The Typographical Association (TA) was a trade union representing typographers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Typographical Association
PredecessorNational Typographical Association
Merged intoNational Graphical Association
Founded1848
Dissolved1964
HeadquartersBeechwood, Oak Drive, Fallowfield, Manchester
Location
  • United Kingdom and Ireland
Members
38,277 (1939)[1]
PublicationTypographical Circular
AffiliationsTUC, ITUC, P&KTF, IGF, Labour

History

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The National Typographical Association collapsed in 1848, and delegates from across Yorkshire and Lancashire met at Angel Street in Sheffield to found the Provincial Typographical Association, intended to recreate the former Northern Typographical Union and to focus on paying benefits to members on strike. The union grew gradually from 481 members at the end of 1849 to 5,300 in 1877. In that year, it merged with a related relief association and dropped "Provincial" from its title.[citation needed]

Based in Manchester, the union focussed on demanding members serve a seven-year apprenticeship. In 1894, it began admitting women. In the 1910s, the Association established a branch in London, but the Trades Union Congress instituted arbitration which restricted it from a fifteen-mile radius of central London, the rival London Society of Compositors having rights to organise in the city.[citation needed]

By 1946, membership had reached 13,958.[2] In 1964, the Association merged with the London Typographical Society to create the National Graphical Association.[citation needed]

Election results

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The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in several Parliamentary elections, many of whom won election.

Election Constituency Candidate Votes Percentage Position
1906 general election Norwich George Henry Roberts 11,059 37.5 1
1910 Jan general election Norwich George Henry Roberts 11,159 28.7 2
1910 Dec general election Norwich George Henry Roberts 10,003 35.8 2
1917 by-election Norwich George Henry Roberts unopposed N/A 1
1918 general election West Bromwich Frederick Roberts 11,572 54.0 1
1922 general election Buckingham Owen Connellan 7,343 26.3 2
West Bromwich Frederick Roberts 14,210 50.6 1
1923 general election West Bromwich Frederick Roberts 12,910 44.8 1
1924 general election West Bromwich Frederick Roberts 15,384 51.6 1
1929 general election West Bromwich Frederick Roberts 19,621 52.1 1[3]
1931 general election West Bromwich Frederick Roberts 17,204 44.4 2[4]
1935 general election Blackburn George Henry Walker 34,423 23.8 4[5]
West Bromwich Frederick Roberts 19,113 51.3 1[5]
1945 general election Bristol South William Wilkins 24,929 58.8 1[6]
Rossendale George Henry Walker 15,741 43.6 1[6]
1950 general election Bristol South William Wilkins 23,456 59.9 1[7]
Woodford Seymour Hills 18,740 30.0 2[7]
1951 general election Bristol South William Wilkins 24,444 63.3 1[8]
1955 general election Bristol South William Wilkins 24,954 64.1 1[9]
1959 general election Bristol South William Wilkins 27,010 60.8 1[10]

In both the 1910 elections, Roberts was elected by taking second place in a two-seat constituency.

Leadership

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General Secretaries

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1849: Josephus Speak
1865: Henry Roberts
1869: Henry Slatter
1897: Richard Hackett
1900: A. W. Jones
1900: Herbert Skinner
1934: John Fletcher
1942: Harry Riding
1955: F. C. Blackburn
1957: John Bonfield

General Presidents

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1852: William Dronfield
1855:
1886: Owen Connellan
1888: Daniel Bird
1889:
1891: Richard Hackett
1892:
1893: Richard Hackett
1897:
1899: O. Waddington
1902: H. Matthewman
1908: John H. Boothman
1913: Jimmy French
1934: Hugh Inglis
1949: F. C. Blackburn
1955: John Bonfield
1957: Fred Simmons

References

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  • Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions
  • Albert Edward Musson, The Typographical Association: Origins and History Up to 1949
Specific
  1. ^ Musson, A. E. (1954). The Typographical Association. London: Oxford University Press. p. 351.
  2. ^ Labour Party, Report of the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, p.78
  3. ^ "List of Labour Candidates and Election Results, May 30th, 1929". Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 24–44. 1929.
  4. ^ "List of Endorsed Labour Candidates and Election Results, October 27, 1931". Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 11–27. 1931.
  5. ^ a b "List of Endorsed Labour Candidates and Election Results, November 14, 1935". Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 8–23. 1935.
  6. ^ a b Labour Party, Report of the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp.232-248
  7. ^ a b "List of Parliamentary Labour candidates and election results, February 23rd, 1950". Report of the Forty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 179–198. 1950.
  8. ^ "List of Parliamentary Labour candidates and election results, 25th October, 1951". Report of the Fiftieth Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 184–203. 1951.
  9. ^ Labour Party, Report of the Fifty-Fourth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp.255-275
  10. ^ Labour Party, Report of the Fifty-Eighth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp.179-201
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