"Full employment and the Welfare State are the fruits of our efforts and we can only maintain these benefits under a Socialist Government"
P. Morris JP
President TSSA. 1950 Annual Conference.
In 1947 the RCA said farewell to its General Secretary, Charles Gallie, and as Percy Heady, the Assistant General Secretary, had only two years to go before retirement, he declined to stand. The choice was between George Thorneycroft,1 the Senior Assistant Secretary, and Frederick Bostock, the LMS Line Secretary. Bostock was elected and took over as General Secretary in November, but within a few months he became seriously ill and Heady was asked to take over his duties. Frederick Bostock did not return to work and died on 13th July 1948. When Heady retired, George Thorneycroft was elected as General Secretary, remaining in office until 1953.
An important change also took place in Ireland. Senator John T. O'Farrell retired at the end of 1948 after nearly 31 years service, and was succeeded by Dominick F. Murphy2 who made his own distinctive mark in the Irish trade union movement. Elected to the Senate from 1954-1969, Murphy played a valuable part in amending the 1958 and 1964 Transport Acts.
The appalling winter of 1947 led to a massive transport and power crisis, with millions of workers temporarily laid off. As far as the RCA was concerned this was tempered by celebrations for its Jubilee and the prospect of nationalisation. The Association was now 50 years old; its membership had risen to 90,351 and there were 447 branches, including a new one on the continent that had 45 members - Paris. Greetings came from the Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, and other members of the Government; similar congratulations came from the NUR, ASLEF, the TUC, ITF, Labour Party and the NFPW.
There had been many changes in the Association since the era of Charles Bassett-Vincent, not least in its somewhat servile approach to industrial relations. The biggest difference, however, was in the number of women members. From a position of no female members in 1909, there were now 17,502 - over 19 per cent. Women continued to be represented on the EC through the allocated Women and Girl Clerk seats but, as yet, not one woman had been elected from a Divisional Council or as a grade representative. This honour was eventually achieved by Kay Jenkins,3 the secretary of the Swansea Docks branch, who joined the Executive in 1962 on behalf of the Docks Group.
The Association still played an important part in the leadership of the trade union and labour movement and during its Jubilee Year Percy Heady was a member of the Labour Party NEC; David Robertson,4 who had been appointed as the Scottish Secretary in 1940, was Chairman of the Scottish TUC; John Ross was Chairman of the Labour Party Scottish Council, to be succeeded by Bailie Robert Raffan during 1947-1948; Frederick Bostock was a member of the TUC General Council; Alderman Martin O'Sullivan served on the Administrative Council of the Irish Labour Party and Senator John T. O'Farrell was National Treasurer of the Irish TUC.
In its 50th year, the Association was virtually at its peak. The guests invited to attend the 1947 Annual Conference in Torquay were the General Secretary of the TUC, Vincent Tewson; the General Secretary of ASLEF, W. P. Allen; Secretary of the Labour Party, Morgan Phillips, and the General Secretary of the NUR, J. Benstead. Lord Walkden was present, and also T. H. Gill, R G. Romeril, F. C. Watkins, A. E. Townend, W. Stott and W. R. Southeard. Greetings came from retired members in every corner of Britain and Ireland. There were representatives from the ITF and the railway unions of Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and Holland. The Dutch delegate, G. Joustra, presented the RCA with a pair of Delft vases5 that had been specially made as a token of gratitude for the part RCA members had played in 1946 when, along with the other railway unions, they hosted 235 Dutch railwayworkers' children who had suffered during the Nazi occupation of their country.
Throughout the year Divisional Councils and branches commemorated the Jubilee in great style. The President, Percy Morris, joined 150 members at a dinner in Sheffield, and the Antwerp branch invited Charles Gallie to a magnificent buffet and dance. Dinners, in the main, were the most popular way of branch celebration, but in Scotland the two Divisional Councils held sports competitions, outings and rallies. River trips were arranged by the King's Cross, Norwich and Liverpool branches; Liverpool also held a classical concert in the Philharmonic Hall, with the Lord Mayor in attendance. The Swansea branch held a social event and invited its foundation member and first secretary, James Morton, as its guest of honour; Dover invited members of the NUR and ASLEF, along with their families, to an afternoon of fun and games. As for the Nottingham branch, they had three jubilees to celebrate, the anniversary of the branch, the RCA and also that of the City.
