"It was 'A.G.W.' who was the leader and inspirator of them all, and his memory and his spirit still live on today: That is why we could do no other than call this building Walkden House."
W.J.P. Webber
General Secretary TSSA 10th October 1958.
With the exception of the Second World War, the Association's head office staff had been based at 25, Euston Road, London, since March 1915. During 1954, in anticipation of its second 21 year lease expiring and with the rent due to be increased by 450 per cent, enquiries were made to secure a site on which the TSSA could build its own offices. After reviewing a number of locations, a freehold plot of land close to Euston Station was acquired in June 1955, but as there were a number of houses on the site, some derelict, some occupied, it was not until the last property was vacated on 6th March 1957 that work could commence.
The architects were W.W. Fisk FRIBA and S.H. Fisk LRIBA and much of the work of piloting the scheme was carried out by Ernest Smith,1 the Association's Finance Officer, who received considerable assistance from H. E. Duncan (Euston P&T), a member of the EC between 1951-1957. The building had a floor space of 25,000 square feet and on 10th October 1958, it was opened by the General Secretary, William Webber. In commemoration of her father, Lord Walkden's daughter, Mrs M. McCowen, unveiled a plaque, designed by E. J. Clack FRBS, currently situated in the foyer of Walkden House. Amongst the guests were George Woodcock, General Secretary of the TUC; Morgan Phillips, General Secretary of the Labour Party; Sidney Greene, General Secretary NUR; William Evans, President of ASLEF and Sir Brian Robertson, Chairman of the BTC. There were also a number of retired members present, including F. Vincent Rowe2 who had joined the RCA in 1901 and assisted George Lathan in forming the Norwich branch, and Harold Haigh.3 It was Haigh, who, in 1910, had proposed on behalf of the Wolverhampton branch that the RCA should endeavour to place a member in the House Commons. Also in attendance were representatives from Russell Jones and Walker who had played a major part in the negotiations associated with the building; T. Herbert Hughes, whose firm had audited the union's accounts since 1911, and representatives from Garden City Press who had printed the union's Journal since 1927. The building was worth approximately £219,000 and the TSSA was now £3,000 per year better off than if it had remained at its previous address and invested the building costs.
The TSSA's annual conference is the Parliament of the Association. Two motions and two amendments are permitted from each branch, plus a further amendment to each of the Executive's Pay and Transport motions. Every fifth year, members have an opportunity to amend the rule book. It is a democratic process which has stood the test of time. Over 140 motions are sent by the Association's branches for debate. This, combined with the membership's participation within branch life, is the bedrock of union democracy. The motions that are agreed within the branch are a reflection of the views of those who attend their branch meetings. For a union that has a high political commitment and one that has made a remarkable contribution to Parliament, it is worthy of note that political motions other than those related to transport, pay and conditions of service, have been few and far between. In the main, these political motions generally reflect current issues and the various trends of opinion that exist within the labour movement.
German rearmament was supported in 1954; the invasion of Egypt by Britain and France was condemned; that of Hungary by the USSR in 1956 was viewed with revulsion, resulting in the Association contributing £1,354 towards the TUC Appeal for Hungarian Refugees. The longest, and possibly the most divisive issue, was the TSSA's attitude towards the new horror weapon - the atomic bomb. After an EC meeting on 12th January 1957, William Webber advised the Labour Party and TUC of the Association's alarm at the Government's establishment of missile bases, and of aircraft carrying hydrogen bombs when on patrol over Britain. The TSSA called for a change of Government policy to reduce world tension, and for Britain to give a lead by suspending its own hydrogen tests. Later that year, at the 1957 Conference, a resolution from Neath expressed concern that the Soviet Union and the Western Powers had failed to reach an agreement to stop manufacturing and testing hydrogen bombs.
This won the backing of the EC, and Gunter, always at his best in debates of this nature, had little difficulty persuading delegates to give it their support. This qualitative change in weaponry introduced a new organisation in the struggle for peace - The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Launched on 17th February 1958 by Bertrand Russell and Canon Collins at the Central Hall, London, a few TSSA members were attracted to its ranks but despite their efforts it did not receive the official backing of the TSSA. As Ray Gunter, a staunch advocate of multilateral disarmament observed, Peace is the desire of all, but the argument. ..is over the means to achieve it.
4 A month later, the Labour Party and the TUC General Council agreed to mount a joint campaign for nuclear disarmament but rejected unilateralism. As far as the Association was concerned Ray Gunter totally dominated the peace debate, and at its 1958 Conference the TSSA adopted a multilateral approach to disarmament - a position, at the time of writing, it continues to hold.
From 1957 onwards, the TSSA had a new subject on its agenda - racism. When black Americans, Asians from the Indian sub-continent and over 8,000 West Indians came to Britain during the Second World War to serve in the armed forces they experienced both friendship and racism. When the war concluded, some decided to stay. Many of those that went home became frustrated at the lack of job opportunities and decided to return. bringing their families with them. Others came from the Indian sub-continent after the partition of India in 1947.
With Britain now short of labour, particularly in the service industries, the Conservative Government encouraged immigration. In 1956, London Transport (LT) was experiencing an acute shortage of staff and a recruiting office was established in Barbados, followed by others in Trinidad and Jamaica. They were so successful that when 1,200 immigrants arrived from the West Indies later that year, 300 had already been engaged for employment with LT. Barbados had been carefully chosen as a recruitment area as it was intensely devoted to the "Mother Country" and, in cultural terms, was the closest of the islands to British traditions. The majority of West Indians had grown up in an atmosphere of deep loyalty to Britain, and strongly identified themselves with royalty, Christianity, the Commonwealth, Parliamentary democracy and British justice. They had also been taught that there was no colour-bar, but along with other black and Asian immigrants, a great number were disillusioned by the welcome they received. Many had a variety of skills to offer British employers and occasionally they were successful in their chosen occupations, particularly nurses, who were encouraged to come to Britain by the Minister of Health, Enoch Powell. The majority, despite their qualifications, found only relatively low paid jobs or those that white people considered to be socially undesirable. In some industries immigrants were bitterly resented, with quotas introduced, sometimes on the request of employees, to restrict their number; occasionally strikes or overtime bans took place when black immigrants were engaged. In their social life, both blacks and Asians experienced discrimination, with dance halls having rules that were not applicable to white customers; some hotels refused entry to black guests and in many areas working men's clubs imposed a colour bar. Many immigrants found employment with BR and LT and, in a highly unionised industry, quickly joined their appropriate union. Racism also existed on the railways and the 1957 TSSA Conference expressed regret for incidents that had occurred, affirming its opposition to racial discrimination.5
By 1958 there were approximately 190,000 black and Asian people living in the UK. Housing was a serious problem for the majority of indigenous working-class people, but it was even worse for immigrants who, in seeking accommodation, were faced with placards in windows stating "No Coloured, No Irish, No Dogs". This situation was ruthlessly exploited by both black and white landlords. Many white residents blamed their own genuine social grievances on the new immigrants, and racism was widespread. Even so, when race riots broke out in Nottingham and Notting Hill Gate, London, during August and September 1958, the British people were shocked. The riots had, to a large extent, been inflamed by the media and Fascist groups, and the churches, prominent stage and screen personalities, trade unions and the Labour Party, condemned racism. Some MPs demanded immigration controls, which, in reality, meant restricting immigrants from those countries whose populations were largely black or Asian. The majority of these were Conservative, but a few Labour MPs joined the chorus, one of whom was TSSA member George Rogers in whose constituency some of the most serious rioting had taken place. Rogers, with some very forthright statements, became a controversial figure overnight, and was widely quoted in the press, radio and television. He always claimed that his views were misrepresented but his opinions on immigration did not reflect the policy of the TSSA and racism was, and remains, a serious issue for the trade union movement
Delegates at the 1962 TSSA Annual Conference were unable to debate a motion condemning the Government's racist Commonwealth Immigrants Bill because of lack of time, but it was later approved by the EC. A similar fate befell a motion in 1965 which called on the Labour Government to introduce legislation making racial discrimination illegal. In 1968 the TSSA welcomed the Labour Government's Race Relations Bill and deplored the upsurge of racialism that had been generated by the notorious speech of Enoch Powell. With the passing of the Race Relations Act in 1968 the Race Relations Board was formed, and Nan Patrick was one of its members. She remained on the Board until 1976 when it was superseded by the Commission for Racial Equality.
