It was not long after the Association had published its first website that Malcolm Wallace asked me whether it would be possible to publish Single or Return on the web. I must admit that, at the time, the task of publishing an entire book seemed rather daunting, however we did include a brief section on the website listing the book's contents.
It soon became apparent that visitors were reaching our website via search results for historical terms in the contents listings, and obvious that some of these visitors were leaving immediately as there was nothing behind the bare contents listings.
In addition, there were few copies of Single or Return still in print, and little space to store these following the refurbishment of Walkden House; at the same time we did not have the same web space constraints as before.
So, Single or Return came to be published on the web. Some unions have published PDF or proprietary-format versions of their histories, but we believe this is the first openly available HTML version of an official trade union history in the UK.
It says a lot for the quality of the printed edition of Single or Return that it has been necessary to make very few typographical corrections. Some errors may, however, inadvertently have been introduced in the process of conversion to HTML (and will be corrected once drawn to our attention).
It says more for the quality of the writing that there are even fewer errors of substance, fact or historical analysis. Consequently, the temptation to make revisions to the text has hardly arisen, and has been resisted on those rare occasions where it has been contemplated.
The opportunity has, however, been taken to update the tables listing the Association's principal officials and representatives to include changes since 1996, so as to preserve a link between our history and the more recent and current material on the rest of the website.
Finally, I hope that the fact that I have overcome my initial reticence means that, by publishing the complete book on the web, Single or Return may reach the much wider audience it deserves.
Dave Hillam
July 2003
Transport Salaried Staffs' Association Registered Head Office: Walkden House, 10 Melton Street, London, England © 1996-2008 TSSA. All rights reserved.