanywomenhadin

623TheRailwayReview,04/07/1913,pp.6–7.624TheRailwayReview,13/7/1928,p.6625TheRailwayReview,08/07/1921,p.10and17/7/1936,p.10

231

common including housework, children and the work of their associated trade

union.626

Thecreationofacommunityandthemaintenanceofthetradeunionideaofthe

‘railwayfamily’wasexemplifiedinthewaymembersofthebranchesoftheGuildacted

towardsoneanother.Guildmemberswhowereindistresswereofferedsupport;other

membersvisitedthosewhoweresickandofferedmonetaryprovisionsintheevent

thatthey,ortheirhusbands,couldnotworkortheirchildrenwereill.Forexample,the

PerthbranchoftheRWGpaid£5and10shillingsforamember’sfalseteethandon

anotheroccasiongaveajointgranttoanNURbranchmemberwhohadbeenoutof

work for sixmonths.627 RailwayWomen’s Guildmemberswere also encouraged to

supporteachotherthrough‘OurWomen’sCorner’,especiallyindifficulttimessuchas

theFirstWorldWarorduringlabourunrest.628ResolutionsatGuildconferenceswere

passed that reinforced the idea of the ‘railway family’ and particularly the integral

concerns of women and children. Guild members were not afraid to propose

resolutionsthathadthepotentialtoraisecontroversialdebates,especiallyiftheywere

insupportofotherwomenormembersofthe‘railwayfamily’,forexamplearesolution

in1938callingfortherevisionofAbortionLawstoallowforlegalabortionsforwomen

for health and economic reasons.629 This resolutionwas possibly prompted by the

formation of the Interdepartmental Committee on Abortion by the Government in

1937;andalthoughtheLabourPartydidnotparticipateinthisinquiry,“therewere

626Merithew,‘“WeWereNotLadies”’,p.71627JointbranchesandRWGcashbook,May1930,MS43/3/1andJointOrphanandBenevolentFundminutebook,19/1/1947,MS43/2/1628TheRailwayReview,21/08/1914,p.6.629TheRailwayReview,8/7/1938,p.7

232

requestsmadeby localwomen’ssectionstopresentevidencetotheCommittee.”630

These requests were ignored as the Labour Party refused to discuss abortion, so

thereforeresolutionsfordiscussionsatotherconferencesallowedwomentoairtheir

viewsandcontributetothedebate.631

Abortionwas, according to JaneLewis, “probably themost important female

initiative in family limitation throughout the period, particularly among the very

poor.”632 Many women did not believe self-induced abortions to be illegal and it

became an established part of the culture surrounding birth control and family

limitation amongst working-class women.633 “Prosecutions for abortion doubled

between1900and1910anddoubledagainduringthenexttwentyyears,butthismay

merely indicatemorevigilanceonthepartoftheauthoritiesratherthan increasing

incidence.”634Bycampaigningtolegaliseabortionsincertaincases,theGuildsoughtto

protectwomenfromprosecutionforundertakinganestablishedformofbirthcontrol

withinworking-classculturethatwasofteninordertoprotecttheirownhealthorthat

oftheirfamilybylimitingthenumberofmouthstheywererequiredtofeed.Bytaking

careof theirmembers, andnon-members, theGuildwereestablishing thebondsof

sisterhoodandreinforcingthe‘railwayfamily’.

The language of sisterhood was used widely in ‘Our Women’s Corner’, for

example,“Sisters,doletusrisetothisoccasionandhelptheseoppressedanddown-

630Brooke,Stephen,SexualPolitics.Sexuality,FamilyPlanning,andtheBritishLeftfromthe1880stothePresentDay(OxfordUniversityPress,Oxford,2011)p.105631Ibid.,p.106632Lewis,Jane,WomeninEngland1870-1950:SexualDivisionsandSocialChange(WheatsheafBooksLtd,Brighton,1984)p.17633Ibid.,p.18634Ibid.,p.18

233

troddenworkersintheirfightforsuchasmalldemand.”635Theconceptofasisterhood

was important as it stressed “the similarities of women’s secondary social and

economicpositionsinallsocietiesandinthefamily”.636Expressedintermsoffamilial

relationships,ElizabethFoxGenovesehasarguedthat thereweretwodistinctways

thattheconceptofsisterhoodcouldbeutilisedbywomen;itcouldbeused“asabasis

forseekingtomaintainaseparationbetweenthecompetitivevaluesoftheworldof

men(thepublic-politicalsphere)andthenurturantvaluesoftheworldofwomen(the

private-domesticsphere)”oras“ameansforpoliticalandeconomicactionbasedupon

thesharedneedsandexperiencesofwomen.”637Intermsofthewomen’stradeunion

auxiliaries,theirsisterhooddrewuponthesharedexperiencesofwomenwithinthe

‘railwayfamily’tomobilisethemtosupportthetradeunionandeachotherthrough

thecreationofan‘imaginedcommunity’.

Attemptsweremadethrough‘OurWomen’sCorner’todrawinthewivesand

daughters of trade union railwaymen who were not members of their local Guild.

Appeals were made to women to support their husbands and the union in all

endeavours.Thiswasparticularly thecaseduringperiodsof labourunrestbutalso

duringtheFirstandSecondWorldWars.Morewomenwereworkingandtheywere

entreatedtojointheunion;marriedandnon-workingwomenwereencouragedtojoin

theirlocalbranchoftheRWG.TheGuildwereupheldasaninspirationforotherwomen

whowished to form tradeunionauxiliariesasa letter from theVictorianRailways

Union, Melbourne demonstrates in 1918, “I have no doubt at all that such an

635TheRailwayReview,6/6/1913,p.5636Dill,BonnieThornton,‘Race,ClassandGender:ProspectsforanAll-InclusiveSisterhood’,FeministStudies,9,1(1983)p.131637Ibid.,p.132

234

organisationcanbeofmaterialbenefittotheTradeUnionmovement,apartaltogether

fromtheexcellenteffect itwillhavesociallyandeducationallyamongst thewomen

themselves.”638 This is an excellent example ofhow the idea of the ‘railway family’

extended across continents andwas a supportive community formen,women and

childreninthefulfilmentoftheiraimspolitically,sociallyandeducationally.

However, there were letters of complaint from Guild members about the

support they received from The Railway Review and the trade union. One Guild

Executive Committee member wrote to the Editor of ‘Our Women’s Corner’

complainingabouthervisitstoASRSbranchmeetingstodiscusstheformationofnew

Guildsandthefactthatshehadtoconvincethetradeunionmenthat,“Guildswerenot

thegossipingshopssomewouldhavethembelieve,butrealhelpstothebrancheswho

workedwiththem.”639ThiswasagainemphasisedbytheGuilddelegatetotheNUR

AnnualConferencein1932,whoinsistedthatGuildmembersdidnotgossipattheir

meetings.640Gossipwasamajorconcernforbothmenandwomenwithintradeunions

and indicates the negative stereotypes that womenmembers and associates were

perceived to hold. The ASLEF Locomotive Journal also called on thewives of their

memberstorefrainfromregalingtheirhusbandswiththeday’sgossipontheirreturn

homefromwork.641Gossipwasadiscretesocialphenomenonthroughwhichwomen

couldbond,howeverusingthistermallowedmentodenigratewomen’sconversations.

It could be applied to both trivial chats andmore significant discussions. Melanie

Tebbutthasarguedthatoneofthereasonsformen’sfearofgossipwasdowntothe

638TheRailwayReview,18/10/1918,p.2639TheRailwayReview,27/01/1911,p.6640TheRailwayReview,15/7/1932,p.5641LocomotiveJournal,32,8(1919)p.232

235

fact that itwasprimarily considered tobea collectivewomen’sactivitywhichthus

excludedmen.642Thenegativestereotypesthatpersistedaroundwomenwhowere

considered‘gossips’isoneofthereasonswhytheGuildwereconscioustoemphasise

that they were not “gossiping shops”.643 By emphasising their hard work and

distancingthemselvesfromaccusationsofgossiping,Guildbrancheswereattempting

toallayrailwaymen’sfearsabouttheirrolewithintradeunionlifeandshowthatthey

bolsteredtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.

IttookfourteenyearsfortheNURtoofficiallyrecognisetheGuildasanauxiliary

organisation,withadelegationfromtheGuildattendingtheAGMoftheNURonthe

18th June1914andputtinga resolution to theirConference that applied forofficial

recognition.Thisresolutionwaspassedbyfifty-twovotestothreethereforetheGuild

weregranted“permissiontousethename‘NationalUnionofRailwayWomen’sGuild’,

and[theNUR]welcomestheirco-operationinoureffortstoadvancethewellbeingof

thegeneralbodyofrailwaywomen.”644Byusingtheterm“railwaywomen”,theNUR

wereaddressingthewives,daughters,mothers,sistersandwidowsofrailwaymenand

ensuringthatthepurposeoftheGuild,tosupportthefemalemembersofthe‘railway

family’,wascrystallisedintheofficialrecognitionoftheGuildbytheNUR.Thelength

oftimetakentoofficiallyrecognisetheGuildasanauxiliaryoftheunionisanindication

thattheNURwereoftennotaswholeheartedintheirsupportoftheGuildaswasthe

reverse.

642Tebbutt,Melanie,Women’stalk?Asocialhistoryof‘gossip’inworking-classneighbourhoods,1880–1960(ScolarPress,Aldershot,1995)p.9643Ibid.,p.11644TheRailwayReview,10/7/1914,p.7

236

Some members became disillusioned with the direction of the Railway

Women’sGuildaftertheendoftheFirstWorldWar,whenmembershipandbranch

numberswereincreasing.TheywantedmorespaceinTheRailwayReviewandapaid

organising secretary, similar to the NUR branches.645 Thiswould have enabled the

Guildtoincreasetheirmembershipandtheirpoliticaloutput,bothforthetradeunion

andforthepoliticalissuesthattheysoughttocampaignupon.Thissupportfromthe

trade union, especially any formof financial support,was slow in coming. At their

AnnualConferencein1930,oneGuilddelegatecomplainedthat“TheASLEFrecognised

theirwomen’svaluebya largeannual grant.”646 In1936, theNUR finallyagreed to

grantanannualsubsidyof£100totheGuild,fosteringgreaterlinkswiththeGuildbut

alsocurtailingsomeoftheirindependenceastheynowreliedontheNURforfinancial

support.647Thiswasnotinanywayasignificantamountofmoneyandwouldnothave

enabledtheGuildtoexpandorpayanorganisingsecretaryastheyhadhoped.

However,theNURdidrecognisethattheGuildwasaboontotheirorganisation

and helped greatlywith theorganisation of non-workingwomen. An article inThe

RailwayReviewinSeptember1921statedthattheGuild“formsavaluableadjunctto

ourmovementandtendsto focusthe interestofourwivesonTradeUnionism…the

time is ripe for members of the NUR to regard the organisation of their wives as

somethingofmightierimportthanameresewingclassorsentimentalally,particularly

usefulintea-fightsandOrphanFundappeals.”648Itisinterestingtonotethatitwasnot

until after theendof theFirstWorldWar,whenwomenwereemergingasamore

645TheRailwayReview,03/06/1921,p.3.646TheRailwayReview,27/6/1930,p.3647TheRailwayReview,03/01/1936,p.7648TheRailwayReview,30/9/1921,p.4

237

potentforcepolitically,sociallyandeconomically,thattheNURconsideredthebenefits

of having an auxiliary above and beyond the traditional model of a social and

fundraisingbody.Anarticleentitled‘OurbranchesatWork’indicatedthat,“branches

thathaveaWomen’sGuildseemtobefarmoreenterprisingandenergeticthanthose

thatpossessnone.”649TheorganisationalcapabilitiesofGuildmemberswererarely

questionedbytheNUR,and itwasthesequalities,suchaskeepingorderandbeing

“capable” that were chosen as vignettes to represent the Guild members. Their

knowledge(throughGuildeducation)andgenerositywasalsohighlighted.

SupportingtheNURduringstrikesandlabourunrestwasanimportantwaythat

theRWGwereabletodemonstratetheirco-operationwiththeunion.AftertheGeneral

Strikein1926,‘OurWomen’sCorner’statedthatparticipationinthestrike“provedour

unity” with the men’s branches.650 The difficulties faced during the General Strike

bondedmembers of the ‘railway family’ together as “We havemademany friends

duringthestrenuoustimepassedthrough”.651ItwascrucialfortheGuildtostaketheir

claimtogreatersupportfromtheNURbecauseoftheiractionsbutalsotoextendthe

‘imagined community’ of the ‘railway family’ even further, interacting with other

women’sorganisationsandtradeunionsoutsidetheconfinesoftheNUR.

5.2.1 TheRWGandwomenworkers

Incontrasttotheirsupportoffemaleworkersinotherindustries,duringthe

FirstWorldWartheRailwayWomen’sGuildwasrelativelyhostiletofemalerailway


238

workers.Thiswasduetotheirfearthattheirhusbandswouldfindthemselvesreplaced

byfemalelabouraswomen’swagesweremuchlowerthanmen’s.Asitbecameclear

that railway companies would continue to employ women as railway workers,

especially as the war progressed and conscription was introduced, the Railway

Women’sGuildalongwiththeNUR,campaignedforequalpayforwomenandurged

them to join theunion. In thisway, the jobsofGuildmembers’husbandswouldbe

protectedifwomenearnedthesamewagesastheirmalecounterparts.Aresolutionat

theirAnnualConferencein1915statedthat,“thisConferenceoftheNURWGviewwith

apprehensiontheintroductionoffemaleinplaceofmalelabourontherailways,and

urge the EC of the NUR to watch carefully the new developments, and to further

safeguardtheinterestsofallconcernedbyinsistingthatwomenbepaidatthesame

rateofwagesasmenwhenperformingsimilarwork.”652Thiswasthesametacticthat

theRCAusedintheirdealingswithfemaleworkers,asdiscussedinChapter4,andwas

designed to protect male railway workers rather than extend the rights of female

workers.

Thispresentssomethingof a contradictionwhenconsideredagainst the fact

thatMrsE.Webb,GeneralSecretaryoftheRWGwaspresentedwithagoldmedalby

the TUC in 1919 “for usefulwork done amongst women in the interests of Trade

Unionism”.653 The RWG and itsmemberswere being rewarded for supporting the

unionat all costs, even if thispitted themagainstotherwomenwithin the ‘railway

family’.ThisisnottosaythattheGuildwereopposedtowomenundertakingwork,as

they did encourage allworkingwomen to organise into trade unions. Rather, they

652TheRailwayReview,21/05/1915,p.6.653TheRailwayReview,17/9/1926,p.11

239

wantedtoguaranteetheirhusband’sjobsandbyextensiontheirownfamily’ssecurity.

Attimes,Guildpolicytowardswomenappearedinconsistent.Thiswasalsothecase

foranumberofotherwomen’stradeunionauxiliaries,suchastheLadies’Auxiliaryof

theBSCP in theUSA. Althoughworkingwomenwere permitted to join the Ladies’

Auxiliary,theywereconsideredtobetemporaryworkerswithfewrights.654

Despite the fact that the RWG supported the enfranchisement of women, a

resolutionontherepealoftheCatandMouseActin1913,whichreleasedsuffragette

hungerstrikersuntiltheywerestrongenoughtobereturnedtoprison,wasdefeated

aftera“heateddiscussion”.655In1936,aresolutionwaspassedallowingfemaleNUR

members to join the Guild because, “if a woman railway employee was interested

enough to join the NUR she should at least be able to join the railway women’s

organisation,asprobablyshewouldnotdesiretoattendthemen’smeetings.”656This

wasaconciliatorymeasuretothewomentheyoftenexcludedandsometimesworked

against, andextended to theman invitation to join the tradeunion ‘railway family’.

However,thisresolutiondetractedfromtheideathatwomenworkerswerejoiningthe

trade union to secure their own interests and assumed that they would not feel

comfortableattendingmeetingswithmen,despitethefactthattheywerecolleagues

andfellowunionmembers.

654Chateauvert,MarchingTogether,p.XII655TheRailwayReview,11/07/1913,p.7.656TheRailwayReview,3/7/1936,p.10

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5.2.2 SourcesfortheRailwayWomen’sGuild

Local sources for the RailwayWomen’s Guild are few and far between; the

minutebooksavailableoftenfocusonthephilanthropicandsocialworkundertakenby

theGuild,ratherthantheirpoliticaleffortsthatweredescribedinslightlymoredetail

in‘OurWomen’sCorner’.TherecordsforPerthRailwayWomen’sGuild,heldatPerth

andKinrossArchives,existfrom1929to1959andincludetheRailwayWomen’sGuild

cashbook,theminutebookoftheJointOrphanFundCommitteeandthePerthNURNo.1

Branchminutebook.ItisclearfromthesesourcesthattheGuildbranchinPerthwas

primarilyconcernedwithfundraisingfortheOrphanFundandtheBenevolentFund

andarrangingsocialevents,particularlywhistdrivesanddances.By1944,theNUR

andRWGinPerthwereabletousethelocalcinematoshowaseriesoffilmsinorder

toraisemoney-£1688sand5dwasraisedfortheOrphanFundbythesescreenings.657

Childrenwerealsoencouragedtohelpwiththe fundraisingefforts, inkeepingwith

theirinclusionwithintheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Theywereevenabletoincrease

theamountcollectedonFlowerDay(sometimescalledFlagDay inotherareas), an

annualeventinwhichfundraiserssoldflowersinaidoftheOrphanFundanda“special

tributewaspaidtothechildrenforthissplendidachievement.”658

Notallthosewithinthetradeunionweresosupportivehowever,andaletter

directedatthemalemembersofPerthNo.1andNo.2branchescriticisedthemfortheir

lackofattendanceatjointmeetingsandfunctionsdesignedtoassistthe‘railwayfamily’

intimesofneed.659ThePerthNURNo.1branchminutebooksshowthatthebranchwas

657JointOrphanFundMinutebook,17/12/1944,MS43/2/1658JointOrphanFundMinutebook,29/7/1945,MS43/2/1659JointOrphanFundMinutebook,1/9/1946,MS43/2/1

241

ofteninvitedtoanumberofRWGeventsincludingtheirannualBurnsNightSupper,

theirsalesofworkandsocials.660WhenbranchmembersdidattendtheRWGsocials

theycommentedthattheywereprovidedwitha“goodevening’sentertainment.”661A

delegatefromtheNURNo.1branchalsoattendedtheScottishRailwayWomen’sGuild

districtcouncilmeetingwhentheGuildNationalPresidentwaspresent.662Inthelate

1930s,theGuildbranchappealedtobothPerthNo.1andNo.2branchesforfinancial

assistance and help in recruiting new female members and honorary members

indicatingthattheGuildinPerthreliedontheparentbranchesforsupportalthough

accordingtotheminutebooks,thiswasnotimmediatelyforthcoming.663

In a more extreme step, the Doncaster branch of the ASRS split over their

support of the local Guild branch and created Doncaster No.1 and Doncaster No.2

branches.Theissuewasovertheadmittanceofnon-memberswivesintotheGuild,as

someASRSmembersarguedthatthesewomenshouldnotbepermittedtojoin,whilst

othersstatedthatthiswasanimportantwayinwhichtheGuildwasabletoencourage

railwaymentojointheunion.664Ultimately,theacrimonyledtoasplitoverthisissue

andthosewhowerekeentoworkwiththeGuildgravitatedtowardsDoncasterNo.2

branchwhilstthosewhodidnotremainedinDoncasterNo.1branch.Thiscaseappears

to be an anomaly as the vast majority of NUR branches and their members were

supportiveoftheworkoftheGuild.However,therewereanumberofconcernsthat

660PerthNURNo.1branchminutebook,21/1/1934and29/4/1934MS43/1/2and16/4/1933,MS43/1/1661PerthNURNo.1branchminutebook,12/5/1935,MS43/1/2662PerthNURNo.1branchminutebook,27/9/1936,MS43/1/2663PerthNURNo.1branchminutebook,8/5/1938and15/1/1939,MS43/1/3664AseriesofletterswerepublishedinTheRailwayReviewbetweenJuly1901andJanuary1902whicharticulatedtheargumentsofrailwaymenintheDoncasterbranch,GuildmembersandothersabouttheroleoftheGuildandthewaysinwhichtheycould,orshould,supporttheunion.

242

emergedthroughouttheperiodabout theroleof theGuild,howmuchsupport they

wereentitledtoandwhatworktheyshouldbeundertaking.

ThePerthRailwayWomen’sGuildbranchrepresentedthetraditionalroleofa

women’stradeunionauxiliary,whichwasdemonstratedinmanyoftheexamplesfrom

theUSA.Itwasmostlyconcernedwithfundraisingfortheparentunionandorganising

socials and events for theirmembers. Thismodel was beneficial for railwaymen’s

wivesanddaughtersbecauseitprovidedthemwithasupportstructure,educationin

trade union issues and the opportunity to socialise. At these social events, it was

possible for women to discuss the positive and negative aspects of life within the

railwayindustryandaccessanyhelp(eitherfinancialorpersonal)thattheyrequired.

Thisextendedtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’awayfromnuclearfamiliestoalarger

group of men and women linked both locally and nationally through the railway

industry.

AlthoughthereislittleevidencetosuggestthatthePerthbranchoftheRailway

Women’sGuildwasinvolvedinlocalandnationalpoliticalcampaigning,thesources

availablemainly concern themale branches andwere primarilywritten from their

pointofview,andthustheyemphasisewhattheNURconsideredtheprimaryfunctions

oftheGuildtobe:socialisingandfundraising.ThePerthRWGbranchworkedclosely

with the two NUR branches particularly in relation to the Orphan Fund and the

Benevolent Fund but this relationship was rather one-way. When assistance was

requested from the Guild branches financially or with help to increase their

membership,thiswaswithheldordelayed.

243

5.2.3 TheRWGandtheirpoliticalcampaigns

ItispossibletodiscernsomeofthepoliticalcampaigningthatanumberofGuild

branchesundertookfromtheircolumninTheRailwayReviewandtheissuesthatGuild

women supported more generally. Before each AGM, topics for discussion and

resolutionswere proposed on a variety of different issues,many ofwhich affected

womenandthe‘railwayfamily’.Examplesoftheseresolutionsincludedtheneedfor

morehousing,toallowDoctorstoprovideinformationonbirthcontrol,pensionsat65

andnurseryprovisionforyoungchildren.665Resolutionswerespecificallywordedto

reflecttheconcernsthatmembersheldandthewaysthattheywantedtheGovernment

toaddressthese,forexample,“Thatinviewoftheprovedilleffectsuponthehealth

andmoralsofthecommunityofthebadandcrowdedhousingconditionsunderwhich

so many of the population are obliged to live, the Conference calls upon the

Governmentforlegislationtocompelmunicipalitiesthemselvestoprovidehomesfor

the workers, and demands that such homes shall contain separate sleeping

accommodation forchildrenofbothsexesandbathingaccommodationsufficient to

enable all families to live in decency and comfort.”666 These resolutions not only

focusedongeneralrecommendationsbutcontainedspecificclausesthatrepresented

theparticular concernsofwomen: for themselves, theirown familiesand forother

families.

According toadelegateatoneGuildConference, “motherhoodwas themost

dangeroustradeinthecountry.”667MembersoftheGuildwereencouragedtostandfor

665TheRailwayReview,23/7/1926,p.3and29/6/1928,p.12666TheRailwayReview,25/4/1913,p.7667TheRailwayReview,29/6/1928,p.12

244

electionasPoorLawGuardiansbecause“Therearenobodiesonwhichwomenofthe

workingclassareneededmore,especiallyinlookingafterthechildren,theaged,and

thewomeninmatesof theworkhouses.”668The first femalePoorLawGuardianwas

elected in1875andby1910 therewere1655 femaleGuardiansacross the county.

According to Lewis, “women were inclined to favour the strict administration of

outdoorrelief,althoughtheysoughtsubstantialimprovementsinmatterssuchasdiet

and the provision of clean sheets and underclothing inside theworkhouse.”669 The

RailwayWomen’sGuildwere also amongst the foundingmembersof theWomen’s

LabourLeague(WLL),whichlaterbecametheWomen’sSectionoftheLabourPartyin

1918.670BoththeGuildandtheWLLcampaignedonissuesofsocialpolicythatdirectly

affectedwomenandtheirfamilies.671Guildmemberswereoftendirectedtosupport

specificcampaignsthattheWLLwerechampioning,forinstance,“Thebranchesofour

organisationareaskedtoco-operatewiththeWLLinacampaignwhichhasbeenset

onfootforsavingthelivesandraisingthestandardofhealthoflittlechildren.”672

However, it was the members of local branches who decided their own

prioritiesandmanybranchesdidnotpublishdetailsoftheirpoliticalcampaigningin

‘OurWomen’sCorner’,insteadfocusingontheirworkwiththeunion.Smallsnippets

oflocalbranchcampaigningdidoccasionallyappear,forexamplein1913,“Thenewly-

opened Guild at Ormskirk has started a local campaign of propaganda, and the

membersaredistributing10,000leafletsonsuchsubjectsas“SocialReforms,”“Party

Politics,”“TheInternationalWorking-ClassMovement,”andalsoawhitelistoftraders

668TheRailwayReview,18/4/1913,p.7669Lewis,WomeninEngland,p.94670Graves,LabourWomen,p.22671Ibid.,p.8672TheRailwayReview,7/11/1913,p.5

245

whoaredeservingofthesupportoforganisedlabourinOrmskirkanddistrict.”673The

topicsdiscussed inthese leafletsdidmirrortheconcernsofNURandthereforethis

propagandacampaignwassupportiveoftheunion,ratherthanawayfortheGuildto

publiclycampaignonissueswhichaffectedwomenandchildrenexclusively.Without

manyarticlesontheirpoliticalcampaigning,itisdifficulttocomprehendthescaleof

theRailwayWomen’sGuildpoliticalactivities.Onereasonforthismayhavebeenthat

theywished thesepolitical activities,whichmighthavebeencontroversial to some

membersoftheirassociatedmalebranches,toremainoutofthepagesofTheRailway

Reviewandthereforeoutofsightandmindofmembersof theNUR. InChapter6a

thoroughstudyoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildinGloucesterwilldiscusstheirpolitical

campaignswhich are detailed in theirminutebooks. These do not suggest that the

GloucesterGuildconcealedtheircampaignsfromtheirlocalNURbranch,butneither

dotheysuggestthattheNURbranchwasconsultedorgavetheirblessingtoallofthe

Guild’scampaigns.

