"Confederation of Health Service Employees banner, 1978" [NMLH.2005.47]

Catalogue Number
NMLH.2005.47

Object Name
Banner

Title
COHSE Confederation Of Health Service Employees. All For One And One For All

People
workers: ambulance staff, nurses, chefs, office staff; hospital patients, COHSE, Unison

Date
1978

Description
National COHSE banner. Perhaps large x-ray machine at centre one side; nurses at bedside on other side of banner.


National Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) banner, 1978. COHSE traces its origins back to the foundation in Lancashire in 1910 of the National Asylum Workers' Union. It became known as COHSE in 1946 with the amalgamation of the Hospitals and Welfare Services Union and the Mental Hospital and Institutional Workers Union. Since the foundation of the National Health Service it has campaigned on pay and conditions of nurses, student nurses and ambulance workers. In 1993 it was one of the unions that merged to form UNISON, the largest public sector trade union in Britain.


The banner was made by Kenning and Spencer and cost the union £2065 (approximately £20,000 today).

Materials: Twill-woven synthetic fabric with hand painted images in acrylic media.