John R. Raynes

“ The Executive therefore objected, and immediately got into touch with the Railway Executive. On May 4th of 1917 the Railway Executive Committee replied that:—
"You may rest assured that no men who are not employed in the Locomotive Department will be put on as enginemen or firemen on railway engines, and the contention that any such departure in locomotive work would be taken as a direct violation of the railway truce is not therefore understood." ”

“ A study of railway history has convinced me that the N.U.R. is on right lines except for the three grades mentioned, and those three it must surrender if it professes the interests of railwaymen and hopes for industrial control.
By 1917 there were 32 unions in the Railway Shops Organisation Committee, which had been formed in 1915, but a number of these unions are now in the A.E.U. It was at this period that Mr. Thomas saw fit to enter an action for libel against Mr. Bromley, and another against Mr. Moore, and to bring great unions into legal warfare in a period of war complexity. ”

“ Yet drivers and firemen went hungry under rationing, and never were provided for in the way they ought to have been, although the Society got certain increases made for them. Another phase of life in war-time which affected the entire community, and locomotivemen in particular, was military service. By November of 1915 we were getting to the last phase of voluntary recruiting, under which every man was expected to wear his khaki armlet, and there were house-to-house visits to rake men out. ”

“ John Bromley for the Executive of the Labour Party, a post to which he was elected by the Scarborough Conference in 1920. It also decided to table the following resolutions, which are significant of the new spirit of trade unionism:—
1.—To press for the Nationalisation of Railways, and to obtain by legislation complete control of the railways for the people, as having regard to the admitted success of public control of railways, this Conference again expresses the belief that railway nationalisation would be most advantageous to the community. ”

“ That in future meetings of the Federation of Railway Craft Unions our representatives take every opportunity of upholding our claim, in conjunction with the claims of recognised craft unions, to have the absolute right to enrol as members the whole of the locomotivemen employed on the railways of the United Kingdom, and further, until the N.U.R. recognise our claim we make every effort possible to educate the representatives of the craft unions on our past efforts on behalf of those who are represented by our organisation from the period of its establishment. ”

“ To facilitate the release of Class "A" men, those of military Classes "B" and "C." or other employees unfitted for military service, may be transferred from one station to another, to act as substitutes for Class "A" men.
This would have enabled the companies to release many Class "A" men from the engines, and to substitute for them Classes "B" and "C" men from any other grade. ”

“ Bromley a holiday from April 23rd to May 14th, as he was seriously run down by the strain of it all.
The Executive had scarcely got away from that long sitting in April of 1917, when they had to be recalled on the question of enlistment of railwaymen, and the scheme of substitution put forward by the Army Council and agreed to by the Railway Executive, who explained that the Army Council had demanded the release of 20 per cent. of the men under 41 years of age employed by the Railway Companies. ”

“ The Society was next appealed to for assistance in the release of drivers for military service, and the Committee resolved that the difficulty might be overcome by returning to the R.O.D. those locomotivemen engaged on other military duties, and by the institution of a volunteer civilian railway service in France, which would receive the support of the locomotivemen of the United Kingdom. ”

“ This scarcity of food and strict rationing caused great difficulty to locomotivemen. The inferior dark bread had no keeping qualities, and to buy food in strange towns was an awkward matter. Rationing, therefore, had to receive the special consideration of the Society, as real hardships were imposed upon the members. Stamina was reduced at a period of unexampled strain upon the railways. England was the storehouse of money and munitions for the Allies, and the railways ”

“ Under compulsory military service we had medical panels rapidly passing men, and local tribunals hearing many thousands of appeals against service. Conscientious Objectors were interned, and throughout 1916 and 1917 Military Service Acts tightened their grip until every man below 45 years of age was in contact with the barracks, and carried a wallet full of cards and forms. ”

“ There were starred and unstarred men in industry, and late in 1915 we had the introduction of Conscription. Lord Derby's group system had closed on December 12th, and on January 5th of 1916 the Government introduced the Bill imposing compulsory service on single men, the Labour Party remaining in the Coalition by the decision of the Bristol Conference on January 28th, the day after Conscription had passed all its stages and come into operation. The great roll up of the youth of the nation had begun, and on May 2nd compulsion for all men of military age was introduced by Mr. ”

“ Some very unfair methods were adopted by the companies for releasing men for the Army, and the Society had to intervene continuously to preserve fair play in that respect. Methods of compulsion had been adopted to get men into the Railway Operating Division, and several managers had to be interviewed to get the process reversed. ”