Records of the National Association of Co-operative Officials

The collection comprises mainly of minutes, financial and membership records and correspondence relating to the amalgamation of co-operative societies. There are also annual reports, leases and a small number of chains of office.

The creation of the National Association of Co-operative Officials (NACO) on 1 Jan 1971 was the result of the merger of three associations created in the early part of the 20th century. The Co-operative Secretaries Association (CSA) was formed in March 1908 and registered as a co-operative in autumn 1909. The CSA was formed as a professional association to provide support and guidance to those who worked as secretaries within co-operative societies.

The National Co-operative Managers' Association (NCMA) was created after an idea was proposed at a meeting of the Central Education Committee on 21 Jan 1911 about the formation of a national managers' association. The first meeting of the NCMA was held in Manchester 14 August 1912 and the association was registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act on 21st December 1912. The NCMA provided professional support to those working as managers within co-operative societies.

At the suggestion of the NCMA a joint meeting was held at Manchester in November 1916 where it was decided to formulate rules for a National Union of Co-operative Officials (NUCO), which would provide support to professionals and managers working within co-operatives. Several meetings were held and the draft rules were agreed on 26 May 1917 when the organisation was registered as a trade union.

All three organisations worked closely together and between 1919 and 1968 they produced a joint journal, 'The Co-operative Official'. After 1968 'The Co-operative Official' appeared as a supplement within the 'Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal'.

In light of economies of scale and the traditional culture of co-operative mergers, the CSA, NCMA and NUCO all voted unanimously to merge at their individual Annual General Meetings held in June 1969. On 25 May 1970 NCMA and CSA both decided to go into voluntary liquidation, as each group had a different legal standing, a transfer of engagements could not take place so NCMA and CSA were wound up. The National Association of Co-operative Officials (NACO) was officially formed on 1 Jan 1971. NACO is still in operation today as a trade union for staff in the co-operative sector and has 2,500 members.

Arrangement is by provenance

The collection is open to any accredited reader, subject to the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018.

Some files in this collection are subject to Data Protection legislation as they contain sensitive information and material under 30 years old is closed to access. It is advised that you contact the Archivist before visiting.

A box list of most of the collection is available

Description compiled by Sophie Cawthorne, University of Liverpool MARM Placement, National Co-operative Archive, Jan 2009.

Covered by copyright laws, a copyright declaration therefore needs to be completed.

The collection was given to the National Co-operative Archive by NACO in June 2005.

Further accruals expected

There were two histories produced to commemorate the Jubilees of the CSA and the NCMA:

• Brown, W. Henry, The Co-operative Manager: Being the Silver Jubilee History, 1912-1937, of the National Co-operative Managers' Association (York: National Co-operative Managers' Association Ltd, 1937)
• Southern, R., Golden Jubilee of the Co-operative Secretaries' Association Ltd (Newcastle: Co-operative Secretaries' Association, 1959)

Between 1919 and 1967 'The Co-operative Official' was produced as the joint journal of the CSA, NCMA and NUCO. The following journals are held:

• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 1 1919
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 2 1920
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 3 1921
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 4 1922
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 5 1923
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 6 1924
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 7 1925
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 8 1926
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 9 1927
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 10 1928
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 11 1929
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 12 1930
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 13 1931
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 14 1932
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 15 1933
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 16 1934
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 17 1935
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 18 1936
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 19 1937
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 20 1938
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 21 1939
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 22 1940
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 23 1941
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 24 1942
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 25 1943
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 26 1944
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 27 1946
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 30 1949
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 31 1950
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 32 1951
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 33 1952
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 34 1953
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 35 1954
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 37 1956
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 38 1957
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 39 1958
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 40 1959
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 41 1960
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 42 1961
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 43 1962
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 44 1963
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 45 1964
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 46 1965
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 47 1966
• The Co-operative Official Journal vol 48/49 Jan 1967- Mar 1968

From 1968 the Co-operative Official became a supplement within the new publication the 'Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal'. The following Journals are held:

• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1968
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1969
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1970
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1971
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1972
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1973
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1974
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1975
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1976
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1977
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1978
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1979
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1980
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1981
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1982
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1983
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1984
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1985
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1986
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1987
• Co-operative Marketing and Management Journal 1988