Typographical Association
# Typographical Association

The Typographical Association (TA) was a trade union representing typographers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

## History

The National Typographical Association collapsed in 1848, and delegates from across Yorkshire and Lancashire met at Angel Street in Sheffield to found the Provincial Typographical Association, intended to recreate the former Northern Typographical Union and to focus on paying benefits to members on strike. The union grew gradually from 481 members at the end of 1849 to 5,300 in 1877. In that year, it merged with a related relief association and dropped "Provincial" from its title.

Based in Manchester, the union focussed on demanding members serve a seven-year apprenticeship. In 1894, it began admitting women. In the 1910s, the Association established a branch in London, but the Trades Union Congress instituted arbitration which restricted it from a fifteen-mile radius of central London, the rival London Society of Compositors having rights to organise in the city.

By 1946, membership had reached 13,958. In 1964, the Association merged with the London Typographical Society to create the National Graphical Association.

## Election results

The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in several Parliamentary elections, many of whom won election.

| Election | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Position |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1906 general election | Norwich | George Henry Roberts | 11,059 | 37.5 | 1 |
| 1910 Jan general election | Norwich | George Henry Roberts | 11,159 | 28.7 | 2 |
| 1910 Dec general election | Norwich | George Henry Roberts | 10,003 | 35.8 | 2 |
| 1917 by-election | Norwich | George Henry Roberts | unopposed | N/A | 1 |
| 1918 general election | West Bromwich | Frederick Roberts | 11,572 | 54.0 | 1 |
| 1922 general election | Buckingham | Owen Connellan | 7,343 | 26.3 | 2 |
| 1922 general election | West Bromwich | Frederick Roberts | 14,210 | 50.6 | 1 |
| 1923 general election | West Bromwich | Frederick Roberts | 12,910 | 44.8 | 1 |
| 1924 general election | West Bromwich | Frederick Roberts | 15,384 | 51.6 | 1 |
| 1929 general election | West Bromwich | Frederick Roberts | 19,621 | 52.1 | 1 |
| 1931 general election | West Bromwich | Frederick Roberts | 17,204 | 44.4 | 2 |
| 1935 general election | Blackburn | George Henry Walker | 34,423 | 23.8 | 4 |
| 1935 general election | West Bromwich | Frederick Roberts | 19,113 | 51.3 | 1 |
| 1945 general election | Bristol South | William Wilkins | 24,929 | 58.8 | 1 |
| 1945 general election | Rossendale | George Henry Walker | 15,741 | 43.6 | 1 |
| 1950 general election | Bristol South | William Wilkins | 23,456 | 59.9 | 1 |
| 1950 general election | Woodford | Seymour Hills | 18,740 | 30.0 | 2 |
| 1951 general election | Bristol South | William Wilkins | 24,444 | 63.3 | 1 |
| 1955 general election | Bristol South | William Wilkins | 24,954 | 64.1 | 1 |
| 1959 general election | Bristol South | William Wilkins | 27,010 | 60.8 | 1 |

In both the 1910 elections, Roberts was elected by taking second place in a two-seat constituency.

## Leadership

### General Secretaries

    1849: Josephus Speak
    1865: Henry Roberts
    1869: Henry Slatter
    1897: Richard Hackett
    1900: A. W. Jones
    1900: Herbert Skinner
    1934: John Fletcher
    1942: Harry Riding
    1955: F. C. Blackburn
    1957: John Bonfield

### General Presidents

    1852: William Dronfield
    1855:
    1886: Owen Connellan
    1888: Daniel Bird
    1889:
    1891: Richard Hackett
    1892:
    1893: Richard Hackett
    1897:
    1899: O. Waddington
    1902: H. Matthewman
    1908: John H. Boothman
    1913: Jimmy French
    1934: Hugh Inglis
    1949: F. C. Blackburn
    1955: John Bonfield
    1957: Fred Simmons
