"banner, National Union of Railwaymen, Hither Green Branch" [NBS I/D 337]

Catalogue Number
NBS I/D 337

Object Name
banner

Title
NATIONAL UNION OF RAILWAYMEN HITHER GREEN BRANCH No. 537

Place
Hither Green & London & England & UK

Date
c.1917

Creator(s)
NBS National Museum of Labour HistoryNBS National Museum of Labour HistoryGeorge Kenning & Son (Manufacturer)

Description
This banner dates from about 1913, when the the NUR was formed by the joining together of three unions; the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, the United Pointsmen's and Signalmen's Society and the General Railway Workers' Union. Owing to the high number of accidental deaths and injuries among railway workers, many NUR banners portray the care and provision offered to wives and children left without income and home.

The banner was made by George Kenning & Son. It measures over 2.6 metres in height by 3 metres in width and is a fine example of commercial banner making.

Materials: made from a single layer of silk fabric with different oil-based hand-painted images occupying the same area on each side. The railway station illustrated on one side of the banner is not the real Hithergreen Station, thought to be Paddington.

The early 20thc heyday of the NUR was between 1917 and 1921. Nationalisation of the railways during the First World War and involvement of trade unions in growing state involvment caused huge increases in union membership, especially with unskilled and semi-skilled groups of workers. Additionally women were allowed to join the NUR from 1915 as many were recruited to replace men joining the forces. In the NUR branch numbers swelled and many new branches were created. This bannner shows a London mainline station during the First World War and typifies the large number of NUR branch banners commissioned during these good times. It depicts soldiers in uniform coming home on leave and returning to the Western Front with some in Highland dress, along with Military Police (redcaps) checking passes for latestayer and deserters. It is illustrative of the way that the trade union overwhelming supported the Britsih war effort in the First World War, and was used in the PHM exhibition, 'Land Fit for Heroes' in 2014-15.

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