Catalogue Number
NMLH.1993.650
Object Name
Banner
Title
'National Union of Railwaymen. Rickmasworth Branch. The liberation of the working class is the act of the workers themselves.'
Place
Rickmansworth, London, UK
People
National Union of Railwaymen (NUR), Tutill
Date
circa 1920
Description
Front:
A red and green square banner, decorated with vine motifs. The central image is two men on an idyllic rural background - 'Political Action' in an office worker's suit, putting a ballot paper into a ballot box, and 'Industrial Action' in an open necked shirt and flat cap stood with his arms folded. Both are shackled at the ankle by a ball and chain labelled 'Capitalism'.
Before 1914, the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) was influenced by Syndicalists who advocated workers' control of industry, after the war the ballot box became more important. The front image shows that both tactics are necessary to liberate the working classes.
Reverse:
The reverse shows a widow and two grieving children and is captioned 'Help the widows and orphans. Unity is strength.'
This image, drawn from a standard design in Tutill's catalogue, which was a popular banner maker at the time, is to illustrate how crucial a union's benefit funds were to the dependents of a dead worker.
The National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) was formed in 1913 and, along with all unions, expanded enormously during World War I. The war led to the employment of women in a range of occupations that had previously been closed to them, including work on the railways. In 1915, this led to the NUR altering the union's rules to allow women to become members for the first time.
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