The Eastern Counties Agricultural Labourers' and Smallholders' Union was formed in 1906. In 1912 it decided to expand its membership and renamed itself the National Agricultural Labourers' and Rural Workers' Union. This became the National Union of Agricultural Workers in 1920 and the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers in 1968 and amalgamated with the Transport and General Workers' Union in 1982.

'The Labourer' was the journal of the National Agricultural Labourers' and Rural Workers' Union and was published quarterly between Feb 1915-Jan 1918, with the intention to "speak to the rural worker in his own homely way". It includes reports on the union at local and national level, poems, photographs, cartoons, correspondence, and articles on a range of subjects including the First World War, women workers, child labour, housing, the Burston School Strike, wages, workmen's compensation and food prices. The journal was succeeded by 'The Land Worker' in 1919.

All editions of 'The Labourer' are available through the Modern Records Centre's catalogue (free):

Vol.1, nos.1-13, Feb 1915-Jan 1918Link opens in a new window

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