British Trade Union Membership Registers, 1871-1947
This collection of British Trade Union documents from the University of Warwick’s Modern Records Centre includes over 188,000 digitised images of historical records from 25 different unions. It comprises admission books, annual reports and membership lists. It also includes records from international union branches in Ireland, Australia, Spain, the United States and more.
Key facts
1871-1947
Date range
More than
188,000
Images
More than
3,700,000
Transcribed entries
Source
Members of the Bermondsey branch of the National Union of Railwaymen
About this series
Trade Unions
Having proliferated in their modern form alongside the growth of capitalism, trade unions have formed a key part of Britain's social fabric for centuries. They provided a crucial forum for workers to push employers for better pay and working conditions. While the Combination Acts of 1824 restricted the right of workers to organise, their repeal enabled trade unions to expand and gain both legal and political recognition.
In the years leading up to the First World War, Britain witnessed a surge in trade union activity, including strikes and demonstrations. Women began organising into unions and associations, often using these platforms to campaign for female suffrage. At the onset of war, strikes were criminalised, hampering the unions’ militancy.
After the war, socialist and communist ideas spread through trade unions, influenced particularly by the Russian Revolution of 1917. As post-war Britain faced economic depression, unions continued their struggle for better wages and working conditions. This period of activism culminated in the ten-day General Strike of 1926.
During the Second World War, workers demonstrated collective power through joint production committees and representative bodies. Trade unionism continues to play an important role in British society in the 21st century.
Types of records
These documents capture significant details about union members and their proceedings. They include membership information such as date joined, payments made, benefits received, spouses’ names, retirement details, and more. For members who held office within a union, full personal profiles may be available. In addition to member details, records document meeting dates, times, and items of business.
The types of documents included in this collection are: quarterly membership returns, admissions books, registration books, quarterly reports, half-year reports, and annual reports.
While most of the records relate to unions based in the British Isles, the series also includes records from international branches in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Channel Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Malta, New Zealand, Rhodesia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, and the USA.
Unions included
This collection includes records from the following unions:
- United Society of Boilermakers & Iron Shipbuilders, 1871-1947
- General Union of Carpenters & Joiners, 1886-1920
- Amalgamated Society of Carpenters & Joiners, 1886-1920
- Amalgamated Society of Carpenters, Cabinetmakers & Joiners, 1918-1921
- Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers, 1921-1931
- Amalgamated Society of Lithographic Artists, Designers, Engravers & Process Workers, 1885-1919
- Amalgamated Society of Lithographic Printers, 1880-1932
- Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, 1872-1913
- Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, 1872-1928
- Operative Bricklayers' Society, 1914-1920
- Union of Engravers to Calico Printers & Paper Stainers, 1914-1918
- London Society of Compositors, 1915-1919
- Association of Correctors of the Press
- Workers' Union, 1913-1920
- Liverpool Victoria Employees' Union, 1915-1919
- National Association of Local Government Officers, 1916-1920
- Amalgamated Society of Paper Makers, 1914-1918
- National Society of Operative Printers & Assistants, 1914-1915
- National Union of Printing & Paper Workers, 1914-1919
- Printing Machine Managers' Trade Society, 1913-1919
- Northern Association of Publishers' Educational Representatives, 1914-1919
- Incorporated Association of Assistant Masters in Secondary School, 1919
- National Union of Teachers, 1914-1920
- Typographical Association, 1915-1919
- Amalgamated Society of Watermen, Lightermen & Bargemen, 1916
Further information about each union is available within the series, and a full list of archive references can be downloaded below.
Trade Unions
Having proliferated in their modern form alongside the growth of capitalism, trade unions have formed a key part of Britain's social fabric for centuries. They provided a crucial forum for workers to push employers for better pay and working conditions. While the Combination Acts of 1824 restricted the right of workers to organise, their repeal enabled trade unions to expand and gain both legal and political recognition.
In the years leading up to the First World War, Britain witnessed a surge in trade union activity, including strikes and demonstrations. Women began organising into unions and associations, often using these platforms to campaign for female suffrage. At the onset of war, strikes were criminalised, hampering the unions’ militancy.
After the war, socialist and communist ideas spread through trade unions, influenced particularly by the Russian Revolution of 1917. As post-war Britain faced economic depression, unions continued their struggle for better wages and working conditions. This period of activism culminated in the ten-day General Strike of 1926.
During the Second World War, workers demonstrated collective power through joint production committees and representative bodies. Trade unionism continues to play an important role in British society in the 21st century.
Types of records
These documents capture significant details about union members and their proceedings. They include membership information such as date joined, payments made, benefits received, spouses’ names, retirement details, and more. For members who held office within a union, full personal profiles may be available. In addition to member details, records document meeting dates, times, and items of business.
The types of documents included in this collection are: quarterly membership returns, admissions books, registration books, quarterly reports, half-year reports, and annual reports.
While most of the records relate to unions based in the British Isles, the series also includes records from international branches in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Channel Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Malta, New Zealand, Rhodesia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, and the USA.
Unions included
This collection includes records from the following unions:
- United Society of Boilermakers & Iron Shipbuilders, 1871-1947
- General Union of Carpenters & Joiners, 1886-1920
- Amalgamated Society of Carpenters & Joiners, 1886-1920
- Amalgamated Society of Carpenters, Cabinetmakers & Joiners, 1918-1921
- Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers, 1921-1931
- Amalgamated Society of Lithographic Artists, Designers, Engravers & Process Workers, 1885-1919
- Amalgamated Society of Lithographic Printers, 1880-1932
- Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, 1872-1913
- Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, 1872-1928
- Operative Bricklayers' Society, 1914-1920
- Union of Engravers to Calico Printers & Paper Stainers, 1914-1918
- London Society of Compositors, 1915-1919
- Association of Correctors of the Press
- Workers' Union, 1913-1920
- Liverpool Victoria Employees' Union, 1915-1919
- National Association of Local Government Officers, 1916-1920
- Amalgamated Society of Paper Makers, 1914-1918
- National Society of Operative Printers & Assistants, 1914-1915
- National Union of Printing & Paper Workers, 1914-1919
- Printing Machine Managers' Trade Society, 1913-1919
- Northern Association of Publishers' Educational Representatives, 1914-1919
- Incorporated Association of Assistant Masters in Secondary School, 1919
- National Union of Teachers, 1914-1920
- Typographical Association, 1915-1919
- Amalgamated Society of Watermen, Lightermen & Bargemen, 1916
Further information about each union is available within the series, and a full list of archive references can be downloaded below.
Page from the Yearly Admissions Book of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners from 1911 (Modern Records Centre, MSS.78/ASCJ/2/1/17)
Extract from the ‘Quarterly and Half Yearly Reports 1905–1910’ of the Amalgamated Society of Lithographic Printers (Modern Records Centre, MSS.39/ASL/4/5/8A)
Page of the General Register of Members of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales from 1872-1891 (Modern Records Centre, MSS.127/AS/2/3/1)
1916 Roll of Honour of the Amalgamated Society of Watermen, Lightermen and Bargemen (Modern Records Centre, MSS.126/Wl/X/46)
Highlights
The Modern Records Centre
The Modern Records Centre
This collection has been made available through The Social History Archive’s partnership with the University of Warwick’s Modern Records Centre. The Modern Records Centre was established at the University of Warwick in 1973 with the objective of collecting primary sources for British social, political and economic history, especially in the fields of industrial relations, labour history and industrial politics. It now holds a large collection of material in these fields, including the archives of many trades unions and professional associations and employers' and trade associations, as well as extensive collections relating to pressure and campaigning groups, radical politics and the history of cycling and the motor industry.
This collection has been made available through The Social History Archive’s partnership with the University of Warwick’s Modern Records Centre. The Modern Records Centre was established at the University of Warwick in 1973 with the objective of collecting primary sources for British social, political and economic history, especially in the fields of industrial relations, labour history and industrial politics. It now holds a large collection of material in these fields, including the archives of many trades unions and professional associations and employers' and trade associations, as well as extensive collections relating to pressure and campaigning groups, radical politics and the history of cycling and the motor industry.