5.3 TheASLEFWomen’sSociety

The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF)

Women’sGuildwasfoundedin1924onthecessationofastrikebymembersofthe

union. In a similarway to some of the otherwomen’s auxiliaries discussed in this

chapter,theauxiliarywasformedfollowingaperiodofcrisisfortheunion.Thewifeof

theASLEFGeneralSecretary,MrsAnnieBromley,wrotetothewivesofmembersafter

the resolution of the strike, a letter that was published in the Locomotive Journal,


246

statingthat“Sincethesplendidassistancegivenbyourwomenfolkintherecentstrike,

manyASLEFwomenhaveintimatedtomethattheyareanxioustoseetheformation

of an ASLEF Women’s Guild, believing that such an organisation would be a

tremendoushelptoourmeninanyfuturestruggle,orevenintimesofpeace,inhelping

thementobegood,earnestTradeUnionists.”674Thisideawasviewedfavourablybya

largenumberofthewivesofASLEFmembers,especiallyasitwassuggestedbyoneof

theirown–awife, amotherandamemberof the ‘railwayfamily’.ASLEFwomen’s

auxiliarybrancheswereformedoverthefollowingmonthsandplanswereputinplace

to create a wider ASLEF Women’s Society, linking branches in an ‘imagined

community’.ThiswasachievedinAugust1924andtheSocietywasgranted£500by

ASLEFtopayforinitialstart-upexpenses.675Thiswasamuchlargergrantthanany

giventotheRailwayWomen’sGuildbytheNURandwasanimportantwaythatASLEF

demonstratedtheirsupport for theirwomen’sauxiliaryandthe ideaof the ‘railway

family’.

The first page for women in the Locomotive Journal, ‘Our Women’s Page’,

appeared in June 1924 and continuedmonthly up to 1948 and beyond. It typically

featuredaletterfromtheGeneralSecretaryoftheWomen’sSocietyandreportsfrom

differentbranches.ThemainaimsoftheSocietyweretofundraiseforthetradeunion

andfortheOrphanFund;toorganiseeventstoencouragesocialisingbetweentrade

unionmenandtheirwivesandfamilies;andtoeducatewomeninthekeyprinciplesof

trade unionism and the labourmovement. TheWomen’sSocietywas run in a very

similarway to the trade union and the contribution of one penny aweek that the

674LocomotiveJournal,37,4(1924)p.150675McKillop,TheLightedFlame,p.162

247

womenpaidasmembershipof theSocietywasput towardssicknessbenefits(fora

memberorherhusband),amarriagedowrypaymentof£1forunmarriedmembers,

maternity payments and discounted entry into the railwaywomen’s convalescent

homes.676 Thus membership of the ASLEF Women’s Society provided monetary

benefitstoitsmembersthatweredesignedtohelpimprovetheirhealthandwelfare

andsupporttheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.

OneofthemostimportantwaysthattheASLEFWomen’sSocietycontributed

totheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasthroughthecreationofa“sisterhood”thatwas

fashionedamongstitsmembers.677Theuseofthisparticularwordisimportant;the

term‘brotherhood’wasoftenusedtodescribethewaythatmaletradeunionmembers

were bonded togetherwithin the ‘railway family’. To use it to describe the ASLEF

Women’sSocietyascribestothemasimilarsiblingstatuswithintheASLEFideaofthe

‘railwayfamily’.Itwasabletodothisthrough‘OurWomen’sPage’,spreadingnewsof

fundraisingsuccesses,happyoccasionsandsadones.Individualbranchesalsocreated

smaller, local communities of Women’s Society members who met regularly and

enjoyedteaandcake,outingsanddancesaswellasdiscussingtradeunionandwider

political issues.Thebenefits systemof theASLEFWomen’sSocietyencouraged the

sentimentofsisterhoodbecausemembersknewtheycouldrelyoneachotheraslike-

minded individualswithsimilarexperiences,andtheSociety, toprovide in timesof

distress.

This sisterhood was extended internationally in a similar vein to the

internationalco-operationandfraternitythatexistedamongstrailwaytradeunions.


248

Thiswasdemonstratedmostpertinentlyinthelatterhalfofthe1930sandduringthe

SecondWorldWar,whentheASLEFWomen’sSocietyreachedout towomeninthe

USSRandSpain.TheRailwayQueentravelledtotheUSSRin1936andtookamessage

“TotheRailwayWomenWorkers,andtotheWivesandFamiliesoftheRailwaymenof

thatCountry”whichemphasisedthedesireoftheASLEFWomen’sSocietyforcloser

co-operationandfriendshipinordertoachieveworldpeaceanddisarmament.678The

ASLEFWomen’sSocietysharedtheseidealswiththeirparentunionandthismessage

notonlyconveyedtheirdesiretocreateinternationallinkswithotherwomeninthe

railwayindustry,andthusextendtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’acrossinternational

boundaries, but also to demonstrate their support for the aims of ASLEF. Russian

railwaywomen and thewives of railwaymen responded in 1942with a call to the

membersoftheASLEFWomen’sSocietytofollowtheirexampleandbestronginthe

faceoffascism,inordertobringaboutitsdefeat.679DuringtheSpanishCivilWar,the

Women’sSocietygavegiftsofmoneyandknittedgarmentstosupportthewomenand

children affected by the war, extending their international influence outside the

railway industry and into causes supported by ASLEF and the wider labour

movement.680

TheASLEFWomen’sSocietywere,possiblyunexpectedlyfromtheASLEFpoint

ofview,verysuccessfulintheirfundraisingaimswhichwerethreefold.Profitsfrom

social and fundraising events were split between the Central Fund, which was

responsibleforensuringmembers’benefitswerepaid,andtheOrphanFund.Afterthe

678LocomotiveJournal,49,4(1936)p.220679LocomotiveJournal,55,1(1942)p.16680LocomotiveJournal,49,12(1936)p.699

249

General Strike in 1926 the Women’s Society also raised money for the ASLEF

ProtectionFund,whichwasdepletedbystrikepayments.TheSocietyweredetermined

to pay back their £500 start-up loan to replenish this Fund.681 The ASLEFGeneral

SecretarywrotetotheSocietyin1928,thankingthemfortheirfundraisingeffortsover

thepastfouryears.682Injusttwoyears,from1926whentheycommittedtopayinginto

theProtectionFund, theWomen’sSocietywasable toraise£5022sand7dfor the

OrphanFundand£1994sand6dfortheProtectionFund.683

TheGeneralSecretaryoftheWomen’sSocietyinherlettertoallmemberson

‘OurWomen’sPage’inJune1936designatedthemajorityofthefundraisingtobefor

widowsandorphans.TheywereencouragedtoparticipateintheSociety’ssocialsand

outingsandthiswasmadepossibleastheirexpenseswerepaidforoutofSocietyfunds.

AccordingtotheGeneralSecretary,“therealobjectofourSociety,whichistogivea

helpinghandtothoselessfortunatethanourselves.”684Againtheideaofthe‘railway

family’ is in evidence here as the Societywas seeking to care for thosewhowere

struggling,throughillness,deathorindustrialunrestbyraisingenoughmoneytobe

able to support them financially or with practical items paid through Society

subscriptions. They were employing a form of ‘family welfare’ rather than the

industrialwelfarethatrailwaymenwerefamiliarwithfromtheirdealingswithrailway

companies and trade unions. This welfare was controlled by the female members

ratherthananyinstitutions.


250

In contrast to the lukewarm support the NUR Railway Women’s Guild

sometimes received from their parent union, the ASLEF Women’s Society was

consideredespeciallyusefulandaworthwhileendeavourforallwivesanddaughters

ofASLEFrailwaymen.Inanarticleabout‘WidowsPensionsandFamilyEndowment’,

theauthordescribed“ahundredandoneways”thattheWomen’sSocietywereuseful

tothetradeunion,includingeverything“fromwhistdrivestoblackleghunts.”685There

isnoevidencethatWomen’sSocietymembersactuallyhunteddownblacklegsduring

strikes,howevertoascribetothemthismythicalstatuspromotedtheGuildtoamore

superiorpositionawayfromjustasocialandfundraisingentitytoanauxiliarythatwas

ofgreatpoliticalbenefittothetradeunion.Althoughthelanguageoftheideaofthe

‘railwayfamily’didnotappearasfrequentlyintheLocomotiveJournal,thissupportfor

the Women’s Society was one way that ASLEF were able to demonstrate their

commitmenttotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andthewaysthattheyutilisedthisidea.

Fundraising, organising social functions and supporting the trade union in their

endeavoursparticularly in timesof industrialunrestwerethekey featuresthat the

ASLEFparentunionfoundtobemostdesirableabouttheWomen’sSociety.Duringthe

GeneralStrike,theWomen’sSocietywasconsideredanexcellentvehicletosupportthe

unionas“Allkindsoffunctionswerearrangedtokeepthestrikershappyandtogether,

casesofneedwerevisitedandassistedfinancially.”686Thetradeunionwereutilising

theirauxiliary“toextractcomplianceofindividualsorgroupstosomeidealstandard


251

ofconduct”especiallyduringstrikes,whichwerekeytosecuringthegainsinpayand

conditionsthatASLEFwerefightingforthroughoutthisperiod.687

Itwasnotuntil1927,threeyearsaftertheSocietywasfirstformed,thatany

criticismwaslevelledattheWomen’sSocietywithintheLocomotiveJournal.Aletter,

written byMrBrocket, amember of theHornsey branch of ASLEF, questioned the

purposeoftheWomen’sSociety,thespacetheirpagetookupwithintheJournaland

the‘wages’theypaidtotheirGeneralSecretary,MrsBromley.Thefollowingmonth,

‘OurWomen’sPage’featuredaletterfromMrsBromley,refutingtheclaimsshewas

paidawage,insteadstatingthatshewaspaidan“honorarium”tocoverherexpenses,

which including travelling across the country to open branches, visit District

Conferencesandattendimportantfundraisingevents.Thespace‘OurWomen’sPage’

wasgivenintheLocomotiveJournalwasbalancedbythefactthatmorewomenwere

readingtheJournalandthusincreasingthesalesandalsotheadvertisingrevenue,with

moreadvertsincludedwhichtargetedwomenandfamilies.Mostofthebranchreports

forJanuary1928repliedtoMrBrocket’sletter,justifyingthegoodworktheSocietydid

for the union and its members.688 This was the only overt criticism within the

LocomotiveJournalthattheWomen’sSocietyfaced,sincemoreoftenlettersincluded

praise for the helpfulness of the Society, or comments on the enjoyment of social

events.689 Ensuring that the Women’s Society remained uncontroversial, with any

elementsofnon-tradeunionpolitical campaigning that theyundertookkeptoff the

pagesoftheLocomotiveJournal,wasonewaythatcriticismcouldbedeflected.Aslong

687Chriss,SocialControl.AnIntroduction,p.1688LocomotiveJournal,41,1(1928)p.36689LocomotiveJournal,43,5(1932)p.235

252

as the majority of members supported theWomen’s Society and saw their value,

criticismsuchasBrotherBrocket’scouldberefuted.

Political education was a key aim of both the trade union and itswomen’s

auxiliary, as the letter from the General Secretary on ‘Our Women’s Page’

demonstrated,“IappealtoourmemberstotakeakeenerinterestintheTradeUnion

andPoliticalmovements,foritisnotuntilweknowtheirpowerthatwerealisehow

muchourlivesaregovernedbythem.”690TheletterfromthePresidentoftheWomen’s

Society on ‘Our Women’s Page’ often provided branches with a focus for their

gatheringsandadviceonhowtoconductinterestingandinformativebranchmeetings.

Thewinterseason,withoutsportsclubsandcompetitionsandapreferenceforindoor

activities,waswhen theWomen’s Societywas encouraged to push their social and

educational agenda.691Bringing invisiting speakers,hearingpapers frommembers,

organisingsocialsandholdingsewingandknittingpartieswerewaysthatmeetings

could be varied in order to keep members interested and attendances up.692 The

President of theWomen’s Societywas determined that the femalemembers of the

SocietybetreatedonanequalfootingtothemalemembersofASLEFandinsistedthat

whenmenheldanopenmeeting,theyshouldensurethatwomenwereinvitedbecause

“wehavegotpasttheVictoriandays,whenthewoman’splacewasonlythehome.”693

The ASLEF Women’s Society, despite appearing less overtly political than many

branchesoftheNURRailwayWomen’sGuild,wasstillkeentopromotetheemerging

politicalindependenceofitsfemalemembers.


253

Theencouragementofwomentotaketheirplaceinpoliticalsocietyoutsidethe

home also led to a greater involvement ofWomen’s Societymembers in local and

national politics. The Women’s Society began sending delegates to the Labour

Women’s Conference from 1928 and in 1934 proposed three resolutions for the

Conferenceonunemployment,disarmamentandtaxationwithparticularregardtothe

strainplacedontheunemployedadultchildrenofworkersearningover£3,whodid

not qualify for unemployment benefit for this reason.694 However, their political

activitywasnotasprominentassomeofthebranchesoftheRailwayWomen’sGuild,

andverylittleofthiswaswrittenabouton‘OurWomen’sPage’

Theeducationofchildrenastothemeaningoftradeunionismanditsbenefits

was also considered a particularly important endeavour for the Women’s Society.

Children’spartieswereheldeveryChristmasandfemalememberswereencouraged

toexplainto theirchildrenwhytheywereable toattendtheseparties,duetotheir

father’s tradeunionmembershipandthesecurityofwagesandconditionsthat this

affordedthe‘railwayfamily’.Itwashopedthatinthefuture,“theywillgrowuptobe

TradeUnionmembers”duetothisearlyeducation.695Again,thiswasademonstration

ofwhythe ideaof the ‘railwayfamily’wassoimportant totradeunions inorderto

preparepotentialfuturemembersforalifeintheworkplaceandinthetradeunion.

Tocelebratethe10th anniversaryof theASLEFWomen’sSociety in1934,an

articleentitled ‘TheWomen’sSocietyof theASLEF’was included in theLocomotive

Journal. This eulogised some of the achievements of the Society, in particular their

commitment to the tradeunion, “During this strike thewomenfolkof themembers


254

renderedinvaluableaidinsustainingthespiritofthemenandinministeringtotheir

material and social needs. They formed committees to feed the pickets, the strike

committees and long-distance messengers…They rented hundreds of rooms and

organisedconcerts,dances,whistdrivesandsocials.Altogether,theybackedtheirmen

nobly.”696Wivesandfemalefamilymembersdidnotpressurisethementoreturnto

workandwages,vitalfortheirfamily’seconomicsurvival,andinsteadtookanactive

partinencouragingandsupportingstrikingrailwaymen.Thearticlealsoemphasised

thetradeunionideaofthe‘railwayfamily’–thatinamale-dominatedunionsuchas

ASLEF,wherewomenwere prohibited fromworking in positions thatwould have

allowedtheirmembershipoftheunion,theonlyfemaleinvolvementinthetradeunion

wasthroughtheWomen’sSociety.Membershipledtoanumberofbenefitsforwives

anddaughtersinparticular,forexample“Anunmarrieddaughter,keepinghousefor,

anddependanton,herfather,isentitledtobenefitsonthesamebasisasawife.”697This

article effectively demonstrates the key functions of the ASLEF Women’s Society.

Primarilydesignatedasafundraisingandsocialbody,itwasforthesereasonsthatthe

Women’s Society was celebrated and supported by ASLEF. The growing political

endeavoursofcertainbranchesandmembersoftheWomen’sSocietywasconsidered

aby-productofthepoliticaleducationthefemalemembersoftheSocietyreceivedas

partoftheirroleinsupportingthetradeunion.Thiswasofgreatbenefittotheideaof

the‘railwayfamily’asdefinedbyASLEF,asitencouragedmaleandfemalemembersto

bondoversharedpoliticalaimsandaspirationsyetfemaleauxiliarymembersnever

challengedthedominanceofmalemembersofthebranches.

696LocomotiveJournal,47,3(1934)p.133697Ibid.,p.133

255

5.4 TheRailwayQueenandthe‘railwayfamily’

Whilst not an official auxiliary to a trade union, the Railway Queenwas an

integralpartoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’from1925onwardsandwasoneofthe

mostimportantwaysthattheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’linkedallthoseassociated

withtherailwayindustry,regardlessofrailwaycompanyortradeunionaffiliation.The

firstRailwayQueen,EllaWotton,wascrownedatTheCentenaryCarnivalatBelleVue

GardensinManchesterin1925aspartofthecelebrationscommemorating100years

ofrailwaysinBritain.Theaimofthecentenarycelebrations,andtheestablishmentof

theRailwayQueen,wastouniterailwaycompanies,tradeunionsandrailwaymenand

their families fromacrossBritainandrepresentativesof thecompanies,unionsand

auxiliariessatontheCarnivalCommittee.698Theserelationshipshadbecomestrained

duetothegrowingsizeandpoweroftradeunionsandtheseriesofstrikesthathad

beencalledontherailwaysfromtheendoftheFirstWorldWar.

The first carnivalwas attended by fifty thousandmen,women and children

from across the country and was an example of the sheer numbers that could be

mobilised when the ‘railway family’ was called into action. The popularity of the

Carnivalensuredthatitcontinuedthroughouttheperiod,withanewRailwayQueen

choseneachyeartorepresentthe‘railwayfamily’acrossthecountryandtheworld.A

few months before the Carnival an advert was placed in the railway company

magazinesandtradeunionnewspapersaskingforapplicationsfromthedaughtersof

railwaymen,orfromrailwaymennominatingtheirdaughters,tobesenttotheRailway

698TheRailwayServiceJournal,22,264(1925)p.402andLocomotiveJournal,40,1(1926)p.5

256

EmployeesCommitteeand later theRailwayQueenTrust.Anexampleof anadvert

from1933simplystated“Daughtersofrailwaymendesiringtoenterascandidatesfor

“RailwayQueen”mustnotbeunder14andnotover16yearsofageonSeptember1of

this year, and photographs should be sent to Mr Neilson”.699 Mr Neilson was the

GeneralSecretaryofRailwayEmployeesCommitteeandwastheoriginatoroftheidea

forarailwayemployee’scarnivalin1925.TheCommitteeensuredthateveryyearthe

girl chosen represented a different company and a different grade therefore

encouragingapplicationsfromallrailwayworkersandensuringthatallmembersof

the‘railwayfamily’hadthechancetoberepresented.AlthoughtheRailwayQueens’

werechosenfromphotographs,indicatingthattheirappearancewasimportant,they

were also chosen for their representative nature, symbolising different railway

companiesandtradeunionseachyear.

InalavishceremonyattheCarnival,theRailwayQueenwaspresentedwitha

gown embroideredwith artificial diamonds, a tiara and a Chain of Office. Shewas

crownedbydelegatesfromtherailwaycompaniesandthetradeunionsinaneffortto

emphasise the joint nature of the Carnival and the fact that the Railway Queen

representedallrailwayworkersandtheirfamilies.Forexample,in1928,theASLEF

General Secretary and the GWR General Manager were the joint Presidents of the

Carnivalandassuch,theybothwereinvolved intheceremonytocrownthatyear’s

RailwayQueen.700AlltheexpensesoftheRailwayQueenweremetwiththehelpofthe

RailwayCompaniesandTradeUnions.701

699LMSM,10,8(1933)p.277700LocomotiveJournal,41,3(1928)p.121701GWRM,40,8(1928)p.322

257

TheofficeofRailwayQueenwasheldforayearandduringherreigntheRailway

Queentravelledacrossthecountryvisitingrailwaycompanyofficesandworkshops

andtradeunionmeetingsinordertoboostmoraleandenhancethe‘espritdecorps’

amongstrailwayworkers.SirJosiahStamp,ChairmanoftheLMS,gaveaspeechatthe

Railwayman’sCarnivalin1926inwhichhestatedthat,“ifBritishrailwaysaretoget

overtheirdifficulties,itwasnecessarytotakeaprideinone’srailwayandtocreateor

re-developespritdecorps.”702TheofficeoftheRailwayQueenwasanintegralpartof

thisbecausesherepresenteddifferentcompanies,differentareasofthecountryand

wasthedaughterofarailwaymanfromdifferentgradeseachyear,howevershealso

representedrailwaycompanies,tradeunionsandthe‘railwayfamily’asawhole.Other

industriesadopted the ideaof anelectinga ‘Queen’ to represent theirworkersand

businessesingeneral,forexampletheCottonQueenQuestranbetween1930and1939

to choose a female mill worker to represent the industry whilst the Coal Queen

competitionwasrunbytheNationalCoalBoardbetween1969and1983.703Despite

beingthefirstindustrialQueen,therearenumerousexamplesoffestivalQueensand

pageantQueenssuchastheMayQueenwhowerecrownedeachyearinBritain,andit

is from these traditionsthat certainelementsof theRailwayQueenmayhavebeen

derived.704

702LMSM,3,10(1926)p.325703Conway,Rebecca,‘MakingtheMillGirlModern?:Beauty,IndustryandthePopularNewspaperin1930s’England’,TwentiethCenturyBritishHistory,24,4(2013)p.518andMoss,Richard,‘MemoriesoftheCoalQueenstakesforgottenworldtotheNationalCoalMiningMuseum’(2010)http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/art81654[01/08/2017]704Hughes,Isabel,‘CrowningtheMayQueen–originsofafolktradition’(2014)https://blogs.reading.ac.uk/merl/2014/05/01/crowning-the-may-queen-origins-of-a-folk-tradition/[01/08/2017]

258

The Railway Queen was used as a vehicle for social control by railway

companies, as a story told in the magazine in 1933 demonstrates. On her visit to

DenmarktheRailwayQueenmetanumberofindustrialleaders,oneofwhomtoldher

thatonavisittoEnglandoveradecadepreviouslyaporterhadbeenrudetohimafter

heaskedtobeshownwherehecouldgetataxi,withtheporterstating,“Ihavenotime

forthatsortofthing;itisnotmyjob.”ThegentlemanhadsincerefusedtovisitEngland

againandtookhiscommercialbusinesstoGermany.TheEditorofthemagazinestated

that“Wepublishthisstoryasanindicationofthegreatimportanceofcourtesywhen

dealingwithpassengerstravellinguponourlines.Agreattonnageofgoodshasbeen

lostbothtotherailwaysandthecountry,throughthatsinglediscourteousaction.Ifthe

RailwayQueenofGreatBritain,MissMarjorieGoodall,hasdonenootherservicethan

todrawtheattentionofmembersofstafftothisincident,thenshewillhavehelpedus

considerablyinmakingeveryoneofusrealisethatcourtesy,whichcostsnothing,may

meansomuch.”705Whilstitisdebatablehowmuchattentionrailwaymenwouldhave

paidto thisstory, it isclear toseethat therailwaycompanywasusingtheRailway

Queentoupholdthevirtuesthattheydesiredwithintheirstaffandwithinthe‘railway

family’ingeneral.

For both railway companies and trade unions, the Railway Queen was an

importantvehicleforpublicity,forexamplein1929sheopenedthelongestplatform

inEuropeatManchester’sExchangeStationfortheLMS.706Shealsorepresentedthe

railwayindustryatotherindustrialevents,forexampleattendingtheopeningofanew

705LMSM,10,6(1933)p.205706LMSM,6,6(1929)p.204

259

Cadbury’sshowroomin1931.707TheRailwayQueenwasakeysupporterofcharitable

endeavours,particularlythosethatbenefittedthefamiliesofrailwayworkers.In1932,

theRailwayQueenopenedtheJuniorsectionofMargateMunicipallibraryanddonated

books on behalf of the railway companies and trade unions. She visited the local

RailwayWomen’sConvalescenceHomeandlocalhospitals.708Tocelebratethetwenty-

firstanniversaryoftheRailwayQueen,railwayorphanswereinvitedtoattendaparty

atwhichpreviousRailwayQueen’sandthecurrentincumbentattended.709Workwith

orphans,orraisingmoneyfortheOrphanFund,wasaparticularlyimportantrolefor

theRailwayQueen,whowasoftena teenagerherself. Itwaspossible that thetrade

unionsinparticularwereawareoftheemotionaleffectofphotographsofthedaughter

of a railwaymanplayingwith theorphanedchildof another railwayman, andwere

keentousethisintheircontinuedcampaigntoensurethatallmembersofthe‘railway

family’ were cared for adequately.710 Photographs and details of these visits were

includedintherailwaycompanymagazinesandtradeunionnewspaperstopublicise

thegoodworktheRailwayQueenwasdoingthroughoutheryearinofficeandtheways

that she, and by extension, the railway companies and trade unions cared for the

‘railwayfamily’.ItwasagreatboontotheRailwayClerksAssociationwhenthecurrent

RailwayQueenbecameaclerkin1947andimmediatelyjoinedtheUnion.711Thetenth

RailwayQueen, AudreyMossom, achieved a significant amount of publicity for the

railwayindustryduringherreign.ThedaughterofanLNWRGuardfromBlackpool,

707GWRM,43,6(1931)p.285708LMSM,9,7(1932)p.239709LocomotiveJournal,59,9(1946)p.223710AnotherexampleofthiscanbeseenintheLocomotiveJournal,41,3(1928)p.121whichcontainsaphotographoftheRailwayQueenandinformationabouttheCarnival,includingthefactthatallproceedsfromthatyearwouldbedonatedtotheOrphanFund711TheRailwayServiceJournal,44,517(1947)p.87

260

AudreywasinvitedtoswitchontheBlackpoolIlluminationsinSeptember1935and

usedherpodiumtoforwardthemessageofpeacethattherailwaycompaniesandtrade

unionsdesired,“IhopetheBlackpoolIlluminationswillilluminatethepathofpeace

which the League of Nations is so nobly following on behalf of all young people

throughouttheworld…Maytheysymboliseindustrialandinternationalpeace.”712

The Railway Queen was particularly important to the women’s trade union

auxiliaries,asshewasahigh-profilefemalerepresentativeoftherailwayindustry.She

attendedtheAnnualLondonreceptionheldbytheASLEFWomen’sSocietyeachyear

to celebrate their role in support of the union andwas a feature at the social and

celebratoryeventsorganisedbytheASLEFWomen’sGuildandtheRWG.713Thefact

that the Railway Queen embodied all railway workers was also of particular

significance to the tradeunions,who felt that they too represented theneedsof all

railwaymen and their families, “theRailwayQueen is, first of all, a symbolic figure

representinginherprettypersonthewholeofrailwaydom–presidentandplatelayer,

supervisorandsignalmen,clerkandcleaner,shunterandshopmen,allhaveaplacein

hercrown.Inhonouringherallrailwaymenarehonoured.”714Co-operationbetween

tradeunionsandrailwaycompanieswasakeypolicyduringtheeconomicdifficulties

ofthelate1920sand1930s;asaneutralparty,theRailwayQueenwasinapositionto

enhance this co-operation, as an article in The Railway Review from 1930

demonstrates,“AsQueenstandsaboveparty,andapartfrompolitics,butspeakingas

712Shenton,Kenneth,‘AudreyMossom:RailwayQueenofGreatBritainwhowasentertainedbyStalinonapeacetriptotheSovietUnion’,TheIndependent,30/9/2009http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/audrey-mossom-railway-queen-of-great-britain-who-was-entertained-by-stalin-on-a-peace-trip-to-the-1795569.html[01/08/2017]713ThereceptionwasdocumentedinthemagazineeachyearoftenwithaphotographoftheRailwayQueen,forexample,LocomotiveJournal,51,3(1938)p.154714TheRailwayReview,13/6/1930,p.10

261

theheartofallrailwaymensheisanardentapostleofpeace…Hereathomesheisthe

symbolofpeacefulco-operation.Suchco-operationasenabledallsortsofrailwaymen

tosurrender2½percentoftheirearningstohelptheirindustryoveradifficultperiod

andtheiremployerstorestoretheagreementwhenitwasaskedfor.”715

AnotherimportantfacetoftherolewastofostercomradeshipbetweenBritish

railwayworkersandthoseinothercountriesincludingcontinentalEurope,theUSA

andtheUSSR.TheRailwayQueenvisitedrailwayestablishmentsinthesecountriesand

deliveredmessagesof fraternity fromBritishrailwayworkersandtheir families. In

1934,theRailwayQueentooklettersfromtheRWGandtheASLEFWomen’sGuildto

Americanwomen’stradeunionauxiliarieswhilstin1936,theRailwayQueenvisited

theUSSRwithamessageforthewivesanddaughtersoftradeunionrailwaymenin

thatcountryfromthetwotradeunionauxiliaries.Theselettersbothexpressedadesire

for closer co-operation inthe interestsofworldpeace, international friendshipand

worlddisarmament,statingthat“TheRailwayQueen’smessagewillbethesymbolof

friendshipbetweenourcountryandyours…”716ThustheRailwayQueenwashelping

toextendthe‘railwayfamily’acrossinternationalborders.

Duringhertravelsabroad,theRailwayQueenwaspresentedwithalinkforher

ChainofOfficeengravedwithhernameandthecountryshevisited.Thelinkswere

presentedwiththedesiretosignifypeaceandgoodwillbetweenrailwaymenacross

theworldandthefirstofthesewaspresentedtoMissMabelKitson,theRailwayQueen

in1928,whovisitedFranceat thewishesof theNUR“tobeamessengertoFrench

railwaymeninthe interestof internationalpeace.”Each linkonthechainwastobe

715TheRailwayReview,13/6/1930,p.10716LocomotiveJournal,47,5(1934)p.274and49,4(1936)p.220

262

“subscribedbyrailwaymenallovertheworldwhoareinterestedintheabolitionof

war.”717WhentheUnitedNationsAssociationlearntofthesymbolicnatureofthese

linkstheypresentedtheRailwayQueenwiththeirownemblemin1946.718Thelinks

oftheChainweredesignedtoresemblethecouplingsbetweenrailwaycarriagesand

wagonsandepitomisingtheroletheRailwayQueenwasintendedtoplay–tounite

railwaycompanies,tradeunions,railwayworkersandtheirfamiliesfromacrossthe

world.Referringtotheseaims,MissEnaBestgaveaspeechattheAnnualConference

oftheGWRSocialandEducationalUnionin1929whereshestatedthat“Amongstthe

happiestofmydutiesistofosterfriendship,peace,andthespiritofco-operationinthe

railwayworld.”719 It is clear that theRailwayQueenwasupholding theaimsof the

originalRailwaymen’sCarnival,inordertobringrailwaymenfromdiversecompanies

andunionstogetherbothnationallyandinternationallyandtorepresentthe‘railway

family’physicallyandsymbolically.

5.5 Conclusion

Women’stradeunionauxiliarieswerethemostsuccessfulwaythattherailway

tradeunionsdeployedtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Infact,thewomen’stradeunion

auxiliaries thatwere formedby thewivesofNURandASLEFmembersdrewmany

womenintothetradeunionassupportersanddefendersagainstthosecriticalofthe

tradeunionorthelabourmovementingeneral.Bycreatinga‘separatesphere’where

717LMSM,5,9(1928)p.311718Thissitsalongsidetheemblemsoftherailwaytradeunionswhichwerepresentedin1965tocelebratethefortiethanniversaryoftheRailwayQueen.ThecentralchainistheemblemofBritishRailways,presentedtotheRailwayQueenin1957.719GWRM,41,6(1929)p.241

263

women could feel a part of the trade union movement but have a limited effect

politically,theNURandASLEFweresafeguardingtheprivilegedpositionoftheirmale

memberswhilst alsoencouragingnon-workingwomen tobecomepartof the trade

unionsphereandpartofthe‘railwayfamily’.TheintroductionoftheRailwayQueenin

1925addedanextradimensiontotherolethatwomenwereabletoplaywithinthe

‘railway family’, by allowing the daughter of a railwayman to represent the male-

dominatedindustryfromherunique‘separatesphere’.

The NURWomen’s Guild and the ASLEFWomen’s Society had very similar

priorities. They were concerned with supporting the trade union in strikes and

campaignsforfairerwagesandbetterworkingconditionsfortheirhusbands.When

higherwagesand improvedconditionswere introduced, thisbenefittedthewomen

themselves and their families. The women’s auxiliaries were also concerned with

fundraising for the tradeunionparticularly theOrphanFund. Inasimilarway, this

offered protection to the femalemembers and their families in case of accident, ill

health or death. Finally, thewomen’s auxiliaries acted as away thatwomen in the

railwaycommunitycouldsocialisetogetherandsupporteachother.Thewomenwere

linkedthroughthenatureof theirhusband’s jobs,whichwereoftendangerous,low

paidandrequiringlonghoursofshiftworkthattookthemawayfromhome.Thisfinal

aspect,oftenoverlookedbytheparentunions,wasoneofthemostimportantforthe

womenthemselvesandofferedthemasupportstructurecentredaroundthe‘railway

family’.Theseeffortsmade theauxiliariesespeciallyvaluable to the tradeunions–

withoutthelaboursoftheiralliedfemalesupporters,suchsocialcarepolicieswould

havebeenagreatdealmoredifficulttoorganise.

264

TheNURWomen’sGuildwasmoreofanovertlypoliticalorganisationthanthe

ASLEFWomen’sSociety,supportingthefoundationoftheWomen’sLabourLeagueand

manydifferentlocalandnationalcampaignsincludinginfantandmaternalwelfare,old

agepensionsandpacifist campaigns in the inter-warperiodandduringtheSecond

WorldWar.However,thisdoesnotmeanthattheASLEFWomen’sSocietymembers

werenotinvolvedinlocalandnationalpolitics,butthatthesefactorswereconsidered

to be of secondary importance behind their role of supporters and fundraisers for

ASLEF.Neitherauxiliarywasparticularly celebratedby theirparentunion for their

politicalcampaigning–whatmatteredtothemalememberswasthattheycouldcount

on their support in the event of a strike or labour unrest and that the women’s

auxiliariesbroughtinasteadystreamofincomefortheOrphanandBenevolentFunds.

BoththeNURandASLEFwerebroadlysupportiveoftheirauxiliariesandoftentheir

political aims as well but were unwilling to provide large amounts of funding.

Occasionallyconflictdidariseovertheindependenceoftheauxiliaryandthewayit

wasrunandmanagedbyitsfemalemembers.

Thewaythattheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasutilisedbyrailwaytradeunions

demonstrates the growing belief that loyalty could be subdivided amongst railway

company,tradeunion,grade,familyandbytheendofthisperiod,tosocialclass.720By

usingtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’,thetradeunionswereencouragingthosewhohad

traditionallybeenexcludedfromtradeunionmembershiptosupportthetradeunion

alongsidetherailwaycompanythatemployedtheirfamilymembers.Thisalsoallowed

720McKenna,TheRailwayworkers,p.30

265

themembersofthetradeunionauxiliariestoforgetheirownidentitiesaspartofthe

tradeunionandthewomen’smovement,aswives,mothersandaswomen.

TheRailwayQueenwasacrucialwaythatwomenandchildrenweredrawninto

theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’alongwithawayinwhichtheco-operationbetween

railway companies, trade unions and railwaymen could be enhanced and further

developed.Asthedaughterofarailwayman,theRailwayQueenwasatooltoengage

youngwomenwiththe‘railwayfamily’andasarepresentativeoftheindustryathome

andabroad,shewasperfectlypoisedtoextendtheideaamongstrailwaymenandtheir

families. Both the railway companies and the trade unions took ownership of the

RailwayQueenandusedherroleinordertogarnerpositivepublicityandaugmentthe

idea that the companies and the unions were equally committed to ensuring the

welfareofthe‘railwayfamily’.

266

A CASE STUDY OF GLOUCESTER, 1900 – 1948

Byutilisingacasestudyforthisthesis,itispossibletoexaminehowtheideaof

the‘railwayfamily’wasdeployedinpracticebyrailwaycompaniesandtradeunions

andhowrailwaymenandtheirfamilymembersacceptedthisideaandcreatedtheir

own‘railwayfamily’withinthelocalcommunity.ThetownofGloucesterprovidesan

excellentexampleofeverydaylifeforrailwayworkersandtheirfamilies.Gloucesteris

located in the South West of England, sixty-five miles South of Birmingham and

approximatelythirtymilesWestoftheWelshborder.TheVictorianperiodsawalarge

influxofworkerstoGloucesterandduringthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcenturythe

population continuedtorise from47,955 in1901 to67,280 in1951.721During this

period,thebuildingoftheGloucesterandBerkeleyCanalestablishedGloucesterfirst

asaport and thenasamanufacturing townwith timbermills,match factoriesand

engineering works. The Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company was

founded in 1860 and employed 360 workers. By 1874, the company had secured

721Herbert,N.M(ed.)'Gloucester,1835-1985:Economicdevelopmentto1914',inAHistoryoftheCountyofGloucester:Volume4,theCityofGloucester,pp.170-183.http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol4/ pp.170-183[29/09/2015]Thesefiguresaretakenfromthe1901Censusdataandthe1951Censusdata.

267

overseascontractsandemployedaround800workers.722Throughouttheperiodthe

CarriageandWagonCompanyremainedoneofthelargestemployersinGloucester.723

ThefirstrailwayswerebuiltinGloucesterinthe1840s.Thereweretwolarge

railway companies that operated in the town throughout this period, the Midland

RailwayCompany (MR)and theGreatWesternRailwayCompany (GWR).Theyhad

separaterailwayterminiwhichwerelocatednexttoeachotherandtherewasagreat

dealofcompetitionbetweenthetwocompanies.OnereasonforthiswasthattheGreat

Western Railway Company failed in their attempt to purchase the Bristol and

GloucesterRailwayin1845,whichthenformedpartoftheMidlandRailwayCompany

routeintothecity.724Thiscompetitionbetweenthetwocompaniesalsoextendedto

accesstoGloucesterDocks,animportantportfortradeandseatraffictotheBristol

Channel.725 The rivalry continued when the Midland Railway Company was

amalgamatedintotheLondonMidlandandScottishRailwayCompany(LMS)in1923.

ThecitywasdividedintowardsofwhichBartonandTredworth,twoinnercity

areas,werethefocusofmuchoftherailwaydevelopmentandwheremanyrailwaymen

andtheirfamilieslived.Politicallythroughouttheperiod1900to1948,Gloucesterwas

relativelystable.ALiberalMP,RussellRea,waselectedin1900;hehadthebackingof

therailwaytradeunions.From1910to1945aConservativeMPrepresentedthecity

722Ibid.723GloucesterRailwayCarriageandWagonCompany,AhistoryoftheGloucesterCarriageandWagonCompany(WeidenfeldandNicolson,London,1960)p.42.TheCarriageandWagonCompanywasnotaffiliatedtoanyoftherailwaycompaniesthatranthroughGloucesterortherailwaytradeunionsthathadbranchesinthecity.Accordingtothecompanyhistory,therewasonlyonestrikebystaffoftheCarriageandWagonCompanyoverpayin1911.724Mitchell,VicandSmith,Keith,GloucestertoBristolincludingtheBranchestoNailsworth,DursleyandThornbury(MiddletonPress,Midhurst,2004)p.1725Ibid.,p.14

268

andthereaftertherewasaswingtotheLabourPartyinthe1945election.726Thecity

council was predominantly Conservative from 1909 and one of the Conservative

leaders in the city, JamesBrutonwas electedMayor nine times between 1908 and

1919.TheLabourPartystruggledforrepresentationonthecitycouncilanddidnot

have its first Mayor until 1932.727 This was significant for many trade union

railwaymen,whowerestaunchLabourPartysupporters.

From the1890s,Gloucester city council provided awide range ofmunicipal

services to residents includingamortuary,publicbaths,playing field,museumand

library although it did rely on voluntary associations to provide some health and

welfarefacilities,includingmaternalandinfantwelfarecentres.728Duringthefirsthalf

ofthetwentiethcenturyGloucesterexpandedgreatlyandthecitycouncilworkedhard

tocareforthehealthandwellbeingofthecity’sresidentsbutrailwaycompaniesand

tradeunionswerealsoabletofillthegapleftbyalackofcouncilprovisionsincertain

areas.

Gloucestermakesforavaluablecasestudybecauseitwasnotatypical‘railway

town’oftheperiod,asSwindon,DerbyandCrewewere.Muchhasbeenwrittenabout

the history of these towns thatwere dominated by the railway industry and often

provided the solemeans of employment.However, in Gloucester thereweremany

other avenues of employment for men and women. This meant that the railway

companiesinthecityhadtoworkhardertoattractemployeesandtopreventthem

726Herbert,'Gloucester,1835-1985:Parliamentaryrepresentation',inAHistoryoftheCountyofGloucester:Volume4,theCityofGloucester,(London,1988),pp.205-209.727Herbert,'Gloucester,1835-1985:Citygovernment',inAHistoryoftheCountyofGloucester:Volume4,theCityofGloucester,ed.NMHerbert(London,1988),pp.191-205.728Ibid.

269

fromleavingforotheremployment.Thus,theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wascrucial

for this purpose. The railway trade union branches within Gloucester, the

AmalgamatedSocietyofRailwayServants(ASRS)whichbecametheNationalUnionof

Railwaymen (NUR) from 1913 and the Associated Society of Locomotive Steam

EnginemanandFiremen(ASLEF)andtheirrespectivewomen’sauxiliariesreliedon

the ideaof the ‘railway family’ toattract andkeepmembers.729TheRailwayClerks

Association(RCA)alsohadabranchoftheirunionwithinthecity.

GloucestershireArchiveshold themost complete setofminutebooks for the

RailwayWomen’sGuildnationallythatrunfrom1911to1966.Itisclearfromresearch

in the previous chapter that the Guild were integral to the way that the NUR

promulgatedtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’amongstwomen.Itwasalsoanimportant

factorinthecreationofa‘railwayfamily’inthelocalcommunity.Women’stradeunion

auxiliarieshavelongbeenanunderstudiedresource,whichthischapterwillexamine

indetailinordertounderstandwhotheirmemberswere,whytheyjoinedandhow

important theauxiliarieswere to theirmembers, the tradeunionsand the ‘railway

family’.TheRailwayWomen’sGuildisaparticularfeatureofthischapterduetothe

natureof the sourcesavailable.Theywere also innovators in settingupaWidows’

Fundformembers,beingthefirstbranchoftheGuildtodosoin1911.Therecordsof

theGuild inGloucesteradd further credence to the ideaof choosing the cityas the

locationofthiscasestudy.Combinedwiththerailwaycompanymagazines,thetrade

unionnewspapers,localnewspapers,censusdataandotherlocalrecords,itispossible

729Throughoutthischapter,ASRSwillbeusedwhendiscussingtheunionbefore1913andNURwillbeusedwhenreferringtotheunionafter1913.TheNURwasformedafteramalgamationwithtwosmallerunions,theGeneralRailwayWorkersUnionandtheUnitedPointsmen’sandSignalmen’sSocietyinMarch1913

270

to build a picture of how the idea of the ‘railway family’ worked in practice in

Gloucesterfrom1900to1948.Beginningwithawidesurveyoftherailwaycompanies

andtradeunionsinGloucester,thischapterwillprovideagreaterfocusonthelivesof

the ‘railwayfamily’andthecreationofanoccupationalcommunitythisencouraged

withinthecity.

6.1 TherailwaycompaniesinGloucester

ItisclearthattherailwaycompaniesinGloucesterprovidedopportunitiesfor

socialinteraction,educationandwelfareinordertofacilitatetheideaofthe‘railway

family’andensurethattheloyaltyofrailwaymenandtheirfamilieswasboundtothe

companytheyworkedfor.Separately,thetworailwaycompaniessetupbodiesthat

providedindustrialwelfarefortheirstaffandnon-workingfamilymembers.Industrial

welfare became an important facet of railway company paternalism, encouraging

bondsofloyaltytobeformedbetweencompaniesandtheiremployees.730TheGreat

WesternSocialandEducationalUnionwassetupinJanuary1923asanumbrellabody

forthediverserangeofclubsandsocietiesthatwererunandsponsoredbytheGWR.

InGloucester,thisledtothebuildingofaRailwaymen’sInstituteinAugust1932,to

provideafacilitywheremembersoftheUnioncouldmeetandparticipateinactivities

includingwhist,draughtsand skittles.731This Institutewas transformed intoa staff

canteen during the SecondWorldWar in order to serve round-the-clockmeals to

Gloucester GWR employees.732 The library, billiard table and other indoor sports

730Formoreonrailwaycompanypaternalismandindustrialwelfare,seeChapter3–RailwayCompaniesandthe‘railwayfamily’731GWRM,44,8(1932)p.315732GWRM,55,8(1943)p.120

271

equipment remained to provide some recreation for railwaymen and women. The

Gloucester branch of the GWR Social and Educational Union set up their own

railwaymen’sparliament, todiscusstheworkingsof theGovernment.The localMP,

ColonelJamesHorlickpresentedtheGloucesterrailwaymen’sparliamentwithadaily

copy of the debates that occurred within the Houses of Parliament.733 This

demonstrates thewillingnessof theMPtoengagewithrailwaymenandsolicittheir

support,aswellasthepossibilityforrailwayemployeestoengagewiththepoliticsof

their localareaandnationally.TheGloucesterSocialandEducationalUnionbranch

was described in the GWRMagazine as “progressive” and published its own small

magazineabouttheclubswithintheGloucesterbranch.734

The Social andEducational Union branch at Gloucester also had awomen’s

section thatwas open to femalemembers of staff and thewives and daughters of

railwaymen. This acted as an auxiliary to the men’s branch, organising social and

fundraisingevents.Thewomen’ssectionranastallattheCarnivaltoraisemoneyfor

theGloucesterRoyalInfirmaryinSeptember1930,asdidthetwowomen’stradeunion

auxiliaries in Gloucester, the Railway Women’s Guild and the ASLEF Women’s

Society.735 A Scouting troop for the sons of Gloucester railwaymen and the juniors

employed in the Company was set up in April 1933 and a retired section for ex-

railwaymenwasformedinthelate1930s.736Inthisway,allmembersofthe‘railway

family’werecateredforbytheGWRSocialandEducationalUnioninGloucester.The

factthatthesefacilitieswereprovidedbytherailwaycompanyfortheirstaffandnon-

733GWRM,37,2(1925)p.80734GWRM,39,2(1927)p.77735GWRM,42,9(1930)p.404736GWRM,45,4(1933)p.184and50,9(1938)p.389

272

workingfamilymembersencouragedtheloyaltythattheCompanydesired.Without

the Social and Educational Union, many Gloucester railwaymen and their families

wouldnothavebeenabletosocialisewitheachother,enjoytheirhobbiesorgaina

bettereducationwithoutconsiderablygreaterpersonalexpense,whichmanyofthem

maynothavebeenabletoafford.ThisalsobenefittedtheCompany,notjustinterms

ofreinforcingaGWRidentityinGloucesterandcultivatingCompanyloyaltybutalso

by encouraging greater cohesion amongst staff members and the ‘railway family’,

ensuring theywere better educated andmorewell-roundedmembers of staff and

potentialfutureemployees.

ThesportandsocialfacilitiesfortheemployeesoftheLMSinGloucestertook

timetobecomeestablishedaftertheoriginalrailwaycompany,theMidlandRailway

CompanywasamalgamatedintotheLMSin1923.GeorgeRevill,whohaswrittenabout

theMidlandRailwayCompanyinDerby,hasarguedthattheCompanywasnotthemost

welfaremindedandthereforetheydidnotprovidemanyofthesocialandeducational

facilitiesthattheGWRandothercompaniesdid.737Anotherindicatorofthisisthefact

that,unlikemanyoftheotherlargerailwaycompaniesthatexistedbefore1923,the

MidlandRailwayCompanydidnothaveacompanymagazine.Withthearrivalofthe

LMS in Gloucester, these educational and social welfare initiativeswere set up. By

December1925, theLMSsportsand social activities inGloucester includedcricket,

football,atugofwarteamandahorticulturalsociety.Accordingtothereportinthe

Magazine,“coordinationamongallranksisproceedingapace.”738MutualImprovement

Classes were set up across the LMS network in 1933 and Gloucester railwaymen

737Revill,‘Liberalismandpaternalism’,p.198738LMSM,2,12(1925)p.422

273

benefittedfromthese,withlecturesandeducationaloutingsmonthly.739TheLMSalso

showed their in-houseeducational films inGloucesterover thewinterof1937and

1938.740InaverysimilarwaytotheGWR,theLMSwereeventuallyprovidingfacilities

fortheeducationandtheenjoymentoftheiremployeesandtheirfamilies.Inthisway,

theywerecementingtherelationshipbetweenLMSemployeesinGloucester,thewider

‘railwayfamily’andtheCompanythroughindustrialwelfare.

Despitethecompetitionthatexistedbetweenthetwocompanies,therewerea

small number of GWR/LMS initiatives that overlapped. The Gloucester GWR

AmbulanceCorpswasfoundedin1889,whilsttheLMSCombinedAmbulanceCorps

held its firstannualcompetition in January1926.741TheAmbulanceCorpsprovided

FirstAidclassesforrailwaymen,teachingthemvaluablefirstaidandprovidingaway

that theCompaniescouldensuretheirworkersweremoreknowledgeableandsafe.

Theclasseswereconsideredtobeparticularlyimportantforrailwaymen,givingthem

theskillstosavethelivesofcolleagues,passengersandmembersofthepublic.The

GWRtermedthosemembersofstaffwhosavedlivesbecauseoftheirfirstaidtraining

‘SuperCitizens’enhancingtheirreputationwithintherailwaycompanyandwithinthe

‘railwayfamily’.742TheLMSalsoencouragedstafftojoinambulanceclassesbecause,“a

knowledgeofFirstAidgrowsmoreandmoreurgent.”743Nationallytheseambulance

classeswereopenedtofemaleworkersastheirnumbersgrew,althoughtheyremained

segregatedintomaleandfemaleclasses.Ambulanceclasseswereoneareawherethere

739LMSM,10,5(1933)p.172740LMSM,14,10(1937)p.488741LMSM,3,1(1926)p.24742GWRM,37,1(1925)p.26743LMSM,14,4(1937)p.157

274

wassomeoverlapbetweenthetwocompanies.FirstAidcompetitionsheldinthecity

encouragedGWRandLMSmentocompeteagainsteachotherandagainstmenfrom

other companies in Gloucester.744 This competition strengthened the bonds of

companyloyaltybypittingrailwaymenagainsteachother.InDecember1934,theLMS

andGWCombinedAmbulanceCorpsorganisedatalkonthehistoryanddevelopment

of railways in Britain by the local MP, Leslie Boyce, in aid of the local Children’s

Hospital.745 Charitable causes were one of the few areas where GWR and LMS

railwaymenworkedtogetherinthelocalcommunityinordertoraisemoney.

Within the respective railway companymagazines, local news stories were

includedinordertogenerateprideinarailwaymen’scolleaguesinthecityandinthe

division that Gloucester operated. For example, the GWR ran a train working

competition, designed to increase the efficiency of the Company, foster a sense of

competitionbetweenthedifferentdistrictsandfor thoseareasthatdidparticularly

well, increase thepride railwaymen felt in themselvesand in their colleagues,who

workedwiththeminthesamedivision.Gloucesterwonthepassengertrainworking

sectionofthiscompetitionin1939,whichwascelebratedintheGWRMagazine.746The

factthatBobtheCollectingDograised£370fortheGWRWidowsandOrphansFund

overtheelevenyearsthatheworkedatGloucesterstationwasincludedasatestimony

to the generosity of the staff, their families and the travellers that usedGloucester

744GWRM,32,3(1920)p.63745GWRM,46,12(1934)p.562746GWRM,51,2(1939)p.70

275

station.747Inasimilarvein,theLMSHospitalFundcontributed£500totheGloucester

RoyalInfirmaryfor1925.748

TheLMSMagazineencouragedrailwaymenacrossthenetworktobeproudof

their colleague, Mr W.J Stagg, a clerk at Gloucester who wrote a hymn that was

performedatGloucesterCathedralfortheTradesCouncilandLabourPartyserviceat

whichalargenumberoflocalrailwaymenattended.749ThisprideintheCompanyand

inotherrailwaymenandtheirfamilieshelpedtobondthe‘railwayfamily’togetherand

encourageamutualsenseofgoodwillandco-operationtowhichallinGloucestercould

subscribe.Itcanalsobeusedasevidencetosuggestthattheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

fromtherailwaycompanyperspectivewasbeingunderstoodinGloucesterintheway

thattheyhoped.

However, despite their efforts at industrialwelfare, therewere a number of

complaintsinTheRailwayReviewandtheLocomotiveJournalabouttheLMSandthe

GWRinGloucester.OneletterhighlightedthepoorconditionofGWRlocomotivesin

that areaand fears therewouldbeanaccidentbecauseof this.750Therewasalsoa

conflictinGloucesterregardingthedivisionofSundayworking,withsomerailwaymen

calling for a fairer distribution of overtime and asking their union to ensure this

happened.751 The trade unions and railway companies were forced to have more

interactionwitheachotherovertimeasthecompaniesofficiallyrecognisedtheunions

747GWRM,33,11(1921)p.272748LMSM,3,5(1926)p.159749LMSM,4,1(1927)p.16750TheRailwayReview,02/11/1900,p.7751LocomotiveJournal,36,7,(1923)p.303

276

andbeganformallynegotiatingwiththemoverissuesthataffectedrailwayworkers.752

However,withinthecompanymagazines,tradeunionnewspapersortheminutebooks

of the Gloucester branches of the NUR and ASLEF, these negotiationswere rarely

writtenaboutindetailwithspecificreferencetoGloucester.

ThetworailwaycompaniesinGloucesteralsointeractedwiththeNURRailway

Women’sGuildandtheASLEFWomen’sSocietyintheirroleastradeunionauxiliaries.