The union's national event was held on 24th October when 3,500 members and friends celebrated at the Royal Albert Hall. People came from Wales, Scotland, Ireland and every corner of England; it was the largest social gathering in the history of the RCA. George Cutting, the first Chairman of the London Council was present, along with a number of other veterans; Lord Walkden and Clement Attlee sat in the Royal Box; the Master of Ceremonies was Peter Madden, who was the compere of popular BBC programmes such as Workers' Playtime and Variety Bandbox. Billy Tennent and his orchestra provided the music and a cabaret followed. In one of the few speeches Attlee thanked the Association for its long-standing contribution to the Labour Party and paid a tribute to George Ridley, George Lathan and Frederick Simpson. It was a year of great pride and lots of fun.
The Scottish TUC Youth Advisory Council came into existence on 17th September 1938, when 84 delegates, representing 29 unions, elected a committee of 5 to manage its affairs. One of these was David Mitchell, a member of the Edinburgh No.1 branch, and RCA members continued to contribute to its development. Mitchell was followed in 1941-1942 by Margaret Brunton (Dundee No.1) and then, at the 3rd annual conference in December 1942, Margaret Cairncross (who was employed in the Scottish office) was elected. Two years later complaints were expressed at the Scottish TUC that it was undemocratic for the General Council to appoint both the secretary and chairman of the Youth Committee; this was conceded and at the 7th Annual Youth Conference in 1946 Margaret Cairncross became the first elected chairman. When she took the chair at the 1947 Conference her address ranged over the history of the Scottish youth movement, the reconstruction of industry, the political issues of the day, and the importance of disarmament - it was a speech that revealed maturity and depth of approach
6. She served on the committee until December 1949, when she was replaced by William Kilpatrick7. He remained a member until 1952 and after him came W. Guy (Glasgow Central), who was the Chairman of the Advisory Council during 1954-1955.
With thousands of young men and women returning from the war to find employment, recruitment to the trade union movement and education in its ideals became very important. The Association held a Youth Conference at Leeds on 5th October 1946, with over 200 men and women present. Later, local youth meetings were organised by Divisional Councils, with a second national conference taking place at St. Pancras Town Hall, London, on 17th October 1948. The subjects embraced the industrial history and structure of the Association, with politics playing an important part The debates were vigorous with equal opportunities for women and inadequate pay featuring prominently. The success of these conferences led to an attempt to establish a Youth Conference as an annual event, but this was rejected at the 1949 Annual Conference, and Divisional Councils became the main forum for trade union and political education, with most Councils establishing their own Young Members' Groups.
As contacts expanded after the war, invitations were once again received for the RCA to attend European railway union conferences, and delegations were sent to Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, France, Holland and Germany. Educational courses, international youth camps and summer schools were attended by members. With the bitter arguments that had divided the Association over education in the 1920s now long gone, members participated in the courses provided by the NCLC and the WEATUC, including correspondence courses, and day, weekend and summer schools. This thirst for education brought one further development which continues to this day -the union's Annual Summer School. The idea was first raised by Elizabeth (Betty) Kent8 at the 1946 Annual Conference but it was not until June 1948 that the first school was held at Beatrice Webb House, Dorking. Of the 48 students that attended the first summer school several made their mark in the Association, but none more so than Percy Coldrick, Dominick Murphy, Sean Casey, Tom Patterson9, William Kilpatrick and Betty Kent
The Association had also maintained its relationship with Ruskin College and donated £250 to its 1949 Jubilee Fund. The EC continued to make regular donations towards its Library Fund and to the TUC Appeal Fund. In 1950 Griff Morris was appointed as a Governor of the College - to be followed by other members of the Association, giving a continuous relationship with the Governing Body that still exists in 1996.
