Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries

The Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries (AWCS) was a British trade union from 1912 to 1941.

History

The union formed in 1903 as the Association of Shorthand Writers and Typists and changed its name in 1912 to AWCS.[1] It grew, partly because of World War I, from fewer than 900 members in 1916 to around 8000 in 1920. It became a member of the Trades Union Congress in 1919.[2]

Anne Godwin joined the union in 1920 and became its main organizer in 1928.[3]

In 1941 AWCS merged with the National Union of Clerks and Administrative Workers to form the Clerical and Administrative Workers Union.[1][4]

General Secretaries
1911: Florence
1916: Mabel Basnett
1918: Dorothy Evans
1931: Anne Godwin

Archives

Records of the AWCS are kept in the London Metropolitan University's Trades Union Congress Library Collections.[1]

References
  1. Archives Hub
  2. Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries at Working Class Movement Library
  3. Dame Anne Godwin: trade union leader at Working Class Movement Library
  4. Clerks union timeline

Further research
  • Arthur Marsh; Victoria Ryan. 1997. The Clerks: a history of APEX, 1890-1989. Malthouse P.
  • Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol 1, pg. 46
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