TheGuildorganisedoutingsfortheirmembers,widowsandorphansanddepending

ontheirdestinationusedeithertheGreatWesternRailwayCompanyorMidland/LMS

astransport.In1922,theMidlandRailwayCompanyagreedtoallowtheGuildtohire

asaloonfortheirannualoutingfor10shillingswhilstin1924,thenewlyformedLMS

offeredtheGuildasaloonforfree.753TheissueofGuildoutingscanofferaninsightinto

thecompetitionthatwasemergingbetweenroadandrail.Duringthe1920sand1930s

theGuildbegantousesbusesandcoachesastransportationfortheiroutingsbutthey

soonrealisedthat theyneededtouserail transport inordertosupport therailway

companiesandbyextensiontheirhusbandsbecause,“itisonlyfairthatweencourage

the Company aswe have to look to them for our living.”754 This demonstrates the

loyalty the railway companies were able to cultivate from their utilisation of the

‘railwayfamily’–theGuildrealisedthattheirhusbandsemploymentandbyextension

theirfamilylivesweredependantonthesuccessoftherailwaycompany.Inturn,the

companiesofferedtheGuildtransportationatdiscountedratesinordertoattracttheir

businessandcurryfavour.

752Foradiscussionontherecognitionoftradeunions,seeChapter4–Tradeunionsandthe‘railwayfamily’753RWGminutebook,11/07/1922,D3128/6/3and03/07/1924,D3128/6/4754RWGminutebook,13/04/1933,D3128/6/6

277

The railway companies also encouraged their societies and social clubs to

interactwiththeRailwayWomen’sGuild,forexampletheGWRAmbulanceCorpsput

onadisplayataGuildsocialeveningin1911.755TheLMSAmbulanceCorpswroteto

theGuildtoaskfortheirassistanceinfundraisingfortheGloucesterRoyalInfirmary

andtheGWRevenattemptedtoencouragerailwaymen’swivestotakepartinaMay

DayChurchParadebyappealingtothemthroughtheGuild.756

The relationship between the Railway Women’s Guild and the railway

companiesinGloucesterwasnotalwaysharmonioushowever,astheGuildcomplained

vociferouslyinOctober1914whenamembervisitedthewifeofarailwaymanwhohad

volunteered to join up and “she had not received anymoney from the GWR for 2

weeks.”757Railwaycompaniescontinuedtopayaportionof thewagesof theirstaff

members in theForcesduringthewar; for thiswife to fail toreceiveanypayments

fromtheGWRwouldhaveleftherandherfamilyinaverydifficultfinancialposition.

There were also a number of complaints to the LMS when the company stopped

granting privilege tickets to the children of railway widows.758 These complaints

exposesomeof the limitationsof therailwaycompanyutilisationof the ideaof the

‘railwayfamily’andtheirinteractionswiththeRailwayWomen’sGuild.TheGuildin

Gloucesterwerewillingtosupportandpatronisetherailwaycompaniesbecausethey

knewthattheirhusband’sjobsweredependantonthesuccessoftheMidland/LMSand

theGWR.However,theywerealsoaware,throughtheirinvolvementwiththetrade

755TheRailwayReview,08/12/1911,p.7756RWGminutebook,17/04/1930,D3128/6/5and03/05/1928,D3128/6/5757RWGminutebook,24/10/1914,D3128/6/2758RWGminutebook,21/05/1925,D3128/6/4

278

unions, that railway company employees and their families could expect certain

concessionsandbenefitsfromthecompaniesandresentedtheirwithdrawal.

Itisclearthatindustrialwelfareplayedakeyroleinhowtheideaofthe‘railway

family’wasdeployedwithinGloucesterbythetworailwaycompaniesthatoperatedin

thecity.Byprovidingthesefacilities,therailwaycompanieswereattemptingtoensure

that theywereviewedfavourablybytheiremployeesandtheirnon-working family

membersinorderthattheyremainedhealthy,intellectuallystimulatedandaboveall,

loyal to the company. The evidence from Gloucester suggests that the railway

companies were largely successful in their aims to create a loyal workforce who

realisedthattheirwelfarewasboundupwiththesuccessofthecompany.Membersof

the ‘railway family’ inGloucesterwere however, able to ensure that their interests

werealsoprotectedbybecomingmembersofthetradeunionandtheirauxiliaries.

6.2 TheTradeUnionsinGloucester

Thethreerailwaytradeunions,theNUR,ASLEFandtheRCAallhadbranches

inGloucesterandcultivatedthe ‘railwayfamily’accordingtothespecificneedsand

wishesoftheirunion.TheNURandASLEFhadacontinuouspresenceinthecitywhilst

the RCA branch in Gloucester was strongest during the first half of the period,

disappearingfromtheRCAnewspaperalmostentirelyfromtheearly1920sonwards.

6.2.1 TheASRS/NURinGloucester

TheGloucesterbranchoftheASRSwasfoundedin1881andby1915therewere

twoNURbranchesinthecity,referredtoasGloucesterNo.1andGloucesterNo.2.The

branch reports from Gloucester that feature inThe Railway Review can help us to

279

understandtheprioritiesoftheGloucesterNURbranchesandhowtheytreatedtheir

members.Thiscanindicatehowtheyunderstoodandexperiencedthe‘railwayfamily’,

particularlyintermsofthelanguagetheyusedandthesupportstructuresthatwere

putinplaceformembersandtheirfamilies.

Gloucester NUR branch members supported each other in times of need,

indicating the ‘family’ feeling that existed between them. They attendedmembers’

weddings and funerals and thesewere often recorded inTheRailwayReview. The

funeralofBrotherF.R.Hiram,whodiedaged37inFebruary1902wasattendedby“40

ofhisfellowworkersinuniform;thechairman,vice-chairmanandbranchsecretary

werealsopresent.”759Memberswhosewivesorchildrenhaddiedweretreatedwitha

greatdealofsympathy, forexample, thearrearsofaBrotherwhohad losthiswife

recentlywereclearedatameetinginApril1900.760Thebranchalsomadecollections

forlocalwidowswhosehusbandshadbeenmembersoftheASRS/NUR.761Therewere

regularappealstomemberstoraisemoneyforBrotherswhowereillorinjured,for

exampleacollectionwastakenin1900-1foronememberwhohadbeenabsentfrom

workfortenmonthsduetoadebilitatingillness.762Anothercollectionraised11sand

9dforamemberwhohadsufferedsevereburnsinanaccident.763Competitionshelped

raisemoneyformembersinneed,whilstalsoprovidinganincentivetodonate.InJune

1902,awatchguessingcompetitionwasarrangedtoraisemoneyforBrothersT.Meek

759TheRailwayReview,07/02/1902,p.13760TheRailwayReview,27/04/1900,p.3761TheRailwayReview,18/05/1900,p.2762TheRailwayReview,30/11/1900,p.2763TheRailwayReview,04/01/1901,p.3

280

andC.Oakley.764TheBenevolentFundwasadministeredlocallyandthesefundswere

usedtoeasethesufferingofthosewhoweresickorunemployed.InMarch1906,there

werefourmembersoftheGloucesterbranchontheunemploymentlist.765Retirement

presentations,unlikethosethatfeaturedinrailwaycompanymagazines,oftendidnot

includewivesorfamiliesandallthegiftsandmoneywerepresentedtothemember.766

TheGloucesterASRSbranchwaskeentoseeafederationbetweentheASRSand

ASLEF,asameetingthatwasheldinMay1900demonstrates.TheyinvitedtheirASLEF

counterpartstothismeetingbutonlyoneASLEFmemberwhowasalsoamemberof

theASRSattended.767ThelackofinterestbyASLEFmembersisnoteworthybecauseit

showsthattheGloucesterASRSbranchcaredmoredeeplyaboutgreaterco-operation

betweentheASRSandASLEFthantheGloucesterASLEFbranchdid.Thisisreflected

throughouttheperiodandreferencestothiscanbefoundinTheRailwayReview,the

LocomotiveJournalandtheASLEFminutebook.TheASRS,andlatertheNUR,believed

thatthebestwaytoachievebetterworkingandlivingconditionsfortheirmembers

wasasanall-grades federationwhilstASLEF felt that theyalone couldensure that

driversandfiremengotthesurestsupport.

TheGloucesterASRSbranchpassedaresolutiontosupportthe“GreatEastern

men” in theirattemptsto improvetheirworkingconditionsandsent10shillingsto

dismissedLondonandNorthWesternRailwayCompanyemployees.768Theresolution

demonstratesthefraternalsupportthatmembersoftheASRSshowedtooneanother

764TheRailwayReview,06/06/1902,p.5.Thiswasacompetitionwhereprizeswerewonforguessingthetimeawatchwasstopped.765TheRailwayReview,16/03/1906,p.3766TheRailwayReview,04/01/1901,p.11767TheRailwayReview,11/05/1900,p.3768TheRailwayReview,10/08/1900,p.2and20/09/1901,p.2

281

aspartofthe‘railwayfamily’andwasasuccessfulwaythatthetradeuniondeployed

theidea.ItalsoindicatesthattheASRSwasfragmentedacrosscompanyandregional

divisions;theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasonethathadtheabilitytounitemembers

regardlessofcompany,gradeorlocality.NotonlydidtheGloucesterbranchsupport

the efforts of other railwaymen for betterworking conditions, they also supported

strikingworkersinotherindustries,forexampleinSeptember1900,thebranchsent

10 shillings to strikinghosieryworkers.769 Thisapplied internationally aswell – in

1901 theGloucesterASRSbranch sent10 shillings to strikingParis andCalais lace

workers,demonstratingtheconnectionsmadethroughtradeunionismandsocialism

and reflecting the international nature of railway trade unions. This grew stronger

duringthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcenturywithincreasedmilitancyandinternational

federations.770

TheGloucesterNURbranchinteractedwiththewivesandchildrenofmembers.

Wivesanddaughterswere involvedwithsocialeffortsandrefreshmentdutieseven

beforetheformationoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildbranchin1902.AttheAnnualTea

in1900,someofthewomenwholaterbecameinfluentialintheGuildbranchwerein

chargeof therefreshmentsandtookpart in theevening’sentertainment, indicating

thatwomenwerekeentobeinvolvedintheunion,evenbeforeanyseparateavenues

ofparticipationwereopeneduptothem.771Thesewomenbecamesomeof thecore

membersoftheGloucesterGuild.Theirlong-servicerecordswerecelebratedinMarch

1926withaspecialpresentationceremonywheretheNationalPresidentgaveeight

769TheRailwayReview,07/09/1900,p.2770TheRailwayReview,01/02/1901,p.3and01/03/1901,p.3771TheRailwayReview,27/04/1900,p.5

282

members(MrsBeer,MrsBelgin,MrsRowles,MrsBishop,MrsOakley,MrsHalfordand

MrsRoberts)silverbadgesinrecognitionofovertwentyyearsofindividualservicein

theGuild.TheExecutiveCommitteememberpresentattheceremonystatedthat“the

greatesthonourwasdue to thememberswho remained loyal to theGuild since its

formation.”772

ThevisitoftheRailwayQueentoGloucesterinJuly1944wasanotherinstance

wheretheNUR,ASLEF,theLMSandtheGWR,interactedwiththeextended‘railway

family’.TheRailwayQueenvisitedthetownonthe8thJuly1944toopentheGloucester

HolidaysatHomeprogramme.Thiswasasix-weekprogrammedesignedtoencourage

membersofthepublicnottousetherailwaysduringtheirsummerholidaysduetothe

wartimestressesplacedontheindustry.Withinherretinue,theRailwayQueenhad

sixmaidsofhonour,threeofwhomwerethedaughtersofNURmembersandthree

who were the daughters of ASLEF members. “The reception committee was fully

representativeofmanagement,unionsandtheWomen’sGuilds.”773Officialsfromthe

two railway companies and the three railway trade unions in the city addressed

members of the public in Gloucester through messages read out by the Railway

Queen.774Inthisway,allthoseconnectedtotheRailwayQueen,andthe‘railwayfamily’

had input into this event inGloucesterdesigned to ease the trafficon the railways

duringwartimeandensurethesmoothworkingoftheindustryinatimeofupheaval.

TheGloucester branch of theNURwas instrumental in the formationof the

GuildinOctober1902as“Thesanctionofthebranchwasgivenforthesecretarytocall

772RWGminutebook,25/3/1926,D3128/6/4773TheRailwayReview,21/7/1944,p.6774Ibid.,p.6

283

theladiestogetherwiththeobjectofformingaWomen’sGuild,anditishopeditwill

getwellsupported.”775ThefirstmeetingoftheGloucesterGuildwasateaandconcert

heldattheLabourHalltowhichallrailwaymenandtheirwiveswereinvited.Twenty-

sevenwomensubscribedtotheGuildatthisfirstmeeting.776TheGloucesterbranch

then invited theGuild to co-operatewith themonanumberofdifferent social and

fundraisingefforts,particularlytheAnnualTeaandtheOrphanFund.777Therewillbe

morediscussionontheRailwayWomen’sGuildinSection6.3.Notallwomenwhowere

membersoftheGuildhadhusbandsintheASRS,butthemajoritydid.Onereasonthat

this was permitted was that the Guild strongly believed that these women could

influencetheirhusbandstobecomemembersofthetradeunion.Thiswasanareaof

controversybetweenASRSbranchesandGuildbranchesinotherareasbutitdoesnot

seem to have become an issue in Gloucester. A more detailed discussion of these

debates can be found in Chapter 5. The only case of this emerging as a cause of

disagreementwasinMay1932,whentheGloucesterNo.2branchreportstatedthat

“wehavediscoveredthatthehusbandofoneoftheofficialsoftheRailwayWomen’s

Guildwasa“non”ofsomeyearsstanding.”778TheGuildreplieddirectlytothebranch

withaletterstating“tothebestofourknowledgeandbeliefwehavenomemberofthe

GuildwhosehusbandisnotintheNUR.”779Thematterdoesnotappeartohavebeen

raisedbyeithersideagain.

775TheRailwayReview,03/10/1902,p.3776TheRailwayReview,14/11/1902,p.11777TheRailwayReview,11/03/1904,p.12778TheRailwayReview,13/5/1932,p.13779RWGminutebook,31/3/1932,D3128/6/5

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6.2.2 ASLEFandGloucester

TherecordsfortheASLEFbranchinGloucesterareratherlimitedbuttheydo

indicate that the union had a number of subscribers in the city. According to the

Locomotive Journal, the ASLEF branch in Gloucester met at The Windmill Inn on

HillbrookStreetandthenlatertheLabourClubandInstituteonthesecondSundayof

everymonth.TheASLEFbranchwaskeentoensurethatallofthelocomotivemenin

Gloucesterweremembersoftheunionsoheldlargemeetingsforallthoseemployed

bytheGWRandMidland/LMS.Howevertherecordsofthesemeetings,particularlyin

theearly1900s,indicatethatASLEFstillhadagreatdealofworktodoasonly74of

the400menwhoattendedinFebruary1904wereactuallymembersoftheunion.780

ThelackofunionisationbroughtcriticismonthelocomotivemenofGloucesterfrom

thepagesoftheLocomotiveJournal.781By1909,thebranchhadgrownto130members

andin1921,theOrganisingSecretaryfortheSouth-Weststatedthat“Icanrecollect

thetimewhenGloucesterwasregardedasoneofthedifficultplacestoorganise,but

thiscannolongerbesaid”.782In1940,theASLEFbranchesinGloucesterwerefurther

dividedalongsectionallineswiththeformationofGloucesterNo.2(LMS)branch.783

ForASLEF,thissectionalnaturewasoneofthedifficultiesofutilisingtheideaofthe

‘railwayfamily’,astheyweredividedalonggradeandcompanylines.

However,theGloucesterbranchofASLEFwerekeentosupportothermembers

of the ‘railway family’, and especially those in trade unions. They sent 13 shillings

towardshelpingNorthEasternrailwaymenpayoffafineleviedonthemforstriking.A

780LocomotiveJournal,17,4(1904)p.174781LocomotiveJournal,19,3(1906)p.126782LocomotiveJournal,23,5(1909)p.248and34,11(1921)p.414783LocomotiveJournal,53,1(1940)p.51

285

report in theLocomotive Journal indicated that thesedonationssent in fromASLEF

branchesacrossthecountry“showsthetruespiritoftradeunionisminhelpingone

anotherintimeofneed”.784Thiswasacrucialwaythattradeunionrailwaymenwere

abletodemonstratethe‘imaginedcommunity’ofthe‘railwayfamily’toeachother,by

providingfinancial,moralandpoliticalsupport.

AlthoughwomendonotappearveryfrequentlyintheactivitiesoftheASLEF

branchinGloucester,thesupportofwiveswasnotunderestimatedbyASLEFmembers

whopresentedthewifeofaretiringunionofficialwithagiftinorderthat“herdevotion

and self-sacrificewere understood and appreciated”.785 Thiswas oneway that the

involvementofwomen in the ideaof the ‘railway family’was sanctionedbyASLEF

before 1924 and the foundationof theirWomen’s Society thatwill be discussed in

Section6.4.

6.2.3 TheRCAandGloucester

TheRCAbranchinGloucesterwasformedin1904andwasparticularlyactive

fromtheearly1900stotheearly1920s.Clerksfrombothcompaniesattendedbranch

meetingsand thiswaspraisedby theDistrictOrganisingSecretary.786 In1910, fifty

clerksweremembersoftheRCAinGloucesterandlaterthatyearitwasmootedasa

modelbranchinTheRailwayClerk.787Thiswasdemonstratedbythefactthatonlytwo

months later, the branch had 110members.788 By 1925, in one of the last branch

784LocomotiveJournal,26,4(1913)p.148785LocomotiveJournal,32,2(1919)p.44786TheRailwayClerk,5,54(1908)p.111787TheRailwayClerk,7,77(1910)p.99and7/83(1910)p.213788TheRailwayClerk,8,85(1911)p.18

286

reportsthatappearedinTheRailwayServiceJournal,theRCAbranchatGloucesterhad

150members.789

The welfare commitments of the Midland Railway Company, which Revill

intimateswerefarbehindotherrailwaycompanies,canbeseenintheircommitment

toallowclerkswithconsumptionsixmonthsoffworkwithfullpay.790Asdiscussedin

Chapter4,theRCAwastheunionthatvoicedmostoppositiontorailwayfamilies,the

nepotismandwelfareschemesofrailwaycompanies.Theywerenotafraidtovoice

complaintsagainsttheiremployersatbranchmeetingsorwithintheirnewspaper.The

GloucesterbranchcomplainedvociferouslyabouttheinsanitaryfacilitiesattheLMS

Dockofficeswhichwereanissueforclerksacrossthecountrywhofacedworkingin

dark,dampofficesthatwereoftenthecatalystforpoorhealth.791

Gloucesterclerksdidnothavethebestrecordatsupportingothermembersof

the trade union ‘family’ however, as they acted as blacklegs in a strike byMidland

RailwayCompanyGoodsShedworkersin1913.792Therewasagreatdealofcriticism

ofclerksactingasblacklegswithinTheRailwayClerkastheuniontriedtoestablish

themselvesaspartofthetradeunionideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.793Havingmembers

actasstrike-breakerswouldnot,inanyway,allowtheRCAtobeacceptedbyeitherof

themoremilitantrailwaytradeunions.

ThefirstfemalememberswereenrolledintheGloucesterRCAbranchin1916

as part of the RCA’s scheme to mitigate the threat of female clerks to their male

789TheRailwayServiceJournal,22,256(1925)p.124790TheRailwayClerk,8,87(1911)p.58791TheRailwayServiceJournal,20,233(1923)p.155792TheRailwayClerk,10,118(1913)p.239793TheRailwayClerk,10,110(1913)p.40

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members. There is no indication of the degree to which these female clerks were

acceptedand integrated into theRCA ‘railway family’, however the fact that fifteen

femalemembersjoinedwithinashortperiodoftimedemonstratesthattheGloucester

branchweresuccessfulinrecruitingfemaleclerks.794

From1925, therewere fewreferencesmadetotheGloucesterbranchof the

RCA.Thisdoesnotmeanthatthebranchfolded(andthefactithad150membersin

1925makesthisunlikely),ratherthatthesecretarydidnotfeelthatsendingbranch

reports toTheRailway Service Journalwas anecessity.However, this doesmake it

challengingtouncoveranyevidenceofthe‘railwayfamily’intheoryorpracticefrom

theRCAperspectiveinGloucesterafterthisdate.

6.3 TheRailwayWomen’sGuildandGloucester

TheGloucesterbranchof theRailwayWomen’sGuildwas formed inOctober

1902. The Railway Women’s Guild was the women’s trade union auxiliary of the

AmalgamatedSocietyofRailwayServants(NationalUnionofRailwaymen,NUR,from

1913)forthewivesanddaughtersofunionisedrailwaymen.Itwasfoundednationally

in1900,withsomeoftheearliestbranchesbeinginAccrington,Stockport,Birmingham

andSwansea.795TheGuildexemplifiedthewaythatthetradeuniondeployedtheidea

ofthe‘railwayfamily’;byinvitingthewivesanddaughtersofunionisedrailwaymento

assist the trade union and encouraging co-operation between the two groups, the

unionwasactivelyattemptingtobindthosewomentotheunionandthewiderlabour

movementfromtheirown‘separatesphere’.Inordertodothis,theyneededtosecure

794TheRailwayClerk,13,155(1916)p.280795RailwayWomen’sGuildminutebook,CentralOrganisationFundminutes,1901-1910.Uncatalogued

288

the support and loyalty of these women, which they were able to do through the

RailwayWomen’sGuild.The‘railwayfamily’isalsoinevidenceinthewaythatGuild

memberswereabletosupporteachotherandtherailwaycommunitymoregenerally.

TheRailwayWomen’sGuildwasprimarilyintendedtoassisttheASRSandto

provide a support structure for the wives of unionised railwaymen. This included

encouragingthemtomeetandsocialiseandtoeducatethemselvesintradeunionand

widerpoliticalmatters. 796TheRailwayWomen’sGuild inGloucester isanexcellent

exampleofthewaythatsomeGuildbranchesjoinedcampaigningmovementsoutside

their trade union responsibilities, especially on issues that affected women and

childreninthelocalcommunity.

We are able to understand the workings of the Railway Women’s Guild in

Gloucester because the minutebooks of the Guild from 1911 to 1966 survive in

Gloucestershire Archives. These minutebooks reveal many details about the

GloucesterGuildbranchincludingthecampaignsthattheGuildsupportedbothlocally

and nationally and the decision-making process behind these campaigns. When

combinedwithlocalnewspaperreports,the1911Censusand‘OurWomen’sCorner’,

theGuildcolumninTheRailwayReview,itispossibletobuildamorecompletepicture

oftheRailwayWomen’sGuildinGloucester.Thiscanthenhelpustounderstandhow

thetradeunionideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasputintopracticefromtheperspective

ofitsfemale,non-workingmembers.

796RailwayWomen’sGuild(RWG)minutebook,1901–1910,CentralOrganisationFundMinutesofProceedings,1901.Uncatalogued

289

6.3.1 The structure and membership of the Railway Women’s Guild in

Gloucester

TheGloucesterbranchoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildmetinmembers’sitting

rooms,intheMethodistSundaySchoolroomsandlatertheLabourClubandInstitute

that the Gloucester Guild supported with money, time and membership of the

committee.Membership fluctuatedovertheperiod;27members initially joinedthe

Guildonitsfoundationin1902.Thishadincreasedto30in1906andto64members

by1911.ItwaveredduringtheFirstWorldWarandinter-warperiod,between46in

1912,53in1919and84in1925.797In1901therewere1,200railwaymenemployed

inGloucester;notalloftheserailwaymenwouldhavebeeninatradeunion,butthe

numberofwomenintheRailwayWomen’sGuildissmallwhenconsideringhowmany

railwaymenwereemployedinGloucester.ComparedtootherGuildbranches,suchas

theCheltenhambranchthathad109membersin1920,membershipoftheGloucester

Guildwasrelativelylow,althoughitisclearfromtheminutebooksthattheydidagreat

dealofcampaigningandworkinthelocalcommunitydespitetheirsmallsize.798

It is important to consider the structure of the Railway Women’s Guild in

Gloucesterbecausethiscanleadustoanunderstandingofwhothememberswere,

whytheysupportedthecampaignstheydidandwhetherthetradeunionideaofthe

‘railway family’ was effective. The 1911 Census can offer a snapshot of Guild

membership inGloucester during the year and staff records can further illuminate

detailsonotherprominentmembersoftheGuild.ThechiefofficersoftheGuildwere

797TheRailwayReview,14/11/1902,p.11,14/12/1906,p.10andRWGminutebook,30/11/1911,D3128/6/1,18/12/1919,D3128/6/3and12/02/1925,D3128/6/4andTheGloucesterJournal,21/09/1912,p.5798RWGminutebook,12/02/1920,D3128/6/3

290

thePresident, theSecretaryandtheTreasurer. In1911, thePresidentwasMrsEva

Roberts, thewife of aMidlandRailwayGoodsGuard; the SecretarywasMrsDiana

Tyndall, whose husbandwas also a Goods Guard on theMidland Railway; and the

TreasurerwasMrs EleanorBeer,whose husbandwas again aGoodsGuard for the

MidlandRailway.799ThemenwereallintheASRSinGloucester.In1911,womenwhose

husbandsworkedfortheMidlandRailwayCompanyasGoodsGuardsdominatedthe

highestpositionsintheGuild.Thiswasnotnecessarilythecasethroughoutthelifeof

the Guild asmember’s husbandsworked for both theMidland/LMS and the GWR.

Goods Guards on the Midland Railway earned approximately 27 shillings a week;

although these were not amongst the highest paid positions within the railway

industry, they were certainly further up the hierarchy than many other railway

employeesandmembersoftheASRS.800Oneofthemosthigh-profilemembersofthe

GloucesterGuildbranchwasMrsAdaProsserwhobecamethefirstfemalemagistrate

in Gloucester in 1920. Her husband was a blacksmith who worked for a railway

companyandwasprominentinthetradeunionandlabourmovementinGloucester.801

SisterProsserwaselectedPresidentoftheWomen’sCo-operativeGuildinGloucester

in1922,fosteringthelinkbetweentheRailwayWomen’sGuildandtheWomen’sCo-

operative Guild in the city which was particularly important in the campaigns

surroundingmaternalandinfantmortalitywhichwillbediscussedlaterinthissection.

