Typographical Association

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

Typographical Association

Founded	1848
Predecessor	National Typographical Association
Date dissolved	1964
Merged into	National Graphical Association
Members	38,277 (1939)[1]
Journal	Typographical Circular
Affiliation	TUC, ITUC, P&KTF, IGF, Labour
Office location	Beechwood, Oak Drive, Fallowfield, Manchester
Country	United Kingdom and Ireland

History

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.

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.

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

Election results

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

General Secretaries

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

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

• 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. "List of Endorsed Labour Candidates and Election Results, November 14, 1935". Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 8–23. 1935.
6. Labour Party, Report of the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp.232-248
7. "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

External links

• Catalogue of the TA archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick