Records of the Scottish Operative Coachmakers' Union (Aberdeen)

Minutes of the Aberdeen branch of the Scottish Operative Coachmakers' Union, 1891 - 1895, with attendance register, 1892 - 1896, and inaugural meeting of the Aberdeen Coachmakers' Literary Club, 18 December 1896.

An Aberdeen branch of the Scottish Operative Coachmakers' Union was formed on 2 April 1891, and is known to have existed until 1896. In December 1896, its members formed the Aberdeen Coachmakers' Literary Club, whose object was the intellectual and social culture of its members, the promotion of the study of the art of carriage buildings, and of social questions (Minutes of the Aberdeen Coachmakers' Literary Club, 18 Dec 1896, ref. GB 231 MS 2984).

There were two Scottish Operative Coachmakers' unions in existence by 1891, but it is not known to which of these the Aberdeen branch was affiliated. The oldest union was the Scottish Association of Operative Coachmakers, which affiliated to the TUC in 1874 and later merged with the National Union of Vehicle Builders. The second was the Scottish Operative Coachmakers' Association, formed with 52 members, in 1892, but dissolved in 1895 - the date span of the records deposited here suggests that the Aberdeen group was affiliated to this second union.

Further information about the development of the trade union movement and the history of individual trade unions in Aberdeen can be found in William Diack, History of the Trades Council and the Trade Union Movement in Aberdeen (Aberdeen: Aberdeen Trades Council, 1939), and in Kenneth D. Buckley, Trade Unionism in Aberdeen 1870 - 1900 (Edinburgh and London: Oliver and Boyd, 1955). Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan,Historical Directory of Trade Unions, 4 vols (Aldershot: Gower, 1980 - 1984) also contains useful information about the development of individual unions, at both the national and local level. Summarised details from each of these sources has been used in compiling this collection level description.

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Donated to the University in December 1978, by Thomas Hay, of Aberdeen

Descriptive list available in the Reading Room, Special Libraries and Archives, University of Aberdeen.

Very brief collection level description available on Aberdeen University Library Catalogue, accessible online http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/library/

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GB 231 MS 2672: Records of the National Union of Vehicle Builders (Aberdeen Branch), 1891 - 1966

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