7991911CensusforEnglandandWales,RegistrationDistrict325,ED23,HouseholdSchedule(HS)102,Piece15317andED12,HS290,Piece15306andED12,HS147,Piece15306.TheNationalarchivesandwww.ancestry.com[12/01/2016]800ASRS,ReportonCensusofWages,HoursandLabourofmenemployedontheRailwaysoftheUnitedKingdom(London,1908)pp.10-11801GloucesterJournal,12/10/1935,p.23

291

Themembershipof theGuild inGloucesterwasnothomogenous in termsof

employment or wages. None of the members of the Gloucester Guild who joined

between1911and1921wererecordedasworkinginthe1911CensusofEnglandand

Wales.ItismoreofachallengetouncoverwhetherGuildmembersworkedafterthis

period,althoughtheydomakereferencetothemselvesas“workers”duringtheFirst

World War.802 Many trade unionists and their wives subscribed to the ‘male

breadwinner’ ideology, which encapsulated the view that men needed to earn a

sufficientwagetosupporttheirfamilies.Thisinturnmeantthatmarriedwomendid

notneedtoworkandthuscouldsupporttheirhusbandandchildrenathome.803The

fact that no Guild members were working women confirms that railwaymen in

Gloucesterconformedtothismodelandsuggeststhattheysubscribedtothisideology.

ThejobsofGuildmember’shusbandswerevariedandincludedshunters,platelayers,

carters, porters, guards, fireman and drivers. These occupations were across the

spectrum of railway employment with drivers being the most highly paid and

platelayersandportersbeingamongstthelowest.804MembershipoftheGuildwasnot

confinedtothosewhosehusbandswereofhighergradesorearnedmorewages.Just

as the National Union of Railwaymen encouraged all railwaymen to join the union

regardlessofoccupation,theGuildwasopentoallwivesanddaughtersofrailwaymen.

Daughterswere permitted to join the RailwayWomen’s Guild at the age of

sixteenandthereisevidenceofmothersanddaughters(ordaughters-in-law)joining

theRailwayWomen’s Guild together. In theminutebooks theywere referred to as

802RWGminutebook,16/12/1914,D3128/6/2803Bruley,Sue,WomeninBritainsince1900(MacMillan,Basingstoke,1999)p.83804ASRS,ReportonCensusofWages,pp.10-11

292

‘senior’and‘junior’,forexample,MrsLucyOakley‘Junior’waselectedPresidentofthe

Gloucesterbranch in January1913.805However, havingyoungchildrenpresenteda

challengetowomenwhowishedtobecomemembersof theGuild.Thecensusdata

demonstratesthatthosewhojoinedhadchildrenwhowereofschoolageandtherefore

abletolookafterthemselvesorhadanolderchildorboarderwhocouldtakecareof

the younger children whilst the women were at meetings.806 The Gloucester RWG

alternatedafternoonandeveningmeetingstwiceamonth, thusallowingthosewho

couldnotattendafternoonmeetings toattend in theeveningwhen theirhusbands

wereathomeandabletotakeoverchildcare.

Childcarecontinuedtobeaproblemforsomewomenwhowantedtobecome

membersoftheGuild,suchasthewomanwhowasinvitedtoameetingbutrefusedto

jointheGuildonapermanentbasisuntilherchildrenwereolder.807Anotherexample

isthatofMrsLucyMoulderwhojoinedtheGuildin1911.808Shehadfivechildrenaged

betweeneightandafewmonthsoldandisrecordedasre-joiningin1919.Atthispoint

her youngest childwould have been eight years old and the eldest daughter aged

twelve, an age thatwould have been deemed appropriate to take care of younger

brothersandsisters.TheGuildinGloucesterdidnotdiscussthesechildcareissuesat

their meetings but they were acutely aware of it, for example reading important

pamphletsandlettersatsuccessiveafternoonandeveningmeetingsinorderthatno

805RWGminutebook,09/01/1913,D3128/6/1806Ross,Ellen,LoveandToil:MotherhoodinOutcastLondon,1870–1914(OxfordUniversityPress,NewYork,1993)p.25.RossarguesthatcompulsoryschoolingandraisingtheschoolleavingageinsuccessiveEducationActsincreasedamother’sburden,asshewasunabletouseolderchildrentocareoftheirbrothersandsistersorrunerrands.807RWGminutebook,13/7/1911,GloucestershireArchivesD3128/6/18081911CensusofEnglandandWales,Gloucester,RegistrationDistrict:325,ED20HS155,Piece15314TheNationalArchivesandwww.findmypast.com[23/09/15]

293

membershouldmissout.Therewasalsoabeliefthatattendancewaspoorduringthe

FirstWorldWarastheGuildheldtheirmeetingsonafternoonsonlyforanumberof

monthsduring1916and1917sothedecisionwastakentorevertbacktoalternative

afternoonandeveningmeetings.809ThisdemonstratesthattheGuildwereawareofthe

needsoftheirmembersandtailoredtheirmeetingstosuitasmanymembersofthe

‘railwayfamily’aspossible.

In his social study ofYork in 1901, Rowntree claims that 21 shillings and 8

pencewastheminimumwageafamilyoffourcouldexistonandanywageunder26

shillingsaweekwouldleadtoafamilywithtwoormorechildrenlivinginpovertyand

being underfed.810 If we relate this claim to Gloucester, there were a number of

membersoftheGuildwhosefamilieswerelivinginpovertyduetothewagesofthe

malebreadwinneraccordingtothe1911Census.TheGreatWesternRailwayCompany

andtheMidlandRailwayCompanypaidalargenumberoftheiremployeesunder26

shillingsaweek.811 One reason for thiswas thepromotion structureof the railway

industry–mostemployeeshadthepotentialtobepromoted,forexamplefromcleaner

to fireman toenginedriverand thushad thepotential toearnmuchhigherwages.

However,thisdidnotalleviatethesituationfortherailwayman’sfamilywho,inthe

shortterm,hadtosurviveonasmallincome.

Therewereanumberofwaysthatrailwayfamiliessupplementedthis.Oneof

thesewastorentoutaroomtoalodgerwhopaidforfoodandboardandhelpedto

809RWGminutebook,06/03/1917,D3128/6/3810Rowntree,B.Seebohm,Poverty.Astudyoftownlife(ThePolicyPress,Bristol,2000)FirstpublishedbyMacmillanandCo,London,1901,p.259andp.296811ASRSReportonCensusofWages,pp.10-11

294

increasethefamilyincomewithoutthewifehavingtoleavethehousetowork.812Some

of these lodgers were family members but others were drawn from the local

community; somehad a connection through the ‘railway family’. For example,Mrs

LilliePargeterlivedinsixroomswithherhusband,ashunterontheMidlandRailway,

twochildrenandherhusband’sthreebrothers,noneofwhomworkedintherailway

industry.813MrsSelinaMiles,wholivedwithherhusband,aboilerwasher,andthree

ofherfivechildreninsixroomsalsohadalodger,anenginedriver.814Lodgingprovides

furtherevidenceofthe‘railwayfamily’inpracticeasrailwaymenprovidedhousingfor

theirworkmatesinneedandthisstrengthenedthebondbetweenrailwaymen,their

colleaguesandfamilymemberswhennokinshipbondexisted.

The1911CensuswasthefirstCensustoincludemoredetailsaboutindividuals

withinahouseholdandtheirlivingsituation,forexamplethenumberofyearsacouple

hadbeenmarried,thetotalnumberofchildrentheyhadhad(irrespectiveofwhether

thesechildrenwerestillalive)andthesizeofthehouseinwhichthehouseholdlived.

It ispossible to findoutwhereGuildmembers lived,who livedwiththemandhow

manyroomsthehouseholdoccupied.Itismorechallengingtouncoverinformationon

the type of housing they lived in andwhether the railway company provided their

houses.TheratebooksofGloucestershowthattherailwaycompaniesownedalarge

amountofpropertyinthecity,butverylittleofitwashousing.815Manyofthehouses

812Davidoff,Leonore,WorldsBetween:HistoricalPerspectivesonGenderandClass(PolityPress,Cambridge,1995)p.1518131911EnglandandWalesCensus,RegistrationDistrict325,ED20,HS114,Piece153148141911EnglandandWalesCensus,RegistrationDistrict325,ED12,HS291,Piece15306815TheratebooksofthewardsofBarton,LowerBarton,Allington,West,Kingsholm,East,South,Southend,TredworthandTuffley,thewardsmostcentralwithinthecityofGloucesterandwheretheGuildminutebooksshowedrailwaymenlived,weresurveyedwithaselectionchosenfrombetween1900and1928,GloucestershireArchives,GBR/L22/11/3-51

295

railwaymenlivedinwererowsofterracedhouses.InAlfredStreet,anareawherea

largenumberofGuildmemberslived,thesehouseshadbetweenfiveandsixrooms.

Thenumberofoccupantsrangedbetweenthreeandnine.MrsAdelaideHumphreys,

wifeofaGWRenginedriver,livedinAlfredStreetwithherhusbandandherfather,a

retired GWR train examiner. Their three children no longer lived at home.816 Mrs

Charlotte Dowell also lived in Alfred Street with her husband, a Midland Railway

Firemanandtheirsevenchildrenagedbetweenfifteenandone.817TheMedicalOfficer

ofHealthReports for Gloucester note thatmost houseswere connected to the city

watersupplyandin1913onlytwenty-fivehousesacrossthecitywerelettomorethan

onefamily.Accordingtothesereports,theaveragerentforfourroomswasbetween

3sand6dand4sand6d;forfiveroomsitwasbetween4sand6dand5sand9d;and

forsixroomsitwasbetween5sand3dand6sand6daweek.818Ifwetaketheexample

ofMrsDowell,asafiremanherhusbandwouldearnapproximately23sand9daweek

whichwouldleaveroughly18shillingsafterrentforfood,coalandotheressentials

includingmembership of theGuild.Membership dueswere raised from3d to 4d a

monthinJanuary1914.819

18shillingsaweekwasnotalargeamounttohouse,feedandclotheafamilyof

nine.MaudPemberReeves, in her study of forty-two families in Lambeth, London,

found that the wife and three children of a railway carriage washer who earned

between18and21shillingsaweekexistedon2dof foodperday inorderthather

8161911EnglandandWalesCensus,RegistrationDistrict325,ED15,HS142,Piece153098171911EnglandandWalesCensus,RegistrationDistrict325,ED15,HS127,Piece15309818MedicalOfficerofHealthReports,1913,pp.32–33.GBR/N2/11/3819ASRSReportonCensusofWages,pp.10–11andTheRailwayReview,16/01/1914,ModernRecordsCentre,Warwick,MSS.127/NU/4/1/2

296

husband could be better fed.820 In 1914, a loaf of bread and a pint of milk cost

approximately1deach.821Manyworkingclasswivesmanagedtheirhouseholdswithin

thesemeagrebudgetsandaccordingtoPemberReeves,theyhadtoendurenotonlya

lackofgoodqualityfoodbutalsopoorhousing,lackofspaceandwarmth.822Cooking

withsuchasmallbudgetmeantthathusbandsandchildrenwereprovidedwithone

hotmealadayandtwobread-basedsmallermeals.823Mothersoftenwentwithouteven

thisanditwasroutinelythecasethatthosewhoenjoyedthestabilityofemployment

intherailwayindustrycouldbeplungedintothislevelofpovertythroughillness,death

oremployment fluctuations including strikes.824Theprecarious living conditionsof

membersoftheGuildmayhavecontributedtothecampaignstheychosetosupport

between1902and1948.

6.3.2 ThecreationofanoccupationalcommunityinGloucester

ThemajorityofmembersoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildlivedinoneparticular

areaofGloucester,closetoboththeMidlandandGreatWesternstations.Themeeting

placesoftheGuildinGloucesterwerealsowithinthislocality.Inthisway,the‘railway

family’ extended out of the workplace and into the city, creating an occupational

community in one particular area of Gloucester that had the potential to provide

support outside a kinship or family network, as part of the ‘railway family’. This

820PemberReeves,Maud,RoundAboutAPoundAWeek(Persephone,London,2008)Firstpublishedin1913,pp.122-123821BBCLearning,TurnBackTime,(BBCLearning,London,2010)p.9.Pricestakenfromaresourcepackdesignedforprimaryschools822PemberReeves,RoundAboutAPoundAWeek,p.134823Ross,LoveandToil,p.48824Ibid.,p.12

297

occupational community couldmakea significantdifference tostreet life, andEllen

RossdescribesonecommunityinBattersea,Londonthatwaspopulatedmainlywith

railwayworkers.OnSundaymornings,womenwereabsentfromthestreetsandparks

astheypreparedaSundayRoastfortheirfamiliesonwhatwasoftentheirhusbands’

onlydayoff.825

Certain streets within the neighbourhoods had a large proportion of Guild

membersindicatingthataswellasclusteringinonearea,themostactivemembersof

thetradeunionandthe‘railwayfamily’alsoencouragedtheirneighbourstojointhe

unionandtheRWG.Thus,theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wassuccessfulinrecruiting

newmemberstotheGuildandtothetradeunionthroughthecreationofatight-knit

occupational communitywhowere concernedwith thewelfare of thosewithin the

‘railwayfamily’.Thewivesofrailwaymen,andthosewhosehusbandsweremembers

ofthetradeunion,hadthecommoncauseofthetradeunionmovementtounitethem

and thisdemonstrates that the ‘railway family’wasnotnecessarilyabond through

blood,astheideahasbeentraditionallyconceived,butthroughtherailwayindustry

itself.Inturn,thiscementstheideaoftherailwayindustryasanimportant‘imagined

community’. The railway community in Gloucester is shown on the maps on the

followingpageswhichchartalargeproportionofthenewmembersoftheGuildfrom

1911to1948.Thesemapsdepicttheoccupationalcommunityanddemonstratethe

clusteringofrailwaymenandtheirfamilieswithinoneparticulararea.

825Ibid.,p.38

298

Figure 9. Map showing the newmembers of the RailwayWomen's Guild in Gloucester, 1911-1921. Taken from theminutebooks held at Gloucestershire Archives.Reproducedfrom1923OrdinanceSurveyMapwiththekindpermissionoftheOrdinanceSurvey.Purchasedfromhttp://www.old-maps.co.uk[5/9/2015]

1911:1912:19131914:1915:1916:None1917:None1918:1919:1920:1921:

299

Figure 10.Map showing thenewmembers of theRailwayWomen'sGuild in Gloucester, 1922-1932. Taken from theminutebooks held atGloucestershire Archives.Reproducedfrom1923OrdinanceSurveyMapwiththekindpermissionoftheOrdinanceSurvey.Purchasedfromhttp://www.old-maps.co.uk[5/9/2015]

300

Figure 11.Map showing thenewmembers of theRailwayWomen'sGuild in Gloucester, 1933-1947. Taken from theminutebooks held atGloucestershire Archives.Reproducedfrom1938OrdinanceSurveyMapwiththekindpermissionoftheOrdinanceSurvey.Purchasedfromhttp://www.old-maps.co.uk[13/1/2016]

301

Duringperiodsofindustrialunrestsuchas1919and1921,morewomenjoined

the Guild. Conversely, from themid-1930s, therewas a significant decrease in the

numberofnewmembersjoining.AsFigure11shows,itfelltooneortwoayear.There

werecomplaintsintheminutebookaboutthelackofyoungerwomenwillingtojoin

theGuild,“youcouldnotgettheYoungWomentotaketheinterestinGuildwork.”826

Thiswasafamiliarrefraininotherwomen’sauxiliariesdiscussedinChapter5.827

Figure9,Figure10andFigure11showtheproximityofnewmembersyearon

yearjoiningfromthesameorneighbouringstreetsinoneparticularareaofGloucester.

It is common in theminutebooks of the Gloucester RailwayWomen’s Guild to see

mothersanddaughtersorneighboursjoiningtheGuildtogetherorencouragingone

anothertojoin.Forexample,MrsTeagueandMrsRobinson,bothofAdelaideStreet

joinedtogetherinNovember1911.828Similarly,MrsDavisandMrsAldenof56and54

DerbyRoadjoinedtogetherinSeptember1925.829

These maps also represent the continuity that existed in Gloucester with

relationtotheoccupationalcommunity.Despitenewhousingbeingbuiltacrossthe

city, railwaymen continued to cluster in a particular area thatwas central to their

employment, union activities andwith othermembers of the ‘railway family’. This

occupationalcommunitywasbuiltuponthestrengthoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

andwasawaythatrailwaymenandtheirfamilymemberscouldprovidesupportfor

thosewhoworkedinthesameindustryandunderstooditsnature.Themapsdonot

showthetotalnumberofwomen joiningyearonyear. Insomecases, thedetailsof

826RWGminutebook,31/08/1946,D3128/6/8827Prochaska,‘AMother’sCountry’,p.397828RWGminutebook,02/11/1911,D3128/6/1829RWGminutebook,24/09/1925,D3128/6/4

302

theiraddresswerenotnotedfullyintheminutebook;inothers,onlytheirnamewas

recorded.ThegraphinFigure12illustratesthetotalnumberofwomenwhojoinedthe

RWGinGloucesterbetween1911and1947.Itisinterestingtonotethatinperiodsof

industrial unrest, such as 1919 and 1925, the number of women joining greatly

increases,potentiallypromptedbytheencouragementoftheirhusbandsandthetrade

union,ortheencouragementoftheirneighbourswhowerealreadymembersofthe

Guild.Inperiodswheretimeandmoneywerelimited,suchasthetwoWorldWarsand

theeconomicdepressionofthelate1920s,thenumberofwomenwhojoinedtheGuild

decreasedtothepointthatinsomeyearsnonewmembersjoined.

303

Figure12.AgraphshowingthenumberofnewmembersjoiningtheRWGinGloucesterbetween1911and1947withsignificantdateshighlighted.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1905 1910 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950

Numbe

rofn

ewm

embe

rs

Yearofadmission

EndofW

W1

Railw

aystrike

Perio

dofIndu

stria

lunrest

GeneralStrike

Starto

fWW2

EndofW

W2

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fWW1

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6.3.3 TheroleoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildinGloucester

6.3.3.1 Relationshipsbetweenmembers

Thewaythat themembersof theGloucesterGuildactedtowardseachother

exemplifies the idea of the ‘railway family’ in practice. Wives and daughters of

railwaymenwereinvitedtojointheRailwayWomen’sGuildinGloucesterinorderto

“lightenyourownburdensandthecaresofothersbypractical,sisterlysympathy.”830

Guildmemberswhowere in distresswere offered support; othermembers visited

thosewhowere sick and offeredmonetary support in the event that they or their

husbandscouldnotworkortheirchildrenwereill.Sickvisitorsattendedtoallthose

whohadnotifiedthebranchthatthey,oranymemberoftheirfamily,wasunwell.831

Thesevisitorsofferedpracticalcareandadvice,moneyorgiftstoimprovehealth.For

example in1914, thesonofoneGloucesterGuildmember,whowas suffering from

consumption,wasgivenmilkandaneggweeklyfortenweeksinordertoimprovehis

health.832 Another example from 1917 demonstrates the financial support Guild

membersweregivenasoneSisterwasgivenagrantbecauseshewasunabletowork

due to “poisoning her hand.”833 Anothermemberwas given a grant to support her

familyafterherhusbandhadbeenunabletoworkfortwoyears.834Thecommitment

toprovidemoneyorfoodformembersindifficultcircumstancescontinuedthroughout

thelifeoftheGuild.Evenduringdifficulteconomiccircumstances,suchastheSecond

830TheRailwayReview,06/04/1906,p.13831TheRailwayReview,01/01/1904,p.12832RWGminutebook,17/03/1914,D3128/6/1833RWGminutebook,03/04/1917,D3128/6/3834RWGminutebook,28/11/1918,D3128/6/3

305

WorldWar,sickmembersweregiveneggs.835Therewereconditionsthatwereplaced

onthissupporthowever,asisdemonstratedinFebruary1904whentheGuildraised

5sand3dforBrotherHolfordbut“WearesorryhiswifeisnotamemberoftheGuild,

asshewouldhavereceivedmorebenefits.”836Thisactedasaninducementtojointhe

GuildinordertoreceivemorehelpandsupportbutalsoasawarningtothoseGuild

memberswhoallowedtheirmembershiptofallintoarrears.

AresolutionpassedunanimouslybytheGloucesterGuildstatedthat“Wedonot

acceptwidowsasmembersofourGuild.”837Oneofthereasonsforthiswasthatthe

Guild did not want to offer the same level of financial support to widows whose

husbandshadnotbeenintheNURpriortotheirdeathorwomenwhohadnotbeenin

the Guild before they were widowed. Thosewho were widowedwhilst they were

members of the Guild were offered a great deal more support however, including

Christmasgifts,freeplacesonoutingsandatsocialeventsandfinancialorpractical

support if they were in need.838 The financial and moral support offered to other

members and their families demonstrates the familial bond that grew up between

membersoftheGuildinGloucesterwhowerewillingtosupportoneanotherindifficult

times.Thisencapsulatestheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’asdefinedbyboththetrade

unions and railway companies: it was a support structure that drew non-working

membersofarailwayman’sfamilyintotherailwayindustrybutitdidnotchallengethe

statusquoasrailwaymenremainedthebreadwinners.Itwasalsoboundedbystrategic

835RWGminutebook,14/11/1940,D3128/6/7836TheRailwayReview,26/02/1904,p.12837TheRailwayReview,25/03/1904,p.11838TheRailwayReview,27/01/1905,p.12

306

concernsthatallowedtheGuildtobeaself-sufficientorganisationthusnowidows,

whomighthavebeenadrainonfinances,werepermittedtojoin.

6.3.3.2 RelationshipwiththeASRS/NUR

Fortherailwaycompaniesandtradeunionstheloyaltyandsupportofthewives

ofrailwaymen,eithermoralorfinancial,wasthemostcrucialaspectofanon-working

woman’s involvement in the ideaof the ‘railwayfamily’. InGloucesterhowever, the

Guildbecameinvolvedinlocalandpoliticalcampaignsthatsupportedothermembers

of the ‘railway family’ and women and children in the local community. These

campaignswerewrittenaboutextensivelyintheminutebooksoftheGuild,thelocal

newspapersand‘OurWomen’sCorner’,theGuildcolumninTheRailwayReview.This

allowed branches to advertise their meetings to their ownmembers and to other

womenwhowerelookingtojointheGuild.TheGloucesterGuilddidthisroughlyevery

twoweeks,inaccordancewiththeirmeetingschedule.Thesereportsincludeddetails

ofwhenandwherethemeetingwastobeheld,accountsfromthebusinessdiscussed

atthemeetingandanyotherusefulinformation.ThesocialelementoftheGloucester

Guildwasoftenemphasisedinthereports,fulfillingoneoftheimportantaimsofthe

RailwayWomen’sGuild.Forexample,womenwereinvitedtopartakeinanafternoon

cupofteathatwasenjoyedmonthlyandadvertisedin‘OurWomen’sCorner’.839Apie

suppertobeheldafter theGuildmeetingwasadvertised inFebruary1911andthe

AnnualTeawasalwayspromotedwhichresultedinrecordnumbersattending,often

from other local Guilds. This again demonstrates that the trade union idea of the


307

‘railwayfamily’encouragedkinshipandco-operationacrossdifferentlocalities,trades

andpartsofthecity.840

AsbefittingtheiraimsasanauxiliaryoftheNUR,theGuildsupportedthetwo

local NUR branches, Gloucester No.1 and No.2 in many of their endeavours. This

includedmaintainingtherailwayorphans,forexampleprovidingthemwithgiftsand

moneyatChristmasandorganisingateaandconcertfortheNUROrphanFund.841This

isanexampleofhowthetradeunionideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasutilisedtosupport

theorphansoftradeunionmenwhohadbeenkilledwhilstworkingontherailways–

the ‘railway family’ and particularly those who were wives and mothers were

supportingtheirown.Evenmoreimportantlytotheunion,theRailwayWomen’sGuild

alsoprovidedfinancial,politicalandmoralsupportforrailwaymenduringperiodsof

industrialunrest.Duringtheagitationforunionrecognitioninthe1900s,theExecutive

Committee of the Railway Women’s Guild passed a resolution calling on women

shareholders to put pressure on railway companies to recognise unions. This

resolutionwas printed in theGloucester Citizen to publicise the resolution to local

female railway shareholders and demonstrate the commitment of the Guild to

supportingtheASRSintheircampaignforrecognitionbyrailwaycompanies.842

The controversy over the dismissal of Guard Richardson from the Midland

Railway Company fordisobeying a superiorofficer’s orderwas a source of tension

locallybetweentherailwaycompanyandthetradeunionsinMarch1913.Itprovoked

the Railway Women’s Guild to issue a resolution from their meeting that “the

840TheRailwayReview,03/02/1911,p.6and25/11/1921,p.6841RWGminutebook,11/12/1917and10/03/1921,D3128/6/3842GloucesterCitizen,19/09/1907,p.4

308

GloucesterRailwayWomen’sGuild,aswivesoftradeunionistspledgethemselvesto

loyallysupportthemeninanyactiontheymaydeemitnecessarytotake,toensurethe

reinstatementofGuardRichardson,andalsotoobtainadefinitionof“WhenisaRule

notaRule.””843ThisresolutionwasprintedintheGloucesterJournalalongsidereports

ofthedisputebetweentheMidlandRailwayCompanyandtheiremployeesoverGuard

Richardson.844ThisdisputewasresolvedwiththereinstatementofRichardsonbefore

any strike action occurred and thus the actions of the NUR and the Guild were

effective.845Theirassertionintheresolutionthattheywerethewivesoftradeunionists

demonstratesthewaythatthesewomencreatedanidentityforthemselvesinamale-

dominatedindustryandunion;theysawthemselvesaspartofthe‘railwayfamily’and

thushadanimportantroleinsupportingtheirhusbands,brothersandsonsintheir

trade union business. Despite this resolution targeting only the Midland Railway

Company,womenwhosehusbandswere inboth companies supported it signifying

that thetradeunionswereable todrawwomenintothe ‘railwayfamily’ to fightall

injustices that railwaymen faced, not just those that were perpetrated by their

husband’scompany.

TheRailwayWomen’sGuildwascommittedtosupportingtheunionduringthe

FirstWorldWar.However, therewerevery few industrialdisputesdue to thenew

negotiationmachinery that emerged between railway companies and trade unions

duringtheWarasaresultofthewartimeemergencywherebytheGovernmentforced

843RWGminutebook,06/03/1913,D3128/6/1844GloucesterJournal,08/03/1913,p.11845Howell,RespectableRadicals,pp.132–135GuardRichardsonwasdismissedforrefusingtoaddmorewagonstoatrainatthebehestofaninspector.ThebrakevancapacityhadbeenreachedandRichardsonwasfollowingwrittenregulationsbynotaddingmorewagonstothetrain.

309

theco-operationoftherailwaycompaniesandthetradeunions.846TheNURandASLEF

werealsoabletosafeguardthejobsofthethousandsofrailwaymenwhofoughtduring

thewarwiththeRestorationofPre-WarPracticesAct.Thispreventedmore labour

unrestastheActmadeitillegaltoretain‘dilutees’,employeeswhowerehired‘forthe

duration’duringtheWar,manyofwhomwerewomen.847Perhapsowingtothisperiod

ofenforcedacquiescence, theyearafter theendof theFirstWorldWarsawamass

railwaystrikeandtheRailwayWomen’sGuildinGloucesterwasencouragedtojoin

forceswiththeNURandASLEFtosupporttheirhusbandsandotherrailwaymenout

onstrike.ThePresidentcalledanExtraordinaryCommitteemeetingonthe1stOctober

1919as,“theStrikeCommitteehadaskedhertoarrangeaWomen’sMeetingonSunday

October5thundertheauspicesoftheWomen’sGuild.”AlargejointmeetingoftheNUR,

ASLEFandtheRailwayWomen’sGuildwasarrangedattheGloucesterHippodrome.

