General Railway Workers' Union
About the union:
The General Railway Workers' Union was founded in 1890 and amalgamated with the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the United Pointsmen's and Signalmen's Society in 1913 to form the National Union of Railwaymen.
The membership of the General Railway Workers' Union appears to have been concentrated in the railway workshops and amongst railwaymen engaged in handling goods traffic.
Records relevant to genealogical research:
National Union of Railwaymen Membership registers, 1913
The first membership registers of the National Union of Railwaymen list members of the General Railway Workers' Union who joined the NUR at the time of amalgamation in 1913. Former GRWU members are listed in two of the 97 registers [ref. MSS.127/NU/OR/2/31 and MSS.127/NU/OR/2/32].
These contain: name, age, date of joining, occupation, railway company, branch, and sometimes (but not necessarily) dates of branch transfers, exclusion, retirement and/or death. Information about family members, address or place of birth is not given.
This register has been digitised by Findmypast and can be searched through their website (charges apply to view images and transcriptions of the volume).
Balance sheets of branches and financial statements, 1901-1912 [MSS.127/GR/4/4/1-3]
The financial statements of the union include information about the payment of certain benefits to members from 1901 onwards. The lists of recipients of compensation, accident, and donation and suspension benefits have been indexed: