Amalgamated Society of Woodcutting Machinists

Rules, annual reports 1892-1912; conference proceedings 1971; agreements.

The Birmingham and District Mill Sawyers' and Planing Machine Workers' Trade Society was established in 1866 by a group of machine sawyers based in Birmingham. Trade Societies were formed in London and Manchester at about the same time and were gradually merged into the Birmingham union.

In 1877 it became the Amalgamated Society of Wood-Cutting Machinists. From 1900 it absorbed into its ranks the London Mill Sawyers and Wood Cutting Machinists Society, the Yorkshire United Steam Sawyers and Wood Cutting Machinists Society and the Scottish Woodcutting Machinemen's Society. In 1896 it was renamed the Amalgamated Society of Mill Sawyers and Wood-Cutting Machinists and Wood Turners, and in 1906 it became the Amalgamated Society of Wood-Cutting Machinists. At an unknown date between 1917 and 1923 it stopped using the hyphenated form of "Wood-Cutting" and adopted "Woodcutting" in its title. In 1971 it amalgamated with the National Union of Furniture Trade Operatives to form the Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union.

Reference: Annual reports; Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, 'Historical directory of trade unions' (Volume 3. Aldershot: Gower, 1987).

This collection is available to researchers by appointment at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick. See https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/using/

These papers were transferred from the University Library (Old ref: 41T) and from the People's History Museum.

Link to full catalogue: https://mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk/records/WCM

There are no restrictions on the use of this archive, apart from the requirements of copyright law.

This collection has been weeded for duplicates.

Further deposits are not expected.

Related papers of the Union and its predecessors are held at Lancashire Records Office and the Working Class Movement Library.

The Modern Records Centre hold papers relating to the woodcutting industry including papers of the Furniture Timber and Allied Trades Union (MSS.192/FT).