ThespeakersthattheRailwayWomen’sGuildinvitedwereMissMaryCarlin,National

OrganiseroftheDockersUnion,MrsChandlerofCheltenhamandMrsW.L.Edwards,

thewifeofalocalLabourCouncillor.TheGuildordered2000Billstobedistributedin

Gloucester to publicise the mass meeting.848 This meeting demonstrates the

collaborationthat tookplacebetweentheGuildandtheNURwhen itcametotrade

unionmatters,oneofthemostimportantfunctionsoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildin

theeyesoftheNURandawaythatwomenwerewelcomedintothe‘railwayfamily’.

Thesuccessofthestrikelayintheco-operationbetweenallthreerailwaytradeunions

846Ibid.,p.218847Smith,Harold,‘SexvsClass:BritishFeministsandtheLabourMovement,1919–1929’,TheHistorian,47,1(1984)p.22848RWGminutebook,01/10/1919,D3128/6/3

310

andthehighdegreeofsupportofferedbynon-workingfamilymembers,thustheidea

ofthe‘railwayfamily’wasworkingtwo-fold.

OnanumberofoccasionsGuildwomenwereurgedtobeloyaltorailwaymen

in the President’s opening address at theirweeklymeetings. Therewas anxiety at

branchlevelincertainareasofthecountryaboutaffiliatingwiththeRailwayWomen’s

Guildandtheirloyaltytothetradeunioncause.InGloucestertheNURbranchandthe

Guildco-operatedsuccessfullyonanumberofoccasions.849InFebruary1921,when

rumoursofanotherstrikewerecirculating,thePresidentaskedmemberstostandwith

their husbands if a strike took place.850 This strike did not occur because, inwhat

becameknownas ‘BlackFriday’, thetransportunion leadersrefusedtosupport the

minersintheirstrikeandthustheTripleAllianceoftheNUR,theMinersFederationof

Great Britain and theNationalTransportWorkers Federation broke down.851 1921

remainedadifficult year for railwaymenandat theGloucesterGuildAnnualTea in

November1921,thePresidentaddressedmembersandinvitedguestsand“urgedthe

memberstoremainloyaltotheirorganisationandtoassisttheirmenfolkineveryway

possibleduringthepresenttryingperiodthroughwhichtheywerepassing.”852This

speechalsoappearedinthelocalnewspaperwiththereportoftheGuildAnnualTea,

emphasisingtoawideraudiencethatoneofthemostimportantaimsoftheRailway

Women’sGuildwastosupporttheunionandthe‘railwayfamily’.853

849TheRailwayReview,29/11/1901,p.7.ForfurtherdiscussionontherelationshipbetweentheDoncasterNURbranchesandtheRailwayWomen’sGuildseeChapter4850RWGminutebook,10/02/1921,D3128/6/3851TheNationalArchives,TheCabinetPapers,1915–1986,(2015)http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/black-friday-tuc.htm[06/11/2015]852RWGminutebook,17/11/1921,D3218/6/3853GloucesterCitizen,01/12/1921,p.5

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Again in 1925, the Gloucester Railway Women’s Guild President urged the

membersto“followeventsverycloselyandtoencourageourmenfolktomaintainthat

solidaritywhichissoessentialatthepresenttime.”854Thisdemonstratesthedesireof

thelocalleadershipoftheGuildtoensuretheirmemberswereeducatedintheaffairs

oftherailwayworld,sothattheycouldbeeffectiveintheirsupportoftheirhusbands

andtheNUR.TheGeneralStrikeof1926providedakeyopportunityfortheRailway

Women’sGuildinGloucestertodisplaytheirsupportfortheNUR.Duringthestrike,

Guildmemberssatonstrikeandreliefcommitteesinordertoorganisepropaganda,

welfare and support for striking workers and their families. The Gloucester Guild

supported the familiesof all strikingrailwaymenregardlessofwhether theirwives

wereintheGuild,thusdemonstratingtheunifyingeffectthattheideaofthe‘railway

family’wasabletohave.Onthe20thMay1926,ninedaysafterthestrikewascalledoff,

“theChairmanreferredtotherecentcrisisandurgedalltostandtogetherandtobe

unitedthoughthereweremanydisappointmentsinthesettlement.”855

Politically the Guild was encouraged to support the local council and

parliamentary candidates that the NUR proposed in Gloucester. In ‘Our Women’s

Corner’theGuildaskedforhelpcampaigningfortheNURcandidatesintheup-coming

localelections.856Thisassistance inpoliticalcampaigningwasprovidedtoNURand

LabourPartycandidatesevenbeforewomenweregiventhevotein1918.Thetrade

unionsbelievedthatitwasimportanttoencouragewomentovotefortheirpreferred

candidatesbecause,whenwomenwereenfranchisedin1918and1928,therewasa

854RWGminutebook,16/07/1925,D3218/6/4855RWGminutebook,20/05/1926,D3218/6/4856TheRailwayReview,17/10/1913,p.5

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fear thatwomen’s voteswould be detrimental to the political preferences of trade

unionmen.TheGuildwereanimportantallyinthecampaigntoensurerailwaymen’s

wivesvoted inthewaythat thetradeuniondeemedmostbeneficial to the ‘railway

family’.Inthisway,theyweremobilisingtheirsocialinfluenceoverthe‘railwayfamily’

ratherthanexertinganycontroloverpoliticalactions.

However,therelationshipbetweentheNURandtheRailwayWomen’sGuildin

Gloucesterwascomplicated,especiallyfromthelate1920sonwards.Therewasmore

dissatisfactionexpressedwiththeNURandparticularlyit’sGloucesterbranchesbythe

Guild,forexampleinSeptember1926,theGuildmeetingdiscussedtheneedforgreater

unitybetweentheNURandtheGuildbothinGloucesterandnationally.857TheGuild

wasalsoupsetatbeingexcluded fromameetingarrangedby theNURwithMr J.H

Thomas,MPandtheNURGeneralSecretaryinFebruary1927.858InMarch1932,after

an accusation from the local NUR branches that the Guild had members whose

husbandswerenotintheunion,theSecretarywasinstructedtowritealetterwhich

statedthattherewerenomembersoftheGuildwhosehusbandswerenotintheNUR.

Theythenissuedachallengetothebranchthat,“Furthermoreifyouthinkwehave,it

isuptoyoutogivesomeconcreteevidenceinanofficialway.”859InDecember1932,

the Gloucester Guild received a letter from the National President of the Railway

Women’sGuildwhowrote “anappeal toallmembers tostand loyallyby theNUR”,

indicating that theremay have been some tension between theGuild and theNUR

outsideGloucestertoo.860

857RWGminutebook,23/09/1926,D3128/6/4858RWGminutebook,10/02/1927,D3128/6/4859RWGminutebook,31/03/1932,D3218/6/5860RWGminutebook,08/12/1932,D3218/6/6

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ItwasnotuntiltenyearslaterthatthePresidentofNUR,FrederickBurrows,

attendedaGloucesterGuildmeetinginNovember1943andadmittedthattheNURhad

notalwaysbeenassupportiveoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildastheyshouldhavebeen.

Hespokeof“thegoodworkthewomenweredoinganditwasapitty(sic)themendid

not realise this.” At this meeting the Gloucester Guild President noted the fraught

relationshipbetweentheGuildandNURbutstatedthat“wewanttobemateswalking

togetheraswedidasboysandgirlsandsohelpourmen”.861Itisinterestingtonote

the timing of this speech in 1943, during a period when women’s influence was

enhancedsocially,politicallyandeconomicallybythewartimesituation.

However, this complaint about the lack of support from theGloucesterNUR

branchwasnothingnew.Asearlyas1904,theGloucesterGuildwrotethattheywould

“liketohaveseenmorebrothers”atthejointsocialeventsthattheyorganised.862This

belated admission from the President of the NUR and the language used by the

PresidentoftheGloucesterGuildindicatethatthetradeuniondeploymentoftheidea

of the ‘railway family’ was complex. The role of women in the NUR itself was

controversial – theywere acceptedwith reluctance bymany as fullmembers from

1915, although the role they were able to play was limited and encouraged to be

temporary.863ItappearsthattheGuildwasnotastrustedastheirmemberswouldhave

hoped,despite thehardwork theyundertook for theunion fundraising,organising

meetings and providing moral support when necessary. The Guild remained a

861RWGminutebook,25/11/1943,D3128/6/7862TheRailwayReview,06/05/1904,p.12863Wojtczak,RailwayWomen,p.107.FormoreontheroleofwomenintradeunionsseeChapter4

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‘separatesphere’forthewivesanddaughtersoftradeunionrailwaymen,despitetheir

protestationsthattheywereallpartofone‘railwayfamily’.

During the Second World War, the number of members in the Gloucester

RailwayWomen’sGuilddroppedsignificantlyandtheGuildcomplainedaboutthelack

ofhelptheyhadreceivedfromthemenwhenitcametorecruitingnewmembers:“the

menhadnothelpedusmuch”.864EncouragingwomentojointheGuildthroughtheir

husbandsasmembersoftheNURwasoneofthemainwaysthattheGuildwasableto

recruitnewmembers.However,thislackofsupportalsoworkedbothwaysandthe

GuilddidnotalwayswholeheartedlysupporttheNUReither.ForexampleinAugust

1939,therewasadiscussiononaproposedlabourstrikeforincreasedwagesandGuild

membersagreedthat,“althoughmemberswereallinsympathywiththeNURandthe

50saweek,theythoughtthepresenttimehardlyopportunetocallastrike,owingto

the international situation.”865 Calling a strike a few weeks before the start of the

SecondWorldWarwouldnothavegarneredmuchpublicsupportfortheNURandthe

Guildweredemonstratingtheirawarenessofthebroaderattitudestothetradeunion

position.

However, criticism of the NUR by the Gloucester Guild was not the norm

throughoutthelifetimeoftheGuildastheywerevociferousintheirsupportoftheNUR

Orphan Fund and the campaigns theNURmounted throughout the period1902 to

1948. By assisting the NUR, providing themwith financial support, moral support

throughprintedresolutionsandattendanceatdemonstrationsandpoliticalsupport

for their campaigns, the RailwayWomen’s Guild in Gloucesterwere fulfilling their

864RWGminutebook,28/09/1944,D3128/6/8865RWGminutebook,24/08/1939,D3218/6/7

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majorfoundingaimsandsupportingthetradeunionideaofthe‘railwayfamily’both

locally and nationally. The wives and daughters of unionised railwaymen were

encouragedtobackthecampaignsof theNURbecausetheywerebeneficial to their

husbandsandtothewomenandtheirfamiliesaswell.BysupportingtheNUR,Guild

memberswereabletoimprovethelivesofallmembersofthe‘railwayfamily’through

the trade union. According to theNUR, these improvements could only occur if all

railwaymen,andthroughthemtheirwivesintheGuild,wereloyaltotheNURandto


6.3.3.3 TheWidowsFundCampaign

TheRailwayWomen’sGuildinGloucesterisanexcellentexampleofhowthe

tradeunion ideaof the ‘railwayfamily’worked inpractice.This isdemonstrated in

particular through their initiationof aWidowsFund.AlthoughaWidowsFundhad

beendiscussedin‘OurWomen’sCorner’andatGuildAnnualConferencesfromasearly

as1900,theGloucesterbranchoftheGuildwasthefirstbranchtosetupaWidows

Fundin1911.Thereportoftheinaugurationin‘OurWomen’sCorner’includedashort

reportfromMrsWebb,NationalPresidentoftheGuild,congratulatingtheGloucester

Guildandstatingthat“wetrustmanyotherGuildswillfollowtheirlead.”866

The Widows Fund was designed to support Guild members who became

widowsand,asitwasorganisedandfundedwhollybytheGuild,itdemonstrateshow

theGuilddeployedtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’inacaringandsupportiverole.Prior

to the Widows Fund being set up, the Guild supported its widows with annual


316

collections,freeplacesatteasandoutingsandagiftatChristmas.867Theyalsotookthe

unusual step of advertising the services of awidowneeding towork through their

columnin‘OurWomen’sCorner’:“TheGuildtakesthisopportunityofrecommending

MrsYoungtothenoticeofanylocalreaderwhoshouldbeinwantatanytimeofan

assistantforhouseholdduties,nursingetc.”868Fromthearticle,itwouldappearthat

MrsYoungwasnotaGuildmemberthereforethisdemonstratesclearlytheideaofthe

‘railway family’ applied not just to those within the Guild but also those women

connectedtotherailwayindustrywhowerenotGuildmembers.

ThemoneyfortheWidowsFundwasraisedthroughaseriesofSalesofWork;

Guildmembersmadeitemstobesoldattheseevents.AtoneSaleofWorkMrsHenry

Terrell, the wife of the local Conservative MP, raised £60 for the Widows Fund

personally.869ThefactthatthewifeofaConservativeMPwassoinvolvedwithaFund

organisedbyatradeunionindicatesthattheWidowsFundwasconsideredabroader

issuethanamale-organisedpoliticaltradeunioncampaign.By1911,theGloucester

Guildhadraisedthe£200theyrequiredtoinvestinstocksandsharesandontheadvice

oftheirFinanceCommittee,whichincludedmembersoftheGuildandthreeBrothers

fromtheGloucesterASRSNo.1branch,theybought£200ofConsolidatedGovernment

StockbutwerepersuadedtosellthisandpurchaseMidlandRailwayCompanyStock

threemonths later.870BrothersRoberts,Holden, SpiersandSummerwereasked to

assisttheGuildinpurchasingtheirstocksandshares“ontheconditionthatthefinal

votewouldbetakenbyGuildCommittee…Theresponsibilitywouldthereforereston

867TheRailwayReview,27/01/1905,p.12868TheRailwayReview,29/12/1905,p.5869GloucestershireChronicle,09/10/1909,p.7870RWGminutebook,19/09/1911and03/12/1911,D3128/6/1

317

us,whichwouldonlybefair.”871ThisdemonstratestheGloucesterGuild’sdesirefor

independencebutsimilarlytheiracknowledgementthattheyneededassistanceand

educationonhowtogoaboutsettinguptheFund.Theneedtoputconditionsonthe

involvement of ASRSmalemembers shows that therewas some anxiety that they

wouldtrytotakeoverthebusinessoftheFund.

TheWidowsFundwassetupbecausetheASRSdidnotallowforprovisionfor

widowseventhoughthelifeofarailwaymenwasprecariousandhisdeathlefthiswife

andchildreninafinanciallyvulnerablesituation.AstheRailwayWomen’sGuildwas

anorganisationforthewivesanddaughtersofrailwaymen,theytookupthewidows’

causeandcreatedtheWidowsFundatbranchlevel.AspeechbyDistrictOrganising

Secretary Mr. J.J. Spiers at the inauguration of theWidows Fund in October 1911,

explainedwhytheASRSdidnotprovideforwidows:“…becauseofthegreatexpense.

Theykeptthechildrenuntiltheywere14yearsofageonlybutthewidowmightlive

tobe100andbesideswiththepresentsmallwagesoftherailwaymentheycouldnot

beartheincreasedcontributions.”872

TheGloucesterGuildWidowsFundhaditsfirstclaimantinAugust1915.Onthe

agreement of the Finance Committee, Sister Smartwas awarded ten shillings on a

monthlybasisforalimitedamountoftime.873Thiswasraisedtoa£1monthlyforfive

monthsby1919.874ThepaymentsweretimelimitedbecausetheGuildcouldnotafford

tokeeppayingwidowsfortherestoftheirlives,butthesepaymentsdidhelpthemin

theirtimeofgreatestneed.Thenumbersofclaimsrecordedintheminutebookforthe

871RWGminutebook,30/11/1911,D3128/6/1872GloucesterCitizen,20/10/1911,p.5873RWGminutebook,31/08/1915,D3128/6/2874RWGminutebook,25/02/1919,D3128/6/3

318

GloucesterRWGWidowsFundwassmallbutthefactthattheGloucesterGuildwasthe

firsttosetupaWidowsFundandwasabletocontinuethisFundandsupporttheir

widowswasasignificantachievement.OnlysixclaimswererecordedfromtheFund’s

creationin1911to1947.Nevertheless,thisshowsthatmembershipoftheGuildwas

abletoaddanextralevelofsupporttothewivesandfamiliesofrailwaymenintheNUR

anddemonstratesoneofthemostsuccessfulexamplesofthewaythatthetradeunion

wasabletousetheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’inordertoencouragewomentojointhe

Guildandthusbecameboundintothesupportnetworkofthetradeunion.Itisalso

indicativeof thewaythat the ‘railwayfamily’sought tocare for theirownfromthe

groundupwards,ratherthanrelyingontherailwaycompanyorthetradeunion.This

meantthatmembersofthe‘railwayfamily’didnothavetoacceptpoorrelieforpublic

assistancerelief,towhichtherewasastigmaattached.875

6.3.3.4 MaternalandInfantWelfareCampaigns

TheGloucesterRailwayWomen’sGuildspentagreatdealoftimefocusingon

campaignsthatwereoutsidetheremitofthetradeunions.Oneofthemostimportant

benefitsoftheGuildinstitutingtheWidowsFundindependentlyoftheNURwasthe

confidencethatthisgaveGuildmembers,whowerethenabletotakeupcampaigning

on other issues as ‘women’, rather than ‘wives’. The Gloucester Guild President

declaredthat, “asawomanweshouldsupportwomen”andthecampaignsthat the

RailwayWomen’s Guild in Gloucester supported focused on improving the lives of

875Thane,Pat,‘WomenintheBritishLabourPartyandtheConstructionofStateWelfare,1906–1939’inKoven,S.andMichel,S.(eds)MothersofaNewWorld:MaternalistPoliticsandtheOriginsoftheWelfareState(Routledge,London,1993)p.347

319

women within the ‘railway family’, within the city of Gloucester and at a national

level.876

A particularly important issue that the Gloucester Guild campaigned on

throughouttheperiod1902to1948wasmaternaland infantwelfare,an issuethat

directlyaffectedGuildmembersandthe‘railwayfamily’.Theyworkedcloselywiththe

Women’s Co-operative Guild in Gloucester because these concerns were shared

betweenthetwoorganisationsandtheirco-operationgavethecampaignsmaximum

impact. Also, as stated in The Railway Review, “the bulk of ourmembers being co-

operators” the joint working of the two organisations was both practical and

ideologicallycoherent.877InMay1910,theGuildsentaresolutiontothelocalpressand

localMPabouttheBoardofGuardiansandmaternitycarestating,“Thismeetingofthe

GloucesterRailwayWomen’sGuildprotestsagainsttheproposaloftheGovernment

thattheBoardofGuardiansshallpaythefeeofadoctorcalledincasesofemergency

toattendpoorwomeninchildbirth,asaninsultingmethodofcompulsorypauperism,

andisoftheopinionthat,asthesummoningofadoctorinsuchcasesisrequiredby

law,hisfeeshouldbepaidbythePublicHealthAuthoritywithouttheinflictionofthe

degradingstigmaofPoorRelief.”878TheGuildwereconsciousof thedesireofmany

working-class women, including themselves, to remain ‘respectable’ and not be

dependentoncharityorpoorrelief.AsPatThanehasargued,thedividinglinebetween

‘rough’and‘respectable’wasnotasdefinitiveashaspreviouslybeenthoughtbecause

unemployment,sicknessordeathcouldstrikeanyworkeratanytime.879Thefocuson

876RWGminutebook,13/05/1943,D3128/6/7877TheRailwayReview,24/08/1906,p.13878GloucesterCitizen,23/05/1910,p.5879Thane,‘WomenintheBritishLabourParty’,p.347

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respectabilitywasapersonalconcernforGuildmembersbutalsoforothermembers

ofthe‘railwayfamily’andthewidercommunity,allofwhomhadthepossibilitytobe

taintedwithstigmaofbeingconsidered‘rough’.

Another campaign that focusedon the idea of respectabilitywas theGuild’s

appealtotheGovernmenttoreleaseIrisHowe,atwenty-oneyearoldpregnantwoman

whowassentencedtothreeyearspenalservitudeforthrowingacidatherformerlover

andanotherwomanhewas‘steppingout’with.TheGuildwantedherreleased“sothat

herchildmaynotstartlifehandicappedbythestigmaofhavingbeenborninprison.”880

TheGuildcontinuedtheircampaigntoensurethecareandreputationofchildrenborn

inprisonwitharesolutiontotheRailwayWomen’sGuildAnnualConferencein1937,

“That this Conference urges theGovernment to apply special facilities to expectant

motherswhoareconvictedinourLawCourtssothattheirbabiesmaybebornfreeof

the taintofPrison.”881Thedesire for ‘respectability’ forwomenandchildrenwasa

themethatranthroughanumberofmaternalandinfantwelfarecampaignswithwhich

theGuildwereinvolved.

An important resolutionwas passed at a Guildmeeting in 1913 in order to

support baby clinics, a campaignwithwhich theWomen’s Co-operative Guildwas

heavilyinvolved.TheGuildresolutionstated“thatinviewofthehighinfantiledeath

rateandthelargenumberofchildrenwhoenterschoolsufferingfromphysicaldefects

–weurgetheGovernmenttoencouragelocalauthoritiestoestablishbabyclinicsfor

themedical treatmentofbabiesandchildrenunderschoolage,andtomakegrants

880GloucesterJournal,04/10/1924,p.4.Also,PortsmouthEveningNews,17/09/1924,p.5fordetailsofIrisHowe’scase881RWGminutebook,25/03/1937,D3128/6/6

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fromtheNationalFund.”882Thisresolutionwassenttothelocalpress,Gloucester’sMP

HenryTerrellandtheBoardofEducation.AletterappearedintheGloucesterJournal

from Mr Terrell who agreed with the Guild resolution that baby clinics were a

necessity.883AnotherletterintheGloucesterJournalthefollowingweekfromMrM.P.

Price,aLiberalParliamentarycandidate,supportedtheGuildresolutiononbabyclinics

anddemonstratedthebackingtheRWGwasabletosecurefromhighprofilesources

fortheircampaignsinGloucester.884TheGuilddidnotstopatjusturgingofficialaction

butactedinformallytoo.A‘Mothers’Club’wasintroducedinGloucesterin1911bya

“LadiesCommittee”inordertoeducatemothersandfornursestomonitorbabies.885

The RailwayWomen’s Guild Presidentwas elected to sit on the committee for the

Mother’sClubandtheGuildcontributed10shillingsayearforanumberofyears.886By

1919,theCityCouncilalsopledged£200totheMother’sClubwhichsaw4915babies

ayear.887

The Women’s Co-operative Guild often lectured on baby clinics and Guild

memberswereinvitedtoattend.888TheWomen’sCo-operativeGuildinvitedtwoGuild

delegatestoattendameetingonMaternityCareandformadeputationtotheMayorin

November1914.889ThroughoutthisperiodtheRailwayWomen’sGuildinGloucester

wasinvolvedinpublicmeetingsandcommitteesoninfantandmaternalwelfare.890The

882RWGminutebook,06/11/1913,D3128/6/1883GloucesterJournal,31/01/1914,p.3884Ibid.,07/02/1914,p.10885MOHReports,1911,p.11886RWGminutebook,24/11/1914,D3128/6/2andTheRailwayReview,18/12/1914,p.5887MOHReports,1919,p.18888RWGminutebook,30/04/1914,D3128/6/1and16/03/1915,D3128/6/2889RWGminutebook,24/11/1914,D3128/6/2890RWGminutebook,20/05/1926,D3128/6/4and22/11/1934,D3128/6/6

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Maternity and ChildWelfareAct of 1918 included a number of elements that local

councils were not obliged to provide including infant welfare centres, salaried

midwives and health visitors.891 The Guild spent the inter-war years persuading

GloucesterCounciltoinstitutetheseelements,whichthelocalMedicalOfficerofHealth

Reportsdemonstratethattheydidwithsomesuccess.892Notonlywasthisbeneficial

towomeninthelocalcommunity,italsobenefittedthe‘railwayfamily’andindirectly,

therailwaycompaniesandtradeunionswhodidnothavetocreatefundstotakecare

ofrailwaymen’swivesandchildren.

TheinfantmortalityrateinGloucesterwas87.8perthousandin1913whenthe

firstGuildbabyclinic resolutionwaspassed.Compared to theother large towns in

Britain,thiswasrelativelylow,astheaverageinfantmortalityrateforthesetownswas

116perthousand.893Fifteenyearslater,thishaddroppedto68.5perthousandandthe

average for England andWales had dropped to 65 per thousand.894 TheGuildwas

invitedontothecommitteeoftheVoluntaryAssociationforInfantWelfareandtheCity

HealthCommitteeformaternitycare.895Theywereinvolvedina‘BabyWeek’campaign

in June1929 thatprovideda seriesof lectures,practical lessonsandexhibitions to

educatewomenonanteandpostnatalhealthandthecareofbabiesandchildren.896

Ellen Ross argues that infant mortality was reduced by an increase in wages and

891Thane,‘WomenintheBritishLabourParty’,p.363892MOHReports,1922,p.6reportsthattherewere271healthtalksinGloucesterthroughouttheyearand208womenatAntenatalclasses.MOHReports,1923,p.27statesthattherewasnowaSuperintendentofInfantWelfareinthecitywhowasresponsibleforsixcentres893MOHReports,1913,p.9,GBR/N2/11/3894MOHReports,1928,pp.23-24GBR/N2/11/3895TheRailwayReview,29/01/1915,p.7896GloucesterCitizen,20/06/1929,p.7

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improvement in living conditions throughout this period.897 However, without the

involvementof theRailwayWomen’sGuildand theWomen’sCo-operativeGuild in

campaigningforandsupportingthebabyclinicsandwelfarereformswithtimeand

money,largenumbersofworkingclasswomenwouldnothavehadaccesstothetype

ofcarethatwasavailableinGloucester.

MaternalandinfantmortalitywasanissuethataffectedmembersoftheGuild

inGloucesterandthiswasanimportantreasonwhythesecampaignsloomedsolarge

overGuildbusinessfrom1913onwards.TheminutebooksrecordcondolencestoGuild

members when their children passed away. One striking example of the ‘railway

family’inpracticewashowtheGuilddealtwiththecaseofaSisterwhohadnotbeen

amemberlongenoughtobeeligibleforadeathgrantwhenherchilddied.Therewas

adiscussionoverwhethertopayherasuminlieuofthisgrantandthedecisionwas

taken toholda collection for theirbereavedmember that raised fifteen shillings.898

Thisisanexcellentexampleofthepowerofthe‘railwayfamily’totakecareofthosein

needandmobilisetoeffectchange.Thisinformalcollectionalsohelpedavoidsettinga

difficultprecedentofrule-breakingforSister’sinneedbutensuredthattheGuildcould

circumventtheestablishedprocedurewhentheyfeltitwasnecessary.

