Records of the Beeston branch of the National Union of Railwaymen, 1904-1984

The collection comprises:

• Minute books, 1904-1961 (MS 591/1).
• Draft minute book, 1920-1924 (MS 591/2).
• Letter book, 1918-1940 (MS 591/3).
• Correspondence relating to accidents, 1941-1966 (MS 591/4).
• File of correspondence concerning the proposed closure of the branch, December 1964-September 1966 (MS 591/5).
• File on the closure of Beeston sidings, 1963-1966 (MS 591/6).
• Other Correspondence, 1947-1984 (MS 591/7).
• Printed items published by the branch, undated (MS 591/8).
• Printed items published by the NUR, 1930-1975 (MS 591/9).
• Printed items published by other bodies, 1967-1973` (MS 591/10).

The collection does not provide a complete record of the branch's business. There are gaps in all series described below, and there are series absent that one might expect to appear in the archive of a trade union. The minute books provide an excellent source of general information about the activities of the branch at the time. The correspondence files reveal as much about the hazards of working on the railways as they do about procedures involved in processing member's grievances.

The National Union of Railwaymen was formed in 1913 by the amalgamation of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, General Railway Workers Union, and the United Pointsmen and Signalmens Union. In 1990, the National Union of Railwaymen joined with the National Union of Seamen to form the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers.

The Beeston branch of the National Union of Railwaymen succeeded the local branch of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants of which the minutes date back to 1904. With the rationalisation of the railway in the 1960s leading to the closure of branch lines and the goods sidings at Beeston, the Beeston branch of the union closed and members transferred to Nottingham Midland branch.

The collection has been divided by document type into twelve series. Within these series, items have been arranged chronologically.

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers.

REPROGRAPHIC: Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

This description is the only finding aid available for the collection. Copyright in the description belongs to The University of Nottingham.

Collections relating to other branches of the union are recorded on the National Register of Archives.

COPYRIGHT: Permission to make published use of any material from this collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but this can be difficult and the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the person wishing to publish.

LANGUAGE: English

The collection was acquired by The University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections in August 1990.

University of Warwick, Modern Records Centre: records of the National Union of Railwaymen nationally, 1913-1994. MSS 127/NU, MSS 380