In some ways adult education in Ireland lagged behind that in Britain. A decision of the Irish LP & TUC in 1925 led to the establishment of a Workers' Educational Institute, and one of the first trade unions to affiliate was the RCA. Its efforts were concentrated on publishing pamphlets of interest to the trade union and labour movement but its classes failed to survive beyond 1927. In 1948 the People's College came into being after discussions had taken place between the Irish TUC, the Labour Party and the WEA. The RCA was a founder member and Dominick Murphy was elected to its Central Council at the inaugural conference on 15th October 1948. The People's College came under attack from religious and educational organisations and was denied state funding but it had the support of the trade union movement and from its inception RCA members participated in its courses.
The political differences that existed between the Western powers and the USSR which had been submerged between 1941 and 1945, quickly reappeared when the war ended. As the post-war division of Europe took shape, the Cold War began. The European trade union centres which had developed from diverse political and religious bases now found their differences magnified. The TUC remained united but the divisions within the Irish Labour Movement widened when 10 unions, with their membership confined to Ireland, withdrew from the Irish TUC and formed the Congress of Irish Unions. A number of attempts were made to unite the movement but these were unsuccessful until 1953, when a Unity Committee was established. In 1956 the two Congresses accepted that a new body should be formed to prepare a constitution for a united organisation. The Association's Irish biennial conference welcomed this move and reiterated its desire, not only to retain the unity of its members throughout Ireland, but to continue having a close relationship with the trade union movement of Great Britain and the free world
.10 In 1958 Dominick Murphy was elected as the last Treasurer of the Irish TUC and in September 1959, when the inaugural meeting of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Irish CTU) was held, he was elected to its Executive and became President in 1964.
In July 1948 Arthur Deakin, the General Secretary of the TGWU and President of the WFTU, denied that it was acting as a tool of Soviet Imperialism
.11 His view abruptly changed in January the following year when he launched a bitter attack against Communist-led unions, charging them with being subservient to the Information Bureau
- the cominform - established on 5th October 1947 to coordinate the activities of the Eastern European Communist Parties. In a planned move, the TUC, the American trade union centre, the CIO and the Dutch NVV withdrew from the WFTU, accusing such trade union bodies of using it as an instrument for the world-wide dissemination of propaganda
.12 Deakin revealed the true objective of this action at the 1954 TUC when, in a venomous speech attacking Communism and the CP he told delegates, We set up that organisation (the ICFTU) to fight Communism. We must use it that way.
13 The decision to leave the WFTU was supported by the RCA and it gave its allegiance to the ICFTU (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions) which was launched in December 1949 with a membership of over 48 million from 59 trade union centres. The international trade union movement was now irrevocably divided.
Before the war the Labour Party had proscribed 19 organisations. All but one (the British Union of Fascists) were Communist or left-wing bodies. During the war a further 13 were added to the list including the Anglo-Soviet Medical Aid Fund and the Anglo-Soviet Youth Friendship Alliance. After 1945 the list was expanded to include a further 38 left-wing bodies including the WFTU, the National Assembly of Women, a number of Peace Councils and numerous Friendship Associations linked to the new Communist states. The People's Press Printing Society which now owned the Daily Worker was not proscribed, but the TUC issued a circular to Trades Councils advising them that their funds should not be invested in the Society. In 1973 the Labour Party stopped publicising its proscribed list, not because it had changed its political opinion, but because it found it too difficult to record.
The extreme form of anti-communism that existed within the USA, known as McCarthyism, did not have the same impact in the UK, but the sharp differences that developed between the UK and the USSR encouraged anti-communism. This, and the RCA's long-standing opposition to the CP, ensured a difficult and unpleasant period for Communists who were active in the Association. The main political debate at the 1946 Conference was introduced by the LT Chiswick branch, which called on the Association to support the application of the CP to affiliate to the Labour Party. It was extremely rare that guidance was ever given to delegates before conference on the way that they should vote, but on the few occasions that the subject of CP affiliation was raised, dire warnings of its consequences had appeared in the Association's Journal, written by the Editor or a national officer. This had happened again just before the 1946 Conference, when the Editor accused Communists of infiltration
and using fifth column activity
14 to achieve their ends. The debate was vigorous. Support for the CP came from Dartford and Gravesend, but opposition was expressed by the Glasgow Central branch and a new young delegate from Kettering, Thomas Bradley, who made a strong impression with a savage attack upon the CP. He was followed by Ray Gunter whose anti-Communist credentials were well established, and a card vote resulted in the proposal being defeated by 74,875 votes to 4,125.
At the 1948 TUC, the General Council levelled charges against the CP of attempting to disrupt the unity of the trade union movement and of taking its orders from Moscow.15 Then, on 24th November 1948, the General Council issued a pamphlet Defend Democracy, followed by another called The Tactics of Disruption. In 1955, the TUC published The TUC and Communism; all these pamphlets were distributed to RCA branches. Communists were, of course, as hard working and dedicated to the trade union movement as any other members, and, just before the TUC's attack against the CP in 1948, it was the Communist Rose Carr, a member of the Tobacco Workers' Union, who was awarded the TUC Gold Medal for her outstanding services to the movement16. Labour Party members who sympathised with some aspects of Communist policy often had a harder time than members of the CP and during the darkest period of the Cold War a new tone emanated from the columns of The Railway Service Journal. In October 1948 Percy Morris wrote:
"If any member of the Communist Party lingers in your branch meetings, take care not to invest him with the authority of office or you will rue the day. Beware also of those who are Communists but are not actually members of the party. They are a hindrance, not a help in our political and industrial tasks."17
Communists and their allies were not slow to defend themselves; those with long memories wrote to The Railway Service Journal recalling the expulsion of Stewart Purkis and George Chandler and the invaluable contribution Chandler continued to make towards building the Association. R. W. Meeking, a member of the Euston P&T branch, remembered the attack on Communists at the 1928 TUC and told members that it was not Communists who had betrayed the Labour Party but, (in a sideswipe at MacDonald, Thomas and Snowden) the Right Wing communist-haters
.18 The Editor of the Journal, Griff Morris, eventually decided not to continue providing a free platform for a political party which RCA Annual Conferences have consistently rejected,
19 and excluded all opponents of Labour's official policy from its columns. In practice this meant Communists and left-wing critics, and the ban was never applied to members of any other political party.
Statements against the CP continued to be published in the Association's magazine and some on the left lost positions of responsibility or were replaced as delegates to various bodies. One of these was Joseph Deasy who was withdrawn as the delegate to the Dublin Trades Council by his branch which refused to allow anyone with Communist views to represent the union in any capacity whatsoever.20 The TUC began to expel Communists from Trades Councils in 1950 but, unlike the dark days of the 1920s, the Association did not actually introduce regulations banning Communists from holding office as became the practice in some unions. Even during the darkest days of the Cold War they were elected to positions of responsibility within their branch, to conference and to the EC. The politics of the Cold War continued although its intensity eventually diminished and some Communists were awarded the Association's highest honours - its Gold Medallion and Honorary Life Membership.
The Second World War resulted in Britain losing almost 25 per cent of its wealth, 28 per cent of its shipping, and becoming the world's largest debtor nation. Raw materials were in short supply and rationing continued; over 200,000 houses had been destroyed and 400,000 seriously damaged. In 1945 Percy Morris had declared that housing must be priority No.121 but despite Britain achieving one of the best housing records in Europe by building more than one million homes in five years, more than a million people remained desperate for decent accommodation. Wages had generally failed to keep pace with the cost of living and railway workers were amongst those hardest hit; thousands left the industry to find more lucrative employment.
