United Operative Plumbers' and Domestic Engineers' Association

Rule Book, 1919

The beginnings of the United Operative Plumbers' and Domestic Engineers' Association lay in the Manchester Plumbers' Society and the Liverpool Plumbers' Society. At a conference in 1865 they combined to form a new national plumbers' Union. Within the first year the Union had 31 Lodges and 1,500 members. In 1870 and 1872 the Manchester and Glasgow branches seceded from the Union as did Dundee and Edinburgh in 1891. By 1900 however the Union totalled 10,000 members in 184 Lodges and in 1911 the name was changed to the United Operative Plumbers' and Domestic Engineers' Association of Great Britain and Ireland. Although the term Domestic Engineers was incorporated into the Union's title, the associated trades seem somewhat to have been ignored by the Union's leadership until 1922 when the Union's funds sank so low that they agreed to open membership to anyone who earned their livelihood in the plumbing trade or any branch of it. The Union became the Plumbing, Glaziers' and Domestic Engineering Union in 1931 and the Plumbing Trades Union in 1946. Merger with the Electrical Trades Union led to the formation of the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunication and Plumbing Union in 1968.

Reference: Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of Trade Unions Volume 3 (Gower; 1984).

This collection is available to researchers by appointment at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick. See https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/using/

These papers form part of a large collection www.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/ead/259col.htm" linktype="simple">(MSS.259)that has been deposited in the Modern Records Centre over a number of years. Most of the Records came from the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers (Engineering Section). The first deposits were made in 1984 with further deposits have been made up to 1997.

Link to full catalogue: https://mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk/records/UOP

There are no restrictions on the use of this archive, apart from the requirements of copyright law.

This collection has been weeded for duplicates.

Further deposits are not expected.