Considerable progress was made by the BRB and the trade unions to eradicate racism from the railway industry and when an advertisement appeared in the April 1977 edition of Railnews (the BRB's staff newspaper) containing an advertisement for the formation of a National Front Railwaymen's Association, many were outraged and the TSSA raised the matter with the BRB's Chief Industrial Relations Officer.6 The Railwaymen's National Front came into existence and they distributed their propaganda at railway stations, blaming immigrants and the Labour Party for the run down of the railway system and appealing to railway workers to contract out of paying the political levy. Ever alert to the dangers of racism, the TSSA asked its branches to bring to the notice of head office any literature distributed in their locality designed to create racial disharmony within the railway industry.7
Black and Asian men and women were soon elected to represent their colleagues on their appropriate LDCs, Sectional Councils and within the structure of the TSSA. The first black member to be elected to a railway trade union EC was Claude James8 who represented the TSSA's North London Divisional Council from 1982-1990. He was joined by Vernon Inniss9 and Harmeet Lehal in 1984.10
Many immigrants recognised the limitations of union work and decided to engage in political activity. Amarjit Singh11 was the first Asian member of the TSSA to be elected as a Labour councillor when he joined Newham Council in 1978. Two other members of the TSSA joined him on the Council in 1986 - Mohammed Aslam (West London) and Jeffrey Crooks (LT Executive Grades). In 1991 Amarjit Singh was elected as the Mayor of Newham, the first Asian TSSA member to hold such an office and the first in the history of the Borough.
The first black delegates to represent their branch at a TSSA Annual Conference were P. H. Toms12 (Walsall) and A. A. Benjamin (Nightworkers) who took their seats amongst the 586 delegates at the 1960 Margate Conference. This conference also marked a new stage in the union's growing relationship with railway unions abroad. Present for the first time were guests from Africa. These were W. Waithaka, Vice-President of the Kenya African Railway Workers' Union; O. P. Pathak, General Secretary of the Asian Railway Workers' Union and D. H. Mathews of the Tanganyika Railway Workers' Union.
It was also at the 1960 Conference that the evil of South African apartheid was first discussed; this came just after the Sharpeville massacre when 67 black men, women and children were shot dead and 186 wounded by the police. Harold Colley13 and Paul Toms roundly condemned apartheid, the delegates backed the resolution and all members were asked to boycott South African goods. When Nelson Mandela and his seven colleagues were sent to prison following the so-called "treason trial" in 1964, the EC expressed its grave concern and dismay at the severity of the sentences and called upon the South African Government to revoke the judgment or stand condemned in the eyes of world opinion for its racial policies.
14 Letters condemning the racist policies of South Africa were sent to the architect of apartheid - Prime Minister, Dr. Verwoerd, and his High Commissioner in London.
Opposition to apartheid continued to be the official policy of the union and, without exception, the union responded to financial appeals from the TUC, ITF and Labour Party. The 1970 Conference condemned the proposed South African Cricket Tour and its eventual cancellation was seen as an important victory. Information on South Africa was published regularly in the TSSJ but the subject was rarely debated at annual conference and the TSSA was relatively slow in formally aligning itself with the Anti-Apartheid Movement. Some members became active in local groups and in the 1980s branches once again turned their attention to Southern Africa. When the Government invited the South African Prime Minister, P. W. Botha, to Britain in 1984 this was condemned by the TSSA's Annual Conference. Delegates welcomed the decision of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and the churches to demonstrate against the official visit and called on the membership to participate. The TSSA affiliated to the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement the following year but the 1986 Conference turned down, on the advice of the EC, a motion calling on the TSSA to recognise the African National Congress as the legitimate voice of the African people, to support the call for a boycott of South African goods and all sporting links and inter-governmental cultural links, and to affiliate to the Anti-Apartheid Movement.15 In September 1986 the EC reviewed its policy and affiliated to the British based section of the Anti-Apartheid Movement, appointing Harmeet Lehal as its representative on the Trade Union Committee. At the 1989 Conference delegates gave their support to the liberation struggles in South Africa and Namibia, and called on branches and Divisional Councils to affiliate to the Anti-Apartheid Movement, to educate members on the nature of the apartheid system and to support sanctions against South Africa.
For many years the TSSA had told its investment advisers not to acquire shares in companies which had direct holdings in South Africa. The Association then took the decision to dispose of its equity stocks where it was known that the companies had earnings from South Africa in excess of 7 per cent of their total income. These were disposed of in 1986 but members remained concerned that the TSSA still held a large number of shares in companies that maintained South African trading links. Some branches and Divisional Councils continued to press for these to be sold and in 1991, somewhat belatedly, the point was finally conceded. In 1993, within three weeks of South Africa's multi-party forum deciding to hold the first national, nonracial, one person one vote election in the country's history, the fraternal guest to the TSSA's Annual Conference was Nathie Nhleko, General Secretary of the 40,000 strong South African Transport and General Workers' Union.
When the General Election was held on 8th October 1959, Harold Macmillan's electoral strategy was based on consumerism and the slogan You've never had it so good.
This proved to be successful and Macmillan was returned to office. The Tory claim, that many trade unionists had voted Conservative, was no idle boast and the Conservative Party and their allies won 365 seats, the Labour Party 258 and the Liberals 6.
The TSSA had donated £5,000 towards Labour's Election Appeal and sponsored 8 candidates, with 6 others being financially supported by local constituences. Frank Anderson, who had held his seat at Whitehaven since 1935, decided not to stand owing to ill health and, in fact, he died on 25th April 1959.
Five TSSA members were elected and Charles Mapp16 had the distinction of recording the only Labour gain in England. J. A Sparks, a dual member of the TSSA and NUR, lost his seat at Acton; Percy Morris, who had received the Freedom of Swansea in 1958, was defeated at Swansea West by 403 votes. The other losses were H. Moor (Bridlington); W. H. Johnson (South Bedfordshire); F. R. Mason JP (Worthing); F. W. Powe JP (Harrow Central); D. G. Reynolds (Portsmouth Langstone).
| Candidate | Constituency | Labour | Conservative | Others | Majority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R.J. Gunter * | Southwark | 25,036 | 12,696 | 1,395 | 12,340 |
| G. S. Lindgren JP | Wellingborough | 22,358 | 22,964 | - | - |
| H. Hynd JP * | Accrington | 22,242 | 21,642 | - | 600 |
| T. Steele * | Dunbartonshire (W) | 22,105 | 19,964 | - | 2,141 |
| A. Hargreaves | Carlisle | 19,950 | 21,948 | - | - |
| C. Mapp JP * | Oldham (E) | 19,329 | 17,499 | 6,660 | 1,830 |
| T. G. Bradley | Preston (S) | 18,935 | 21,954 | - | - |
| G.H.R. Rogers * | Kensington (N) | 14,925 | 14,048 | 5,539 | 877 |
* Elected
Charles Mapp took over from George Rogers as the main contact with Walkden House. Rogers continued as the London Whip, and in 1957 Henry Hynd, who had been secretary of the Parliamentary Anglo-Belgian group for eleven years, was awarded the "Officer of the Order of the Crown" by the Belgian Government and was made an "Officer of the Oak Crown of Luxembourg" in 1957. He continued to serve on a number of committees as well as being a member of the Speaker's Panel of Chairmen. Thomas Steele was a member of the Select Committee of Nationalised Industries, the Scottish Grand Committee and UK delegate to the Council of Europe. Ray Gunter was appointed as the shadow front-bench spokesman for Power, and in 1961 became spokesman on Labour matters. George Lindgren returned to the railway and worked as a clerk in the Eastern Region Chief Civil Engineer's Office at King's Cross; in 1961 he joined Lord Burden and Lord Mathers in the House of Lords.
[1]. E. Smith. Joined RCA staff 1915, appointed Finance Officer 1946.
[2]. F. Vincent Rowe (Peterborough) Joined RCA 1918. EC 1934-1940. Labour Councillor Fletton UDC.
[3]. Harold Haigh (Smethwick). Joined ASRS 1899, the RCA 1909. EC 1931-1937.
[4]. TSSJ July 1960.
[5]. TSSA Annual Conference Minutes 1957 item 82.
[6]. TSSA EC P&GP Minutes 9th June 1977.
[7]. TSSJ February 1978.
[8]. C. James JP (Euston No.1). EC 1982-1990. Member SE TUC Race Relations Committee since 1983, Chairman since 1985. Member TUC Race Relations Committee since 1991. Treasurer Socialist Fellowship since 1981.
[9]. V. Inniss (Paddington). EC 1984-1990.
[10]. H. Lehal (LT P&T No.1). EC 1984-1990.
[11]. A. Singh (LT P&T No.2). Chairman Constituency Labour Party and London East Euro-Constituency Labour Party. Mayor of Newham 1991.
[12]. Paul Toms (Walsall). Born in Nigeria. Joined RCA 1950. Branch chairman.
[13]. H. Colley (Manchester No.5). EC 1968-1972; Secretary Manchester Political Advisory Council and TSSA Trustee 1975-1984.
[14]. TSSJ July 1964.
[15]. TSSA Annual Conference Minutes 1986 item 151.
[16]. C. Mapp (Manchester No.2). SOC. Secretary and Chairman South Lancashire Divisional Council. MP 1959-1970.
Transport Salaried Staffs' Association Registered Head Office: Walkden House, 10 Melton Street, London, England
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