When the US Lease-Lend programme ended in August 1945, the extent of Britain's economic difficulties was revealed. A loan of £1,100 million from the United States provided a stopgap, followed in 1947 by the reconstruction of Europe via the Marshall Plan. The USA insisted that the debt be repaid in US dollars, and as the nation's dollar reserve worsened, the Government applied austerity measures. At the same time it attempted to keep Britain as a military power by developing its own nuclear weapons and retaining bases throughout the Empire. In February 1948 the Government issued a White Paper Personal Incomes, Costs and Prices and a meeting of trade union executives on 24th March agreed to accept a wage freeze. The RCA'S Executive gave this their approval but at the Annual Conference delegates qualified their support They voted to accept the wage freeze but only if prices and profits were similarly restricted. They also called for the abolition of purchase tax, the extension of price controls on essential commodities and the rationing of goods in short supply. They did, however, support the Executive's opinion:
That the present economic crisis is due fundamentally to factors inherent in the capitalist order of society. ..only a bold and far-reaching policy of socialist planning can create conditions which will make possible freedom from recurrent crises, and a progressive improvement of the standard of living."22
Exports were a matter of top priority throughout the life of the Attlee administration and when a balance of payments crisis developed in 1949, combined with a sharp fall in the nation's dollar reserves, the Government devalued the pound from its long standing level of $4.03 to $2.80. Of more immediate importance to the domestic household was the fact that bread increased in price by one penny (0.4p) to 5½d (2.25p). Cuts in public expenditure took place in the autumn and a charge of one shilling (5p) was set for prescription charges. The continual increase in prices and profits led to a wave of unrest; at the Association's 1950 Conference, when the Willesden branch attempted to reaffirm the union's support for wage restraint, the motion was amended against the advice of the EC, with delegates saying that the wage freeze had led to injustice, and instructing the EC to secure satisfaction for its members. In June 1950, aware of the growing unrest over wages, the TUC tried to achieve greater flexibility in the Governments wages strategy, but at its September conference, even this was defeated and wage restraint was repudiated.
As the General Election approached, morale within the railway industry deteriorated. Nationalisation was still supported by the overwhelming majority of railway workers, but very few felt that they had any share in the way it was being managed. Nor could many have been happy to hear Herbert Morrison boast, just after their pay claim had been rebuffed, that under the Transport Act stockholders had obtained more than they could have expected under private ownership, as their shares had become a legal charge upon the industry.23
When the 1950 General Election was announced, there were two notable absentees from the Association's list of prospective MPs. These were Thomas Burden who had been created Baron Burden of Hazelbarrow in the 1950 New Year Honours list, and John Belcher, who had applied for the Chiltern Hundreds in February 1949 and had resigned. This began in August 1948 following allegations against Belcher, who was Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, and some of its officials. They were accused of being offered, or receiving, bribes, in respect of the withdrawal of a prosecution against a firm of football pool promoters, and it was alleged that news print had been allocated to the company, contravening Government regulations. Following enquiries and press speculation, the Prime Minister announced on 27th October 1948 that there would be an enquiry to see if there was any justification in the allegations.
A tribunal was established under Justice Lynskey and while this was welcomed by Belcher, he must have known that his Parliamentary career was in serious jeopardy. The Tribunal sat for twenty-six days between 15th November - 21st December 1948 and heard 60 witnesses. When Belcher made his statement to the Tribunal, he denied corruption but did admit accepting gifts, including a gold cigarette case and a suit, and said that both he and his wife had received a paid holiday at Margate. Belcher also admitted receiving wine, spirits and entertainment at dog race meetings and boxing matches. He told the Tribunal that he intended to resign as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, and did so on 9th December.
When Lynskey reported to Parliament on 21st January 1949, he found there was no foundation for the suggestions that ministers and civil servants had been corrupt, but John Belcher and George Gibson24 were found guilty of using their influence in return for gifts. On 3rd February 1949, Belcher apologised to the House of Commons for his injudicious actions
and referred to the day when he was elected to Parliament in August 1945. This, he said, was on his 40th birthday and the happiest and proudest day in his life, but today, Mr. Speaker, I am touching the very depths of unhappiness and wretchedness
. Attlee told the House that Belcher had fallen below the standard expected and said that he had taken the right course in taking the Chiltern Hundreds. He did, however, praise Belcher for his dignity and courage, particularly during the ordeal that he had suffered from the press.25 He was, by now, a broken man; it was a sad end to a promising Parliamentary career. Belcher returned to the railway industry and retired as an Assistant Goods Agent in June 1963. He was then 57 years old and in poor health; he died on 27th October 1964.
The General Election was held on 23rd February 1950 and took place in the wake of the Representation of the People Act which removed the business premises vote and the university franchise. The majority of constituency boundaries were also changed. Labour retained its traditional support but the austerity programme it had pursued since 1945 alienated many voters.
The RCA played a full part in the election campaign and donated £4,000 to the Labour Party Election Fund. Twenty members stood as candidates; the successful official candidates were H. Hynd (Accrington); A. Hargreaves (Carlisle); R J. Gunter (Doncaster); G. H. R Rogers (Kensington North); A. E. Davies (Stoke-North); P. Morris (Swansea-West) and G. S. Lindgren (Wellingborough), who continued in his junior ministerial post and was then transferred to the Ministry of Local Government and Planning. George Mathers and Henry Hynd were appointed respectively as Chairman and Joint Honorary Secretary of the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union for the 1950 Parliamentary session. Thomas Steele (Lanark) lost but was later returned to Parliament following a by-election for West Dunbartonshire. The unofficial candidates elected were J. A. Sparks (Acton); C. C. Poole (Birmingham - Perry Bar); F. Anderson (Whitehaven) and G. Mathers (West Lothian).
The Labour Party obtained 13,265,610 votes, the highest ever vote polled by any single party in the history of British General Elections, and won 315 seats, but it only managed to achieve an overall majority of 6. For the first time since 1909, an attempt was made at the 1950 RCA Conference to break its allegiance to the Labour Party. This was decisively defeated, but within two years the London Political Advisory Committee noted that the majority of its branches were not affiliated to a local Labour party.26 It was an indication of difficult times ahead.
The gradual change in the composition of the Association's membership from railway clerks only, to clerical, professional, technical, supervisory and management grades throughout the transport industry, eventually led to calls for a new name. However, with the overwhelming majority of members still employed as booking clerks, such a change could not take place without considerable debate.
It was at the 1943 Blackpool Conference that the first serious attempt took place, when T. V. Followes (London Bridge No.2) suggested that the name should be more representative of the membership. This was decisively defeated. Two years later, the EC made a proposal that the name be changed to Railway Salaried Staff Association, but this was withdrawn from the agenda. Then, at the 1948 Conference, the Executive proposed that the RCA be renamed Transport Salaried Staffs' Association. Support came from P&T branches and members within road transport who had found it increasingly difficult to make recruits under the present title. Others were not convinced and the delegate from Dublin No.1, M. McMahon, proclaimed that this was a retrograde step, and, as far as Ireland was concerned, it would still be called the RCA. A card vote showed that the change had majority support but not the two-thirds required under rule. The following year, the Executive changed their tactics and in view of the sentimental attachment to the initials RCA, recommended that it be renamed the Railway Clerks' and Transport Salaried Staffs' Association. On behalf of the Executive, this compromise was proposed by Geoffrey Collings who, as a debater, stood head and shoulders above many of his contemporaries. With opinion deeply divided even Collings' abilities failed to carry the day and conference was still opposed to any change.
When delegates assembled at Scarborough in 1950, Collings once again had the responsibility of convincing members, and he went to the rostrum to propose that the RCA now be called The Railway Clerical and Allied Transport Salaried Staffs' Association, thus retaining the initials RCA, whilst making it clear that the Association catered for more than railway workers and more than clerks. By now the majority of members had become aware that the original title had become a serious handicap to recruiting members within the rapidly expanding road haulage industry and it was F. Knight (Brighton P&T), who proposed, on behalf of 29 branches, that Railway Clerical and Allied be deleted from the title. This received the overwhelming support of conference but, to be doubly sure, a card vote was taken confirming the decision by 62,600 votes to 15,475.
When the Association went to register its new name, it discovered that under the Trade Union Act of 1871 it was not possible to make such a change without the written consent of two-thirds or more of its total membership. With over 2,000 members in the armed forces, this was a difficult task but, on 22nd February 1951, the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies declared that the change of title to the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association had been approved by 57,132 votes to 7,752. In May 1951 The Railway Service Journal changed its title to the Transport Salaried Staff Journal (TSSJ).
If the change of name had taken some years to bring to fruition, the alteration of one of the Association's oldest traditions took barely a few minutes. Since 1897 delegates to annual conference had always chosen the venue for the next conference by ballot. With rare exceptions, usually in times of difficulty, this had been enacted year after year and had become enshrined in the Rule Book. By 1949, the Association's conference had become so large that this procedure was becoming impractical and Frederick Tonge successfully proposed that, in future, authority be given to the EC to choose future venues.
