Update to Railway Work, Life and Death project

From Mike Esbester, news of an update on British and Irish railway staff trade union records:

Was your railway ancestor a trade unionist?

As the railway industry was one of Britain and Ireland's biggest employers for much of the 19th and 20th centuries, many of us have railway ancestors. From the 1870s railway workers started to join trades unions, to secure better working conditions. This has produced records which help us with our family history research - if we can get hold of them!

As part of its work on accidents to British and Irish railway staff before 1939, the 'Railway Work, Life & Death' project has just released a major new update to its free database. Around 25,000 records, focusing on trade unionists, have been made public and they want us to make use of them!

The records cover 1889-1920, and deal with accidents, ill-health and old age. They document the support provided to its members by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants/ National Union of Railwaymen. They give us details about financial support offered when staff became too old or too ill to work, or if they had an accident. The orphan fund, for example, provided a weekly payment to look after children under 14; compensation funds also gave members and their families vital financial stability after an accident.

All together the database now has nearly 50,000 cases between 1889 and 1939, all transcribed by the project’s excellent volunteers.

The project is a joint initiative of the University of Portsmouth, the National Railway Museum and the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick, working with The National Archives. It wants to see the information it’s making available being used by you, in your research - it's all available free, from the project website. They're also keen to hear from you if you find someone you're researching, so please let them know.

www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk

Twitter: @RWLDproject

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Railway-Work-Life-Death-108745674380484

(With thanks to Mike)

Chris

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