Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1920-1983 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
3 boxes; 0.057 cubic metres
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Yorkshire County Committee was established in 1920, as a regional committee of what was then the The National Union of Agricultural Workers (NUAW). The name was later changed to the Yorkshire Area Committee until the NUAAW's merger with TGWU in 1981. The committee, and the NUAW in general, worked closely with the Labour Party, and several prominent individuals with the Yorkshire area, in particular Joan Maynard (1921-1998) and Bert Hazell (1907-2009) who went on to take positions within the national Executive Committee of the NUAAW, later became Labour Party MPs.
The union also worked closed with other unions in the area, including the Northern Regional Council for County Council Roadmen.
The National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers
The NUAW was the first successful national body for farm workers, initially presided over by Joseph Arch. It began as the National Agricultural Labourers' Union in 1872 before changing to the National Union of Agricultural Workers in July 1906. In 1910 they changed their name to the National Agricultural Labourers and Rural Workers Union, again in 1920 to the National Union of Agricultural Workers (NUAW), and again in 1968 to the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers (NUAAW). This name then remained until the union was amalgamated with the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) in 1981. TGWU merged with Amicus in 2007 to form part of the new, Unite the Union.
NUAW membership was largely made up of farm agricultural labourers but also catered for non-farm workers such as those in forestry, market gardening, and gardeners. The union published its own journal, 'The Land Worker', which included reports on the activities of the unions across the country.
Repository
Content and structure area
Scope and content
PLEASE REQUEST THESE ITEMS ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE - HELD IN OFFSITE STORAGE
Comprising administrative records of the Yorkshire County Committee of the National Union of Agricultural Workers, 1920-1965, including those created and compiled by District Organiser Bert Hazell. Also includes records of the North York District Committee, 1961-1983.
Records relate to the work of the union within the region, including: the establishment of wages and salary rates; equal pay discussions; working conditions; holiday rights; the employment of women in agriculture, especially during the Second World War, and the employment of Land Girls; and the employment rights of people with disabilities.
Many of the individuals involved in the running of the union were also active members of the Labour Party, and considerable crossover can be found in the content of the minutes, especially with respect to national movements and labour disputes.
Some of the administrative papers and correspondence relate to work with other unions and like-minded organisations in the areas, as well as to the relationship between the County Committee and the districts within the committee, and the central administrative of the union.
Accruals
System of arrangement
Since the early parts of the collection were deposited with the archive service in 1965, the collection has been through at least three processes of arrangement and description. These processes have made it difficult to understand the original order and provenance of the files. As a far as possible, arrangement has been made along the lines of the earliest arrangement to ensure that as much of the original context as possible has been preserved. This has meant that to some extent there is overlap between series in terms of content. These overlaps have been highlighted in the related material field in the relevant catalogue entries.
The collection has been arranged into the following series:
Records of the Yorkshire County Committee central administration: includes records which appear to have been created and kept centrally, and may have come from the County Committee Secretary
Records of Bert Hazell, District Organiser: includes committee and sub-committee minutes and papers, and correspondence and reports, which were created and compiled by Bert Hazell in his capacity as District Organiser
Records of the North York District Committee: minute book of the committee, which formed part of the Yorkshire County Committee, and later the Yorkshire Area Committee.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Partially restricted access (Data Protection Act). See individual catalogue entries for details of restrictions.
Material is available subject to the usual terms and conditions of access to Archives and Local History collections.
Conditions governing reproduction
Images are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
The papers of Jack Brocklebank, a District Organiser within the North Riding of Yorkshire, are held at the Hull History Centre with the reference U DBK. This collections includes papers relating to the work of the Yorkshire County Committee, to various districts and subcommittees within the area, and to the Executive Committee of the central National Union of Agricultural Workers/National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers.
Three volumes of income and benefits account books for the Yorkshire area of the NUAW, created by Bert Hazell, are held at the Hull History Centre, with the reference U DX246.
The archive of the headquarters of the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers is held at the Museum of English Rural Life, with the references SR NUAW, SR 2NUAW, SR 3NUAW, SR 5NUAW, and SR 6NUAW. This includes the records of the predecessor and successor bodies to the National Union of Agricultural Workers.
Some further records of the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers are held at the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick with the reference AAW (MSS.435, 1086, and 964). This includes copies of the journal of the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers, 'The Land Worker', later 'The Land worker', or 'Landworker', 1919-1981. Editions between 1919 and 1950 have been digitised and can be accessed for free through the website of the Modern Records Centre.
The archive of the Transport and General Workers Union, the successor body to the NUAWW, is held at the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick, with the reference TGW.
Further records relating to the history of trade unions and the labour movement are held at the Labour History Archive and Study Centre, based at the People's History Museum in Manchester.
Other relevant collections held at Explore York Archives include the Records of the York and District Trade Unions Council (reference YDT) and the records of the York Labour Party (reference LAB).