The narrow majority won by Labour in 1950 was eliminated at a General Election held on 25th October 1951 when Winston Churchill was returned to power and the Conservative Party and their allies had an overall majority of 17. The Labour Party, which had polled nearly a quarter of a million more votes than the Conservatives, obtained 302 seats and the Liberals were reduced to 6. The TSSA put forward 11 official candidates and another 8 were adopted by Constituency Parties. Two of these were women; Ethel Chipchase stood in Twickenham and Nan Patrick27 in Glasgow (Cathcart). The only former RCA MP to be defeated was Ray Gunter, who lost by 384 votes at Doncaster. He returned to his roots as a railway clerk and joined the Paddington branch.
| Candidate | Constituency | Labour | Conservative | Others | Majority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. E. Davies* | Stoke (N) | 36,692 | 14,668 | - | 22,024 |
| P. Morris* | Swansea (W) | 26,061 | 23,901 | - | 2,160 |
| C. Mapp | Stretford | 25,694 | 35,419 | - | - |
| H. Hynd* | Accrington | 24,802 | 22,611 | - | 2,191 |
| R. J. Gunter* | Doncaster | 24,621 | 25,005 | - | - |
| G. S. Lindgren* | Wellingborough | 24,113 | 21,912 | - | 2,201 |
| E. E. Chipchase | Twickenham | 23,871 | 39,080 | - | - |
| J. Haworth* | Chelmsford | 23,775 | 29,069 | - | - |
| G. H. R. Rogers* | Kensington (N) | 22,686 | 18,543 | 1,583 | 4,143 |
| W. A. Archer | Woodford | 22,359 | 40,938 | 1,722 | - |
| T. Steele* | Dunbartonshire (W) | 21,799 | 19,292 | - | 1,415 |
| A. G. Collings | Pudsey | 20,782 | 24,138 | - | - |
| A. Hargreaves* | Carlisle | 19,648 | 16,456 | 5,886 | 3,192 |
| R. G. Andrews | Weston-S-Mare | 15,942 | 30,485 | - | - |
| T. G. Bradley* | Rutland | 15,127 | 17,850 | - | - |
| E. Kavanagh | Ormskirk | 12,908 | 26,729 | - | - |
| H. Lawrance | Bristol (W) | 11,716 | 25,858 | 3,115 | - |
| A. M. Patrick | Glasgow (Cathcart) | 10,912 | 26,125 | - | - |
| F. L. Tonge | Chelsea | 10,784 | 25,034 | - | - |
*Official candidates.
Albert Davies replaced George Mathers as the main contact between the union and Parliament Sadly, in 1953, Davies, whilst on his way to the West Indies as a member of a delegation from the UK branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, died following severe sea-sickness and a heart attack. He was 52 years old.<.p>
In Ireland, changes had been made to the political scene and after the General Election on 4th February 1948 Labour increased its representation in Dail Éireann to 14, in spite of the breakaway National Labour Party that won 5 seats. As Fianna Fáil failed to retain a majority, the Government of De Valera had to make way for an Inter-Party Government with both Labour and National Labour in the coalition. William Davin just managed to retain his seat, as did Martin O'Sullivan, but Joseph Deasy, who contested Dublin South-West, was defeated, as was Sean Casey28 at Cork. It was during this period that both William Davin and Martin O'Sullivan became, for a short time, Leaders of the Labour Party. This happened when William Norton resigned as Leader following his appointment as Minister of Social Welfare in the Inter-Party Government. O'Sullivan was elected as the Leader from November 1949 to November 1950, when he was obliged to resign for health reasons, and Davin became Leader until after the next General Election.
This was the first time that Labour had participated in Government; during its term of office a Republic was declared, and Eire left the Commonwealth. By 1951 disagreements surfaced within the Government and in May the Taoiseach, John A. Costello, called an election. The differences that existed between the Labour Party and National Labour were resolved by 1950, but despite Labour's share of the vote remaining stable at 11.4 per cent, 3 seats were lost. Three members of the RCA stood as candidates: William Davin, Martin O'Sullivan and Sean Casey, but only Davin survived to take his seat in the Dail. Norton resumed his leadership of the Labour Party in June and Davin served as his Deputy. Fianna Fáil, with the support of a few Independents, was returned to power.
[1]. George Thorneycroft (Central and Head Office). Started work with the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company and was then employed at the RCA's head office in 1914. Senior Assistant Secretary 1945, RCA General Secretary 1949-1953. ITF Management Committee 1948-1952. TUC General Council 1948-1953.
[2]. Senator D. Murphy (Cork). Joined RCA 1935. Branch Secretary; RCA Irish Secretary 1949-1969. Labour Party Administrative Council 1962-1965; Irish TUC/Congress of Trade Union EC 1949-1954 and 1957-1969, Treasurer 1958-1959, President 1964-1965. Elected to Seanad Éireann 1954-1969.
[3]. Kay Jenkins (later John). (Swansea Docks). EC 1962-1969. Secretary Swansea Trades Council; elected to Trades Council's Joint Consultative Committee and was the second woman to join this body since its formation in 1925. Awarded TUC Gold Medal 1973.
[4]. D. Robertson (Aberdeen). Joined RCA 1922 and its staff in 1935. Assistant Secretary 1926 local Strike Committee. Scottish Secretary 1940-1947. STUC General Council 1941-1948, Chairman 1947.
[5]. The vases were eventually passed to the National Railway Museum, York.
[6]. 50 Years of Progress Scottish TUC 1897-1947.
[7]. W. Kilpatrick (Glasgow South). Joined RCA 1941. Secretary Scottish (Western) Divisional Council. EC 1968-1974.
[8]. E. Kent (Glasgow Central). Joined RCA 1933. EC 1953-1960. Chairman Scottish (Western) Divisional Council. Represented TSSA on Scottish TUC Women's Advisory Committee, Chairman 1958 & 1968. For several years wrote A Page For Women in the TSSJ. Awarded TUC Gold medal 1969.
[9]. Thomas Patterson (Birmingham No.1) Joined RCA 1932. Chairman West Midlands Divisional Council, EC 1964-1970. Treasurer Birmingham Trades Council. Appointed to West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority 1969.
[10]. TSSA EC General Purposes Sub-committee Minutes 12th December 1958.
[11]. Daily Herald 21st July 1948.
[12]. TUC Annual Report 1949.
[13]. TUC Annual Report 1954.
[14]. The Railway Service Journal May 1946.
[15]. TUC Annual Report 1949.
[16]. TUC Annual Report 1948.
[17]. The Railway Service Journal October 1948.
[18]. The Railway Service Journal November 1948.
[19]. The Railway Service Journal December 1948.
[20]. The Parliament of Labour Page 196. S. Cody, J. O'Dowd, P. Rigney. Confirmed by J. Deasy, 1995.
[21]. The Railway Service Journal November 1945.
[22]. RCA Annual Conference Minutes 1948 item 8.
[23]. Daily Worker 11th February 1950.
[24]. G. Gibson was Chairman, North-West Electricity Board; Director, Bank of England; member TUC General Council 1928-1947 and its chairman 1941.
[25]. House of Commons, Parliamentary Debates, 3rd February 1949 Vol. 460 Col. 1844-1852.
[26]. TSSA EC Minutes 12th January 1952.
[27]. Agnes M. Patrick (Glasgow Central). Joined RCA 1934. EC 1960-1966. Nine years SOC. Elected Labour Councillor Cowlairs Ward 1951; served on Glasgow Council 21 years and was Deputy-Chairman. Vice-Chairman Glasgow Health Board; Vice-Chairman National Insurance Advisory Committee. Appointed Deputy Lieutenant, City of Glasgow 1979. Appointed to Equal Opportunities Commission and Race Relations Board on their inception. Parliamentary candidate 1951.
[28]. S. Casey (Cork). Joined the RCA in 1941. Branch secretary; Chairman Irish Divisional Council. President Cork Workers' Council; Labour Party Administrative Council 1954-1956 & 1962-1964. Irish TUC Executive 1954-1959. Lord Mayor of Cork Elected Dan Eireann 1954-1967.
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