Finally, from the mid-1920s onwards the Railway Women’s Guild became

involvedinbirthcontrolcampaigns,animportantissueconnectedwithmaternaland

women’swelfare.TheGuildbeganacommitteetoarrangeabirthcontrolmeetingthat

culminatedinMrsEllaGordonoftheBirthControlClinic,Wolverhampton,speakingat

897Ross,LoveandToil,p.196898RWGminutebook,09/02/1920andRWGminutebook,12/02/1920,D3128/6/3

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themeetinginNovember1925.899AreportintheGloucestershireChroniclenotedthat

fourhundredwomenattendedthelecture,manymorewomenthanweremembersof

theGuildandthiswasindicativeofbothwomen’sinterestinthesubjectandthepower

of the Guild to organisemassmeetings. A resolutionwas passed calling on Public

HealthAuthorities toprovide informationonbirthcontrol for thosewhowanted it,

“whileinnowaycriticisingtheviewofthosewhofromscientificormoralreasonswere

opposed to the practice of birth control.”900 Nurse Fowler of the Gloucester Birth

ControlCliniccametogive“aninterestingandinstructiveaddressonBirthControl”at

aGuildmeetinginOctober1930.901

BirthcontrolwasacontroversialcampaignfortheGuildtosupportbecauseit

hadmanyopponentsincludingtradeunionsandthosewithintheLabourPartywho

refused todiscussor supportanybirth control resolutionsuntil theearly1930s.902

HaroldSmitharguesthattheLabourpartyandtradeunionsattemptedtoquashany

feministactivityamongstwomenintheLabourParty(manyintheRailwayWomen’s

GuildwereLabourPartymemberstoo),yetthereisnorecordoftheGloucesterNUR

branchesopposinganyoftheGuildpoliciesofmaternalandinfantwelfare.903Thusthe

tradeunionscouldbeideologicallyopposedtocertainpoliciesbutmaleunionistsas

individualssawthebenefitsofpoliciessuchasbirthcontrol.Thiswascertainlythecase

for theNUR,as thediscussionofbirthcontrolandTheRailwayReview inChapter4

demonstrates.

899RWGminutebook,05/11/1925,D3128/6/4900GloucestershireChronicle,13/11/1925,p.9901RWGminutebook,02/10/1930,D3128/6/5902Smith,‘SexvsClass’,p.27903Ibid.,p.35

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TheGuildchosetobeaffiliatedtomanyotherwomen’sgroups,includingthe

Women’sCo-operativeGuildandtheWomen’sLabourLeague.Theysupportedstudies

conductedbyofficialgroups,suchasWorking-ClassWivesbyMarjorySpringRiceon

behalfoftheWomen’sHealthEnquiryCommitteethatcalledforgreateraccesstobirth

controlforwomeninordertopreventpovertyandmaternalill-healthandmortality.904

AlthoughthiscampaigningwasnotspecificallylinkedtotheaimsoftheNURorthe

RailwayWomen’s Guild, ithelped theGuild foster itsmembers confidence and the

creation of an independent Guild identity whilst also supporting the beliefs and

priorities of their femalemembers. The ‘railway family’ both locally and nationally

benefittedfromthecampaigningundertakenbytheGuildinGloucester,particularly

ontheissuesthatsurroundedmaternalandinfantwelfare.

6.3.3.5 PacifismCampaigns

During the FirstWorldWar theNURdid not support any particular pacifist

campaigns,but theywereagainstconscription,profiteeringandbegantocall foran

endtothewarin1917.905InaccordancewiththepoliciesoftheNURandthelabour

movementingeneral,supportingpacifistandpeacecampaignsbecameanimportant

partof theworkdonebytheRailwayWomen’sGuild. In July1919, theGuildsenta

resolution to the PrimeMinister, David Lloyd George, and the local GloucesterMP

stating, “That we are of the opinion that armed intervention in Russia is entirely

unjustifiable and calculated tomake impossible thatworld peace forwhichwe are

hoping.WealsodemandtheimmediatefulfilmentofthePrimeMinister’spromisethat

904SpringRice,Marjory,Working-ClassWives(ViragoLtd,London,1981)Firstpublishedin1939,p.199905Bagwell,TheRailwaymen,pp.368-369

326

conscriptionshouldceaseasabeginningofuniversaldisarmament.”906Thisresolution

wasdue to the interventionbyAlliedForces into theRussianCivilWar; itwas less

concernedwiththepoliticsofthesituationbetweenthecountriesandmoreconcerned

withthepotentiallossoflifecausedbymilitaryinterventionwhichwasdetrimentalto

all those in the ‘railway family’ and in the local andnational ‘imaginedcommunity’

cultivatedbytherailwayindustry.

AsimilarresolutionwassenttothelocalpressandGloucesterMPin1920that

stated, “this meeting emphatically protests against the Allied Governments giving

assistanceinanyformtoPolandagainstSovietRussia.Wefurtherpledgeourselvesto

rendereveryassistancetotheTradeUnionandLabourmovementgenerallytoresist

themenaceofwarwithRussia,andcalluponallwomencitizenstoprotestequallywith

usrememberingthesacrificestheyhavebeencalledupontobearasaresultofthelast

war.”907This resolutionemphasisednotonly theGloucesterGuild’s support for the

tradeunionandthelabourmovementinapublicwaybutalsounderlinedthesacrifice

thatmanywomenfelttheyhadmadeduringtheFirstWorldWar,especiallyinrelation

tothelossorinjuryoftheirhusbandsandsons.908Bycommittingthemselvestopacifist

campaigns and demonstrating their allegiance to the trade union and labour

movementtheGuildwereemphasisingthenewroletheywereabletoplaynowthat

manyoftheirmemberswere‘citizens’,withtherighttovoteinelectionsandsupport

the political party of their choice. The vast majority of members of the Guild in

Gloucesterwouldhavebeen eligible tovote in the firstparliamentaryelection that

906RWGminutebook,31/07/1919,D3128/6/3907RWGminutebook,14/08/1920,D3128/6/3908Grayzel,Susan,Women’sIdentitiesatWar:gender,motherhoodandpoliticsinBritainandFranceduringtheFirstWorldWar(UniversityofNorthCarolinaPress,ChapelHill,1999)p.227

327

womenwereabletoparticipateinin1918.Pacifistcampaignscanbeviewedasaway

thattheGuildwasseekingtoprotectthe‘railwayfamily’fromfurtherdislocationand

harm caused bywar and an unwillingness to seeBritishmen fight fellowworkers

elsewhere.

TheRailwayWomen’sGuildwasalsoinvolvedwiththeGloucesterbranchofthe

League of Nations union. They agreed a number of resolutions encouraging the

GovernmenttosubmitmattersofwartotheLeagueofNationsincludingoneresolution

in September 1922 that appeared in theGloucester Citizenandwas directed to the

Prime Minister, Lloyd George, Gloucester’s MP, Sir James Bruton, the Bishop of

GloucesterandtheFreeChurchCouncil.Itstatedthat“thismeetingprotestsagainst

thiscountrybeinginvolvedinWarintheNearEastandcallsupontheGovernmentto

submitthemattertotheLeagueofNations.”909Anotherresolutionagainsttheaction

oftheBritishGovernmentinEgypturgedtheGovernmentto“takeallnecessarysteps

tohavealloutstandingquestionsreferredtotheLeagueofNations.”910TheGuildwas

representedonthelocalsub-committeeofLeagueofNationsunionforareductionin

armaments.911

The Railway Women’s Guild worked with a number of other organisations

including the Women’s Co-operative Guild in Gloucester to campaign locally and

nationallyforpeace.In1926,theGloucesterbranchwasrepresentedatamassmeeting

inHydeParktocampaignforpeaceandthenhelpedtoorganiseanothermassmeeting

inGloucester.912Moreover,theGuildattendedajointmeetingwithotherorganisations

909RWGminutebook,21/09/1922,D3128/6/3andGloucesterCitizen,23/09/1922,p.5910GloucesterJournal,13/12/1924,p.24911RWGminutebook,23/2/1928,D3128/6/5912GloucesterJournal,26/06/1926,p.5

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to “mobilise pacifist opinion” and protest againstwarwith China in April 1927. A

resolutionwaspassedatthismeetingthat“wewillnotassistinanywaytheproduction

ordistributionofwarmaterial,andthatwewilldoourutmosttocreatepublicopinion

tothesameend.”913TheRailwayWomen’sGuildwasinvitedtoattendamarchwith

theWomen’sCo-operativeGuild throughGloucesterand towearawhitepoppyon

ArmisticeDay,11thNovember1936to“letthepeopleseewewereoutforPeaceand

not for war.”914 The Guild agreed to this, although it is not recorded how many

membersattendedthismarchorworeawhitepoppy.Wearingawhitepoppywasone

waythatthemembersoftheGuildcouldshowtheirsupportforpeaceandanendto

allwars;whitepoppieswerefirstsoldbytheWomen’sCo-operativeGuildin1933and

thePeacePledgeUnionayearlater.915

TheGloucesterGuildcontinuedtoattendmeetings,demonstrationsandpeace

committeesthroughoutthe1920sand1930s.TherewasarepresentativeoftheGuild

ontheGloucesterPeaceCommitteewhoreportedonthesemeetingsattothebranch.916

AstheSecondWorldWarapproachedinthelate1930stheGuildincreasedthenumber

ofcommitteestheirmemberswererepresentedon,forexampletwoGuilddelegates

weresent to thePeaceConference in1937and1938andtheGuildaffiliatedtothe

PeaceCouncilin1938.917

Once the SecondWorldWar began in 1939, the Gloucester Guild threw its

efforts into war work, supporting the local community and each other. However

913Ibid.,02/04/1927,p.19914RWGminutebook,21/10/1936,D3128/6/6915Women’sCo-operativeGuild(2016)http://www.cooperativewomensguild.coop/[11/01/2016]andPeacePledgeUnion(2016)http://www.ppu.org.uk/whitepoppy/index.html[11/01/2016]916RWGminutebook,09/09/1926,D3128/6/4917RWGminutebook,18/11/1937,13/01/1938and10/3/1938,D3128/6/6

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membersalsoraisedfundsandknittedclothesandattendedlecturesontheplightof

womenandchildreninSovietRussia.918TheGuildremainedconcernedwiththeneeds

of Russia during the War as the President’s address at the start of one meeting

emphasised theneed tokeep supporting theRussianswhowere “fightingwell” for

Britain.919MissJordanoftheRussiaTodaySocietyaddressedtheGuildinJuly1943.920

RussiajoinedtheAlliesaftertheirinvasionbyGermanyinJune1941andthepeopleof

Russiasufferedgreatlyoverthe following fouryears.Forexample,overonemillion

people starved to death after the German army besieged Leningrad.921 The Guild

attemptedtosupportthemanywomenandchildrenwhoweresufferingthroughwar,

both inBritainand internationally.Bysupportingpacifist andpeace campaigns the

Guildensuredthat theycontinuedto fulfil theiraimofassistingtheNURwiththeir

endeavours but theywere also able to fulfil their own agenda concerningwomen,

childrenandthe‘railwayfamily’whichledthemtoaffiliatetootherorganisationssuch

astheGloucesterLeagueofNationsUnionandtheWomen’sCo-operativeGuild.

6.3.3.6 OldAgePensionsCampaigns

TheGloucesterbranchoftheRailwayWomen’sGuildwascommittedtoraising

old age pensions and the standard of living for pensioners. This campaign was

beneficialtoallmenandwomenbutcanlikewisebeseenasawaythattheGuildwas

seekingtoensuretheirmembersandthe‘railwayfamily’wascaredforinoldage.A

918RWGminutebook,05/02/1942,D3128/6/7919RWGminutebook,17/09/1942,D3128/6/7920RWGminutebook,22/07/1943,D3128/6/7921Overy,Richard,TheSoviet-GermanWar,1941–1945(2011)http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/soviet_german_war_01.shtml[16/11/2015]

330

resolution on old age pensions was sent to the Prime Minister, H.H Asquith, the

ChancelloroftheExchequer,ReginaldMcKenna,thelocalGloucesterMP,HenryTerrell

andlocalpressduringtheFirstWorldWarstating“Thathavingregardtotheincreased

costoflivingandthepitiablepositionofoldagepensionerscausedthereby,weurge

theGovernment to take steps to immediately increase theoldagepensions from5

shillings to7/6perweek.”922TheGovernmentdidnot raise theoldagepensionso

anotherresolutionwassentinAugust1916toemphasisethispoint.923TheGloucester

Guildwascommittedtoensuringariseinpensionstocopewiththeincreasedcostof

livingduringtheFirstWorldWarsotheysupportedtheMinersFederationresolution

thatpensionsbeincreasedto10shillingsinOctober1917.924

Aresolutionto increasepensions in July1919underlinesoneof thereasons

why this issuewas so important to theRailwayWomen’sGuild, “Thatweurge the

Governmenttoraisetheoldagepensionto£1aweek, irrespectiveofotherincome

derived from friendly societies, superannuation, etc.”925Althoughmany railwaymen

were entitled to a pension on their retirement from railway service, this was not

enough to provide a comfortable retirement for all railway families. An increase in

pensionswouldhelptosupportthewivesofrailwaymenintheiroldageandprotect

the‘railwayfamily’.Thecampaignforaraiseinpensionswasprovokedbyariseinthe

costoflivingduringtheFirstandSecondWorldWar.Intheinter-warperiod,other

issuessupersededtheGloucesterGuildcampaigningonpensions,althoughtheGuild

didsendasmallnumberofresolutionstolocalparliamentarycandidatesandMPs.One

922RWGminutebook,24/02/1916,D3128/6/2923RWGminutebook,22/08/1916,D3128/6/3924RWGminutebook,16/10/1917,D3128/6/3925RWGminutebook,31/07/1919,D3128/6/3

331

resolutionsenttolocalparliamentarycandidatesfocusedonendowingpensionsforall

at age sixty.926 Another resolution sent to Parliament in 1938 encouraged the

Government to increase pensions for those in old age andwidows.927 Mrs Turner-

Samuels,wifeoftheprospectiveLabourcandidate,alsoaddressedtheGloucesterGuild

onthesubjectofoldagepensionsinJuly1939.928Despitefocusingonmoreprominent

issuesduringtheinter-warperiod,careoftheelderlystillremainedaconcernforthe


TheGuildwasdeterminedtoensureoneoftheirmemberswasablesitonthe

OldAgePensionsCommitteeinGloucesterfrom1939duetotherisingcostofliving

duringtheSecondWorldWar.929Guildmemberswereunsatisfiedwiththewaythat

the Government provided for pensioners during the War, as a complaint in the

President’sopeningaddress toaGuildmeetingdemonstrated. She claimed that the

Governmenthad “notbeenable togive theOldAgePensionersmoremoneyor the

Railwaymenbetterwagesbuttheshareshadgoneup,theshare-holdershadthere(sic)

money.”930Fromthelate1930sonwardstherewereveryfewyoungwomenjoiningthe

Guild, as complaints in the minutebook indicate.931 The aging membership of the

GloucesterGuildsuggeststhatpartoftheirconcernwitholdagepensionswasbecause

theythemselveswerereachinganagewheretheywouldberequiredtoliveofftheir

husband’spension.AnotherresolutionwassenttothelocalMPandSirJohnSimon,

ChancelloroftheExchequerthat“ThemembersoftheNURWomen’sGuilddeplorethe

926RWGminutebook,16/05/1929,D3128/6/5927RWGminutebook,20/10/1938,D3128/6/7928RWGminutebook27/07/1939,D3128/6/7929RWGminutebook,19/10/1939,D3128/6/7930RWGminutebook,25/01/1940,D3128/6/7931RWGminutebook,31/08/1946,D3128/6/8

332

recommendations of Sir John Simon’s Bill with regards pensions considering it an

insulttoofferundertheconditionstobeimposedsuchaninadequatesumwhichwill

onlybegrantedafterenquirieshavebeenmadeastothePensionersposition.Wealso

deploretheproposedaddedburdentothewageearnerswhowillbecalledupontopay

whatshouldbeachargeontheNationalExchequeronly.”932Thisresolutionwas in

referencetotheproposedMeansTestthatSirJohnSimon’sBillsoughttointroduce,

whichsupplementedpensionsifahouseholdcouldprovetheneedforextraincome.

Theburdenonwageearnersdescribedabovereferredtothereductionintheageof

pensions for insured women from sixty-five to sixty, and the fact that wives of

contributorypensionersofsixty-fivewouldbeallowedtoclaimapensionatsixty.This

wastobepaidforthroughincreasedcontributionsfromemployersandemployees.933

AlthoughthisBillmayhaveworkedinthefavourofanumberofGuildmembers,RWG

members were unlikely to be insured women and the household Means Test was

viewedasintrusiveandanaffronttorespectability,akintotheclaimsonthePoorLaw

thattheGuildsoughttohelpexpectantmothersavoid.Theextracontributionswere

consideredaburdenthatrailwaymenandtheirfamiliescouldnotafford.

Throughout 1940 there was a continued discussion at Guild meetings on

pensionsforthoseoversixtyandspinsters,andfurthercomplaintsagainsttheMeans

Testforoldagepensions.934PensionswereaconcernfortheNURandthiscampaign

demonstratestheGuildfulfillingoneoftheirprimaryaims,whichwastosupportthe

932RWGminutebook,25/01/1940,D3128/6/7933TheSpectator,26/01/1940,http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/26th-january-1940/2/old-age-pension-changes[10/11/2015]934RWGminutebook,04/04/1940and25/07/1940,D3128/6/7

333

union.Theywerealsoconcernedwithprotectingthe‘railwayfamily’andensuringits

membersweretakencareofinoldagebytheState.

ThecampaignsthattheRailwayWomen’sGuildsupportedweresuccessfulin

meeting the wider aims of the Guild which were primarily to assist the NUR and

supporteachother.ProvidingmoralandfinancialsupporttotheNURensuredthatthe

GuildcementeditsplacewithintheNURinGloucester,althoughtheirofficialposition

withintheunionremainedcomplicated.More importantly to thewomenwhowere

membersoftheGuild,theyusedtheircampaigningeffortstohelpeachother,women

inthelocalcommunityandthewider‘railwayfamily’inGloucesterandbeyond.The

WidowsFund,accesstobirthcontrol,increasesinoldagepensionsandmaternaland

infantwelfareimprovementswereofthegreatestbenefittowomenanddemonstrate

the Guild’s commitment to women’s issues. These campaigns were particularly

valuable to women within the ‘railway family’ both locally and nationally. This

campaigning also contributed to the formation of an identity for Gloucester Guild

membersaspartoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andaswomen,awivesandmothers.

6.4 TheASLEFWomen’sSocietyandGloucester

TheRailwayWomen’sGuildwasnot theonlywomen’s tradeunionauxiliary

that existed in Gloucester. ASLEF also encouraged the formation of a women’s

auxiliary.TheASLEFWomen’sSocietywasinstitutednationallyin1925.Previously,

the wives of ASLEF members had been admitted to membership of the Railway

Women’sGuildbutmanyjoinedtheASLEFWomen’sSocietywhenitwasfoundedin

Gloucester in 1925. Initially the membership of the Women’s Society branch in

334

Gloucesterstoodat25.935TheformationofthisbranchwasviewedpositivelybyASLEF

meninGloucesterasthevisitofMrsBromley,thePresidentoftheWomen’sSociety,to

ajointmeetingoftheGloucesterandCheltenhamASLEFbranchesdemonstrated:“At

eachoftheseplacesthemen’ssecretariescameandwelcomedme,andsaidhowproud

theywereofourWomen’sSociety”.936

Itismorechallengingtouncoverrecordsofthiswomen’stradeunionauxiliary,

however the minutebook of the ASLEF Gloucester branch does mention the local

Women’sSocietyandtheyappearinthewomen’spagesoftheLocomotiveJournal.The

GloucesterWomen’sSocietyisfirstmentionedinOctober1925inconnectionwitha

Joint Committee meeting between the ASLEF branch and the Women’s Society

branch.937Thisjointcommitteemeetingwasheldwithregardtoarrangingachildren’s

teaparty; at thismeeting theorganisationof theentertainmentwasallotted to the

Women’s Society.938 Another Joint Committee meeting was held a month later to

discuss theChristmasTea.939Therebya similarpatternwas followedover thenext

twelveyears,withtheWomen’sSocietyinvitedtojointcommitteemeetingstodiscuss

arrangementsforsocialeventsortheWomen’sSocietyinvitingtheASLEFbranchto

theirsocialgatherings,forexample,theirNewYear’sPartyinDecember1928ortheir

AnnualTeain1930.940ThisisconfirmedbytheWomen’sSocietybranchreportsthat

appeared in the Locomotive Journal that focused on the social and organisational

935RWGminutebook,23/03/1920,D3128/6/3,08/05/1924,29/01/1925D3128/6/4andLocomotiveJournal,38,3(1925)p.124936LocomotiveJournal,38,5(1925)p.217937ASLEFbranchrecords,10/10/1925,GloucestershireArchives,D3033/1/2938ASLEFbranchrecords,01/11/1925,D3033/1/2939ASLEFbranchrecords,06/12/1925,D3033/1/2940ASLEFbranchrecords,12/1928and12/01/1930,D3033/1/2

335

aspectsof thebranch.941Muchof theASLEFbranch involvementwith theWomen’s

SocietyinGloucesterwasregardingsocialisingandarrangingsocialevents,ratherthan

the political campaigning that the NUR and the RailwayWomen’s Guild undertook

together.

FundraisingappearedtobeakeyconcernforASLEFandtheWomen’sSociety.

SomeofthesefundraisingcampaignswereajointeffortbetweentheWomen’sSociety

andtheRailwayWomen’sGuildinGloucester.IntheirdealingswiththeNURandthe

Railway Women’s Guild in particular, the ASLEF branch took their lead from the

Women’sSocietyoverfundraisingmatters.TheyrefusedtotakepartintheRailway

Women’sGuildOrphanFundeffortbecause,“seeingastheWomen’sSocietyarenot

takingpartinthiswealsoshallnotentertainit.”942TheASLEFbranchdidchooseto

supporttheJointWomen’sStall(Women’sSocietyandRailwayWomen’sGuild)atthe

RoyalInfirmaryCarnivalofJuly1930.943Jointlythetwowomen’sauxiliariesraised£22,

5s and 1 and a half pence for the Infirmarywith their stall.944 Although these two

women’sauxiliaries came together tosupport charitable causeswithin the ‘railway

family’andthecity,therewasafierceloyaltytotheirparentunionwhowereoftenat

odds with one another and therefore this collaboration was sporadic. Chapter 4

discussesthetensionsbetweentheASRS/NURandASLEFthatemergedthroughout

theperiod.Duetothesetensions,eachauxiliaryinsteadpreferredtofocusontheirown

fundraisingeffortsfortheinstitutionswithwhichtheywereconnected.

941Forexample,seeLocomotiveJournal,38,12(1925)p.579and40,2(1926)p.83942ASLEFbranchrecords,10/01/1926,D3033/1/2943ASLEFbranchrecords,08/06/1930,D3033/1/2944LocomotiveJournal,43,9(1930)p.442

336

TherewasverylittleinteractionbetweentheASLEFbranchandtheWomen’s

SocietyinGloucesterwithregardtoanythingoutsidefundraisingorsocialising.The

onlyunioneventthattheWomen’sSocietybecameinvolvedinwasanopenmeeting

held at the Parkend Empire inMarch 1926 on behalf of the Joint Committee. The

speakerswereMrJohnBromley,M.PandASLEFGeneralSecretaryandhiswife,Mrs

AnnBromley,GeneralSecretaryoftheWomen’sSociety.Alllocomotivemenandtheir

wiveswereinvitedtoattendthismeetingandthecommitteearrangedfortheprinting

of“24largebills”toadvertisethisevent.945HavingboththeGeneralSecretariesofthe

union and theWomen’s Society speak inGloucesterwas a great boon and had the

potential toencourage largenumbersof locomotivemenandtheirwivesto jointhe

tradeunionanditsrespectiveauxiliary.

WhenwritingtolocomotivementoinvitethemtojoinALSEF,theirwiveswere

alsoincludedinthisletterwhichstatedthat,“Wesuggestthatyouandyourwifewill

givecarefulconsiderationtothesuggestionofjoiningourSociety.”946Thisindicatesthe

importanceofrailwaymen’swivestoASLEFandtheencouragementtheyweregiven

tojointheWomen’sSocietyandthewidertradeunion‘railwayfamily’.However,there

were sources of tension between the ASLEF branch and theWomen’s Society. For

example,whentheWomen’sSocietywrotesuggestingajointmeetingtobeheld,the

ASLEFbranchrepliedthat, “asso fewof theWomen’sSociety’smember’shusbands

attendtheirownbranchmeetingsweconsiderthatnogoodpurposecouldbeserved

by holding such joint meeting.”947 This demonstrates that although the Women’s

945ASLEFbranchrecords,28/02/1926,D3033/1/2946ASLEFbranchrecords,09/06/1929,D3033/1/2947ASLEFbranchrecords,16/01/1938,D3033/1/2

337

SocietywasusefultotheASLEFbranchfororganisingsocialeventsandfundraisingfor

railwaymen’scauses,iftheywerenotabletopersuadetheirhusbandstojoinASLEF

thentheyservedverylittlepurposetotheunion.

TheASLEFWomen’sSocietyplayedamoresupportingrole,fundraisingforthe

unionandsupportingthesocialeventsthattheASLEFbranchinGloucesterwishedto

organise. Unlike the Railway Women’s Guild, they did not take part in any overt

politicalcampaigningbutdidsupportthelocalcommunitythroughcharityfundraising

appeals, such as the Royal Infirmary Carnival. However, being part of the ASLEF

Women’s Society also provided avenues for the development of a specific female

identityassociatedwiththeauxiliarydespitethefactthattheyappeartobeprimarily

concernedwithsocialisingandfundraising.

6.5 Conclusion

Thiscasestudyhasdemonstratedhowtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’worked

inpracticeinGloucester,afairlytypicalcityinthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury.

Gloucesterhadagrowingpopulation,butnotonethatwasexpandingrapidly;ithada

diverse economywith employment in factories, in the railway industry andon the

docks;anditwaspoliticallystable,electingamajorityofConservativecandidatesfor

Parliament and the local council. Whilst not a ‘railway town’, a large number of

Gloucester men and women were employed by the Great Western and the

Midland/LMS railway companies.Many of theseworkerswere also unionised into

eithertheNUR,ASLEFortheRCA.ThisensuresthatGloucesterasacasestudyprovides

representative examples of how the idea of the ‘railway family’ was deployed by

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railwaycompaniesandtradeunionsacrossthecountry,withreferencetorailwaymen

andwomenandtheirnon-workingfamilymembers.

Oneofthemostsuccessfulwaystheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasutilisedin

Gloucesterwas by the trade unions and theirwomen’s trade union auxiliaries, the

RailwayWomen’sGuildandtheASLEFWomen’sSociety.Theseauxiliariesfostereda

bondofloyaltytothetradeunionanddrewnon-workingwomenintothetradeunion

idea of the ‘railway family’. However,membership of an auxiliary also encouraged

thesewomentosupporteachotherandthewider‘railwayfamily’withinitiativesand

campaigns suchas theWidowsFundandstrike reliefduring industrialunrest.The

localcommunitybenefittedfromthetradeunionauxiliariesinGloucester,especially

localmotherswithsmallchildrenwhowereaffordedextraprovisionsthankstothe

RailwayWomen’sGuildcampaigningonmaternalandinfantwelfare.

ThetworailwaycompaniesinGloucesterprovidedalargeamountofindustrial

welfare for the ‘railway family’ that benefitted them socially, educationally and

recreationally.Thishelpedthecompaniesfosteraloyalworkforce,althoughthecase

study of Gloucester proves that these were not a requisite - the Midland Railway

CompanydidnotprovideasmanyopportunitiesfortheirworkersastheGWRorLMS

anddidnotfacesignificantdisloyaltyfromtheirworkforce.However,itisimportant

to note that the LMSwas an amalgamationof a number of smaller companies and

industrialwelfarepracticeshelpedtounitethisdiverseworkforcewhohadpreviously

beenunderthepaternalpracticesofotherrailwaycompanies.

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’extendedoutintothecommunityinGloucester,

ascanbedemonstratedbythecreationofanoccupationalcommunitythatsupported

oneanother,encouragedoneanothertojointradeunionsandprovidedlodgingwhere

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necessary. Railwaymen clustered in one particular area of Gloucester, with new

railwaymenmovingintothisareayearonyeardespitetheprovisionofnewhousingin

otherareasofthecity.Thisdemonstratesthattheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’wasnot

justatradeunionorrailwaycompanyconstructthatwasgrudginglyacceptedbythose

who worked on the railways or who were members of the trade union but was

wholeheartedly accepted and internalised by railwaymen and their families. The

principalsoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’werethenutilisedwithotherswhowere

involvedontherailwayindustrytocreateastrongoccupationalcommunityofrailway

workersandtheirfamilieswithinGloucester.

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CONCLUSION

The‘railwayfamily’isnotanewconcept–railwaymenandwomenhavebeen

proudly stating their railway lineage for almost two hundred years. However, this

thesishas,forthefirsttime,usedtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’asawaytounderstand

the techniques railway companies, trade unions and railwaymen used to build an

‘imagined community’. The idea of the ‘railway family’ is especially important in

exploringhowwomenandchildrenwhowereonlyconnectedtotheindustrybytheir

familymembers,usuallymalebreadwinners,weredrawnintothisrailwaycommunity.

The ‘railway family’was successfully and effectively utilised by railway companies,

trade unions and railway workers and their family members in order to create a

community of loyal and invested railwaymen and their non-working wives and

children. It is clear that the ‘railway family’meant different things to the different

groupsinvolved.

Attheircore,railwaycompaniesutilisedtheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’tocreate

and shape a community of loyalworkerswho realised that their ownwelfarewas

boundupwiththatofthecompany.Overtime,paternalisticpracticeswerereplaced

withindustrialwelfareschemes,emphasisingtheideaofself-helpwiththesupportof

railway companies. It is clear from the case study of Gloucester that thesewelfare

schemesandsocieties, suchas theGWRSocial andEducationalUnionand theLMS

sportsandsocialsections,wereakeyfeatureofcompanylifefromtheearly1920sand

theyfocusedonensuringthatrailwayworkersandtheirfamilieswerehappy,healthy

and well-educated. Paternalism, and later the introduction of industrial welfare,

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contributedtotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’fromthecompanies’perspectivebecause

itemphasisedtheall-embracingnatureoftherailwaycompaniesandtherightsand

responsibilitiestheyhadtowardstheiremployeesandviceversa.Inreturnforthese

educational, social and welfare schemes, railway workers and their families were

expectedtobeloyalandhard-working.TheevidencefromGloucestersuggeststhatthe

railwaycompaniesweresuccessfulintheiraimsdespitethefactthatmanyrailwaymen

inGloucesterwerealsotradeunionists–theirloyaltywaseffectivelydividedbetween

company and union. The definition of the ‘railway family’ from the companies’

perspectivewasboundupintheirchangingdefinitionsofwelfareandpaternalism–

whenthesealtered,theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andthewayitwasdeployedand

developed.

Railwaycompanies includednon-workingwomenandchildrenbyproviding

themwithseparatepageswithinthemagazinesthataddressedthemaswives,mothers

and future employees. These pages, as discussed in Chapter 3, typically did not

challenge traditional notions that awoman’s correct and ‘natural’ placewas in the

homeasawifeandmother.Theywereclearlyutilisingtheideaof‘separatespheres’in

ordertoensurethatthewomenwhomtheywereinvitingintothe‘railwayfamily’were

clearintheknowledgeoftheboundariesoftheirinfluenceandtheiracceptance.The

pagesapedotherwomen’smagazinesbyprovidingrecipes,householdhintsandtips

andchildcareadvice.OnlytheLNWRwomen’spage,‘TeaTableTopics’deviatedfrom

this format by discussing the enfranchisement of women and women workers far

beforewomenenteredtheworkforce insignificantnumbersorwereassuredof the

vote.TheEditorjustifiedthisbyutilisingtheargumentsof‘separatespheres’andthe

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discourseofassociatedfeministandpoliticalorganisationswhowerepressingthese

issuesintothepublicsphere.

DuringtheFirstWorldWarthesepagesalsoincludedworkingwomen,drawing

themintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andassigningtothemastatusthatwassimilar

tothatofwivesandchildrenintheeyesofrailwaycompanies.Duetothetemporary

nature of their work, female workers could not greatly influence decision-making

withintherailway industry,howevertheycoulddisrupt thestatusquothatrailway

companieshadestablishedwith their ideaof the ‘railway family’.Therefore, itwas

importantthatwomenworkers,justlikethewivesandmothersofrailwaymen,were

drawn into the idea of the ‘railway family’ andwere encouraged to be loyal to the

railwaycompany.Byallowingdebatesaboutworkingwomentoappearwithintheir

magazines, the railway companies were effective in containing opposition and

preventing it from affecting day-to-day working in their offices, workshops and

stations. Outside of wartime, working women were side-lined from much of the

contentwithinthewomen’spagesandthecompanymagazinesingeneral.

Therailwaycompanymagazinesdevelopedovertheperiodintomorepolished,

corporateentitiesadjustingto theneedsof thecompanyandtorailwayemployees.

Theirprimaryaimcontinuedtobeasasourceofinformationaboutcompanypractices,

policiesandinnovations.Railwayworkersalsofeaturedmoreprominentlyincompany

magazines,notjustinfeaturesontheirsocialgatheringsandmarriagesanddeathsbut

alsodiscussingtheirhobbies,homelivesandheroicdeeds.Educatingrailwaymenand

theirfamilymembersabouteachother’sachievementsandthewillingsupportofthe

railway companies in all their endeavours became a key priority; this education

revolvedaroundthebestinterestsofthecompanyandincludedansweringtechnical

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questions, recommended book reviews and features on Esperanto, gardening and

cookery.Itisevidentthattherailwaycompanymagazineswereveryconcernedwith

ensuringthemoralandphysicalwellbeingofthe‘railwayfamily’,aswellasfulfilling

theirintendedinformativeandeducationalneeds.Althoughthewaysthattheideaof

the‘railwayfamily’wasdeployedbyrailwaycompanieschangedovertime,theoverall

toneofthecompanymagazineswashomogenousandwasbroadlysimilaracrossall

thedifferentrailwaycompanies.

Trade unions approached the idea of the ‘railway family’ from a different

perspective,ofteninfluencedbythepoliticalandfeministorganisationsthattheywere

associatedwithsuchastheLabourPartyandtheWomen’sLabourLeague.Allthree

trade unions utilised the idea of the ‘railway family’ primarily in relation to adult

women. Their two-fold approach focused on protecting their male members from

female workers and creating separate spaces where female non-members could

support the union in a variety of non-threatening ways including moral support,

fundraisingandpolitical activities.Byensuring thatwomenremained, for themost

part,separatetothemainbodyofunionmembers,tradeunionswereattemptingto

ensurethattheirmalememberscontinuedtohaveamoreprivilegedandinviolable

positionintermsofwages,workingconditionsandtheabilitytonegotiatewithrailway

companies.Theonlyunionthatintegratedwomenintotheirmainmembershipwas

theRCA,whowereforcedtodothisbecauseofthenumberoffemaleclerkswhowere

introduced into the industry from the early1900s onwards.However, theRCAdid

employ similar tactics to the two other railway unionswith regard to their female

members;despitecampaigningforequalpayforfemaleclerks,theyacceptedreduced

payscalesfortheminthesettlementnegotiationsof1920andfacilitatedfemale-only

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conferences,dayschoolsandsocialandsportingactivities.Whilstthiswasnotunusual

duringthisperiod(theLabourPartyforexamplehadseparatewomen’ssectionsanda

women’s conference each year) it did signify to female clerks that they were

consideredbytheuniontobetemporary,lessimportantthanmaleclerksandnotsuch

acentralpartof the ‘railwayfamily’. Itwas inthiswaythat the ideaof the ‘railway

family’ was being used as an exclusionary force in order to keep women workers

separatefromthemainbodyofmaletradeunionmembers.

DuringboththeFirstandSecondWorldWars,femaleworkersweregrudgingly

acceptedintothetradeunionideaofthe‘railwayfamily’inorderthattheywereless

ofathreattothemaletradeunionmemberswhotheyhadtoworkalongside,though

only after the railway companies, the trade unions (except the RCA) and the

Governmenthadagreedthatwomenintraditionallymaleroleswouldberemovedat

theendofthewar.Theconcernthatmenwouldlosetheirstatusasbreadwinnersto

womenwasanotherfactorintheirfearofwomenintheworkplace.Theirconcernwas

documentedinthelettersandarticlesthatappearedinthetradeunionnewspapers,

particularlywithreferencetothehighergradesofrailwayemployment.Byadmitting

womenintotheNURandRCAabondwascreatedbetweenrailwayworkerswithinthe

‘railway family’ – the trade unions felt that if a female railwayworker felt a bond

betweenherselfandhermalecolleagues,shewasmorelikelytostandasidetoallow

forthere-employmentofrailwaymenwhohadservedintheForcesandlesslikelyto

threatentheirpayandconditionswithhercontinuedemploymentafterthewar.There

islittleinformationintherailwaycompanymagazinesandtradeunionnewspapersas

to how the women employed on the railways actually felt about this situation.

However,thefactthatmanyofthemdidstandasideimmediatelyattheendoftheWars

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(primarilyinthemoremanualjobs)indicatesthattheyrecognisedthattheirlabour

wasatemporary,butnecessary,phenomenon.

Thetradeunionauxiliariesprovidedseparatespaces for thewives,mothers

anddaughtersoftradeunionrailwaymen.Aswellascreatingasocialenvironmentfor

womenwithsimilarneedsandprioritiestomeet,theseauxiliariesprovidedawaythat

womencouldcreatetheirownidentitiesaswives,mothers,politicalcampaignersand

aspartofthe‘railwayfamily’.Insomeways,thiswasanunexpectedelementforthe

tradeunions,whoseprimaryconcernwasthatwomensupportedtheirhusbands in

theirtradeunionaims.Raisingfundstosupportothermembersofthe‘railwayfamily’

wasakeypriorityoftheauxiliariesforboththetradeunionsandthewomenwhowere

members.Thisemphasisedthebondsthatgrewupparticularlybetweenmembersof

theauxiliariesbecauseoftheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’.Educationontradeunionand

political matters was an important function of the auxiliaries and created more

knowledgeablecitizensandtradeunionsupporters.Forsomebranches,thisledtheir

members to campaignonanumberof issuesthat affectedwomenand the ‘railway

family’includingmaternalandinfantwelfare,oldagepensionsandthecontroloffood

prices.Theiractivismwasprimarilywelcomedbythetradeunions,whorecognised

thatwomenwereanimportantforcetobemobilised.However,thereisevidencethat

someofthemorecontroversialcampaignswereshieldedfromthegazeofmalebranch

members; thenecessityof this isdebateableas theNURwerevocalonanumberof

potentiallycontentiousissuesincludinggreateraccesstobirthcontrol.

Despitethebenefitsthiscampaigninghadforthe‘railwayfamily’,therewasalso

astronginsistencewithinthetradeunionnewspapersthatwomenneededtobalance

anyauxiliaryworkwiththeirrolesaswivesandmothers.Railwaycompaniesandtrade

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unionswereeffectiveinthewaysthattheydrewwomenintotheideaofthe‘railway

family’,ascanbeseeninthecasestudyofGloucester,withwomenactivelytakingpart

in company and trade union events and demonstrating their loyalty to both the

companyandtheunion.However,itdoesappearthatthetradeunionsandtherailway

companiesoverlookedthefactthatwomenhadtheirownmindsandthereforecould,

anddid,complainabouttheirtreatmentbyrailwaycompaniesandtradeunions.For

tradeunions,theirauxiliariesalsoposedaparticularproblembecausetheywantedthe

independence to make decisions both financially and politically. By allowing their

auxiliaries to choose theirownprogrammesof fundraising, socialisingandpolitical

campaigning,thetradeunionswereinfactengenderingloyaltyandsupportamongst

themembersofthefemaleauxiliarieswhowereabletodeveloptheirownidentitiesas

wives,mothersandwomen.Ultimately,anintimateconnectiontothe‘railwayfamily’

meantthatthesewomenknewthattheirfamily’seconomicsurvivalwasconnectedto

thesuccessofboththerailwaycompaniesandtradeunionsandthereforetheydidnot

seektochallengeeitherinstitutiontoovigorously.

TheRailwayQueenwasanimportantexampleofhowthegreaterco-operation

between railwaycompaniesandtradeunionswas inevidence from themid-1920s.

OnereasonforthiswasthattheRailwayQueenwasabletounitecompanies,unions,

railwaymen and their families under the banner of the ‘railway family’. Shewas a

representative of railwaymen, drawn from their community, and participated in

drawing attention to the welfare schemes that were crucial to ensuring that the

‘railwayfamily’wascared for in theeventof illness,accident,oldageordeath.The

officeoftheRailwayQueenactedasafurther‘separatesphere’throughwhichwomen

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wereencouragedtosupportthe‘railwayfamily’,albeitonethatwascontrolledbythe

male-dominatedrailwaycompaniesandtradeunions.

Thelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’wascrucialincreatingbothaninclusiveand

anexclusivecommunity.Thelanguageusedwithinrailwaycompanymagazinesand

tradeunionnewspaperssoughttofostertheloyaltyofrailwaymentotheircompany

or to theirclass. In itself, thiswasnotunusual; the languageof ‘brotherhood’wasa

commonfeatureoftradeunionlife.Theideaoftherailwayindustryasafamilyalso

createdaspaceforwomenandchildrentobeincludedwithinthesocialandwelfare

structures that both railway companies and trade unions provided. However, this

language was also an exclusionary force creating barriers to participation in the

occupationalcommunityforthosewhodidnotworkintherailwayindustry.

From the trade unionperspective, languagewas crucial in creating separate

spacesforwomenasbothmembersoftheunionandasmembersoftheauxiliaries.The

position of women workers was more complex; during wartime, when they were

requiredtoreplacerailwaymeninordertokeeptherailwaysrunning,womenworkers

werewelcomedintothe‘railwayfamily’andthelanguagethatsurroundedthe‘railway

family’ reflects this. Outside of wartime, there was a more ambivalent attitude to

womenworkers.Therailwaycompaniescontinuedtoemploythemincertainrolesand

thereforeweremorelikelytousetheirmagazinestoincludewomenworkersinthe

‘railway family’. Trade unions however viewed female railwayworkers as a threat

throughout theperiodandoutsideofwar time the languageof the ‘railway family’

reflectedthisdesiretoexcludewomenworkersfromfullandactiveparticipationin

the ‘railway family’. Instead, home-makingwiveswere upheld as the ideal role for

women,andthemostimportantelementoftheirparticipationinthe‘railwayfamily’.

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Thelanguageofthe‘railwayfamily’wasutilisedbyboththerailwaycompaniesand

trade unions to emphasise their perceived view on the appropriate roles for non-

workingwomen.Ultimately,outside theexceptional circumstancesofwartime, this

was aswives,mothers and supporters of railwaymen. The content of thewomen’s

pages inbothrailwaycompanymagazinesandtradeunionnewspapershighlighted

thisdesire,asdidtheemphasisonthemalebreadwinnermodel.

BenedictAnderson’sworkon‘imaginedcommunities’hasinfluencedmuchof

the basis for this work. The ‘railway family’ was an ‘imagined community’ that

stretchedthelengthandbreadthofBritainandacrosstheglobe.InChapter2itwas

stated that this thesis would examine Anderson’s hypothesis that ‘imagined

communities’ were created in response to potential exclusion from more popular

‘imagined communities’. Railway companies drewmore heavily on the idea of the

‘railwayfamily’whentheywerestronglychallengedbytradeunions.Thisoccurred

from 1911 onwards and it is interesting to note that the inclusion ofmany of the

railwaycompanymagazinewomen’spagesoccurredduringthisperiod.Thechallenge

from trade unions also forced the railway companies to alter their paternalistic

approachtoencompassmoreoftheself-helpstrategiesthattradeunionsadvocated

duringtheinter-warperiod.Thisincludedschemessuchasindustrialwelfare,which

drewmorerailwaymenandtheirfamilymembersintotheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’

but also acted to ease tensions between railway companies and trade unions by

emphasisingself-help.

Paternalism was the foundation of railway company management and by

challengingitwiththeirownversionofthe‘railwayfamily’,theunionswereinstantly

putting themselves in direct competition with the railway companies and thus

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challenging their ‘imagined community’. The fact that the companies refused to

recogniseandnegotiatewiththetradeunionsexacerbatedtheissue.Duringthetwo

WorldWarsandtheinter-warperiod,theeconomicsituationofthecountryasawhole

forced both the railway companies and trade unions to come to a greater

understandinginordertoprotecttheirbusinesses,workersandmembers.

TherailwayindustryconformstoAnderson’sideason‘imaginedcommunities’

inrelationtotheircreation,theirgrowth,particularlythroughprintmedia,andthefact

that theywereboth inclusiveandexclusive.However, the ‘railway family’ counters

Anderson’srathernegativeportrayalofthe‘imagined’natureofthesecommunitiesas

itwaslivedandexperiencedinday-to-daylifebyrailwaymenandtheirnon-working

familymembers.ThecasestudyofGloucesterhasdemonstratedthattheideaofbeing

partofthe‘railwayfamily’createdaffectivebondsbetweenrailwaymen,betweentheir

wives and amongst the occupational community in general. An occupational

communityof railwayworkersgrewup in a particular area of Gloucester thatwas

fosteredbymembershipoftradeunionsandtradeunionauxiliaries,closeresidence

andlodging,andtheknowledgethatbeingapartoftherailwayindustrywasabond

thatwascreatednotnecessarilybybloodbutbytheindustryitself.

Whatisclearisthatbelongingtothe‘railwayfamily’wasapositiveexperience,

and for many railway workers and their families the concept provided a support

structurethatbroughtmoralandfinancialbenefitsduringtimesofhardship. Italso

createdabondbetweenmembersofthesamecommunitythroughasharedsenseof

valuesandpriorities.Itwasonthisbasisthatanoccupationalrailwaycommunitywas

created and, as the case study of Gloucester demonstrated, this community was

functionalandvaluableforthosewithinitandforothersinthelocalcommunity.This

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thesishashighlightedtheimportanceofkinshipandcommunityforrailwayworkers–

theemphasisthatrailwaycompaniesandtradeunionsplacedonthe‘railwayfamily’

wasareflectionofthis.Bypermeatingstreets,housesandrelationshipsofallkinds,

the ideaof the ‘railwayfamily’wentbeyondthe literalworkplace.Beingpartof the

‘railwayfamily’fedintoanindividual’sidentityandbeingpartoftheindustrythrough

employment,tradeunionorauxiliarymembershiporviafamilymembersremained

importantformanymenandwomenthroughtoretirementanduptothepresentday.

7.1 Furtherresearch

Theideaofthe‘railwayfamily’andthewaysthatitwasconstructedandutilised

can be applied to other historicalperiods and industries. In relation to the railway

industrytheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’couldbeexploredinthepost-Nationalisation

period,from1948onwards,inordertounderstandhowBritishRailways(laterBritish

Rail) united their diverse workforce that spanned the whole of the British Isles.

Reprivatisation,whichbeganin1994andwascompletedin1997,wouldalsoprovide

amodern-daycasestudyofthe‘railwayfamily’andaconsiderationofthetechniques

that earlier railway companies used to create a sense of loyalty and community

amongst theiremployees. Is itpossible toapplythe ideaof the ‘railwayfamily’ ina

moderncontext?

AsdiscussedinChapter2,acomparativestudyofhowthe‘railwayfamily’was

viewedwithintherailwaypressandthedailypopularpresswasoutsidethescopeand

limitsofthisthesis;however,thiswouldbeavaluablestudyinordertoconsiderhow

the‘railwayfamily’wasrepresentedoutsidetheindustryandwhethertheidea,which

wassostrongwithinrailwaycircles,permeatedoutsidetherailwayindustry.Further

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workonhowtherailwaycompaniesandtradeunionsactedasagentsofsocialcontrol,

for example through socialisation in the schools they provided or amongst the

congregationsintheChurchesandChapelstheysponsored,wouldenhanceideasabout

the influence that railway companies and trade unions exerted on railwaymen and

theirfamiliesbothinsideandoutsidetheworkplace.

Theminingindustrywouldalsoprovideafruitfulcomparisonforthewaysthat

women and children were drawn into a highly unionised, predominantly male

industry.Furtherresearchwouldilluminatewhetherthestrongcommunityethosthat

hasbeenidentifiedinminingcommunitiesintwentiethcenturyBritainwastranslated

intoacommunity inwhichwomenandchildrenwerewelcomedandprovidedwith

theirownspacestoexpresshowtheirexperienceoftheminingindustryaffectedtheir

outlook. Other trade unions, political parties and feminist organisations could be

studiedinBritainandfurtherafield,utilisingsomeofthetechniquesofthisthesis,in

ordertocometoagreaterunderstandingoftheagencythatwomenwereabletoexert

overtheissuesthataffectedthematwork,athomeandintheirday-to-dayliveswithin

theseorganisations.However,itisclearfromthisthesisthattherewerecertainideas

appliedwithintherailwayindustryintermsof ‘family’andcommunitywhichcould

resonateamongstmanygroupsinBritishsocietyduringthefirsthalfofthetwentieth

centuryandbeyond.

7.1.1 SuggestionsfortheNationalRailwayMuseum

OneofthekeyjustificationsforthisthesisisthereinterpretationoftheNational

Railway Museum’s collection with regard to the ‘railway family’. This thesis is

successful in demonstrating how important the idea of the ‘railway family’ was to

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railwaycompanies, tradeunions,railwaymenandtheir familiesandhowintegral it

shouldbetoany interpretationthat focusesontherailway industryasawhole.Yet

there is still a great deal of work that could be undertakenwith regard to further

researchontheideaofthe‘railwayfamily’inotherperiodsthatwouldbeofbenefitto

theNRMandthedisplayofcollectionsthatrelatetothe‘railwayfamily’,includingpost-

Nationalisationandthepresent-dayconnotationsof the ‘railwayfamily’.Practically,

therearealsoanumberofsuggestionsthatrelate to thecollectionheldat theNRM

which could be developed to reflect the research in this thesis and the idea of the

‘railwayfamily:

• AstheNRMinheriteditscorecollectionfromtherailwaycompanies,the

collection is dominated by stories told from their perspective.948 A

collectingpolicythatfocusesonaddingobjectsandarchivematerialthat

reflect theexperienceof the ‘railwayfamily’ in tradeunionsandtheir

auxiliaries,leisuretimeamongstthe‘railwayfamily’andtherelationship

betweenrailwaycompaniesandtheiremployeesregardingpaternalistic

practicesandindustrialwelfarewouldenhancetheexistingcollection.

• Stories told in the current museum displays about women and the

railwayindustryfocusheavilyontheirroleasworkersduringthetwo

WorldWars.Itisclearfromthisthesisthattherewereanumberofother

avenuesthatallowedfortheparticipationofwomenwithintherailway

industry and further interpretation is necessary to highlight these to

diverseaudiences.Theroleofwomen,asworkers,wivesandtradeunion

948NationalRailwayMuseum,‘HistoryoftheMuseum’(2017)http://www.nrm.org.uk/aboutus/history[26/7/2017]

353

supporters, has been reimagined in this thesis to highlight themore

activeanddecisiverolethatwomenwereabletoplaybutwhichhasbeen

side-linedfortoolong.

• AnumberofthetradeunionarchivesareheldattheModernRecords

Centreat theUniversityofWarwickandclosercollaborationbetween

theNRMand theModernRecordsCentrewouldenhance theexisting

archiveattheNRM.Welfareinstitutionsthatwereabletocareforthe

‘railway family’, such as orphanages, residential care homes and

convalescenthomes,canbeaugmentedthroughcollaborationwiththe

local archives thathold further collections.949The ideaof the ‘railway

family’ in theory and in practice permeated thewhole of the railway

industryandinfluenceddecisionmakingwithinrailwaycompaniesand

tradeunions,thereforeitisappropriatethatresearchersattheNRMare

abletoaccessandinterpretthestoriestoldbybothsidesoftheindustry.

Itisclearfromresearchundertakenforthisthesisthatthe‘railwayfamily’isan

importanttoolthroughwhichitispossibletounderstandthestrong,affectivebonds

that grew up between railway workers and their family members and how this

occupational communitywas channelledby railwaycompaniesand tradeunions to

derive loyalty and support in return for increased welfare, education and the

involvementofnon-workingwomenandchildrenwithinamale-dominatedindustry.

949Forexample,theNRMholdsasmallarchivecollectionforboththeSouthernRailwayServant’sOrphanage,WokingandStChristopher’sRailwayHome,Derbywhichhavebothbeencataloguedaspartofthisthesis.Collaborationwouldpreventduplicationandalloweaseofaccessforresearchers.

354

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