The London Society of Compositors was a British trade union, representing print workers in London.
History The union was founded as the London Union of Compositors in 1834 by the merger of the London Trade Society of Compositors and the London General Trade Society of Compositors. The following year, it was joined by the News Society of Compositors. In 1845, the union was officially dissolved, its members designating it the South Eastern District of the National Typographical Association. The national organisation collapsed, and the London group re-established itself as the "London Society of Compositors".
The union had a membership of over 10,000 by 1910, and attempted to expand outside London, but the Trades Union Congress instituted arbitration which limited it to a fifteen-mile radius of central London, the Typographical Association having rights to organise in the remainder of England.
In 1955, the Society merged with the Printing Machine Managers' Trade Society and was renamed the London Typographical Society. In 1964, it merged with the Typographical Association to form 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 Deptford 6,236 52.2 1 1910 Jan general election Deptford 6,880 52.0 1 1910 Dec general election Deptford 6,357 51.4 1 1918 general election Deptford 14,073 54.4 1 Southwark South East 2,718 27.4 2 1921 by-election Southwark South East 6,561 57.0 1 1922 general election Deptford 18,512 52.6 1 Southwark South East 7,734 43.6 2 1923 general election Deptford 21,576 63.0 1 Southwark South East 9,374 54.3 1 1924 general election Deptford 21,903 54.5 1 Southwark South East 11,635 54.3 1 1929 general election Deptford 26,848 55.2 1 Southwark South East 13,527 60.4 1 1931 general election Deptford 22,244 45.6 2 Southwark South East 9,678 46.7 2 1935 general election Islington South 12,526 52.4 1 Southwark South East 11,942 63.2 1 1945 general election Islington South 12,893 72.5 1 Southwark South East 9,599 76.9 1
General Secretaries 1848: Edward Edwards 1850: John Boyett 1854: William Cox 1857: William Beckett 1863: Henry Self 1881: C. J. Drummond 1892: C. W. Bowerman 1906: Thomas Naylor 1938: Alfred M. Wall 1945: Robert Willis 1955: Robert Willis and Percy Astins 1956: Robert Willis
References
Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions
External links Catalogue of the LSC archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Catalogue of the PMMTS archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Catalogue of the LTS archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick