New Ed Hall Union Banner To Be Unveiled Saturday 26th March TUC Demo

South West London Mental Health Branch
UNISON Banner

Members and officers of South West London & St Georges Mental Health Trust branch of the health care Union - UNISON, will have the pleasure of unveiling their new UNISON branch banner at the TUC Demonstration in London on Saturday 26th March 2011.

The artists who created the banner, was famous London trade union banner maker Ed Hall, responsible for hundreds of beautiful trade union banners.

Michael Walker UNISON Regional Officer who was responsible for the design describes the relevance of the iconography on the banner.

The colours used in the banner are those of UNISON of purple, green and white and are in turn based upon the WSPU suffragette colours. (chosen in 1908 by Emmeline Pethick Lawrence).

Nursing staff and Asylum attendants in period uniforms of 1910, hold up the banner and is taken from a graphic used on the front of the National Asylum Workers Union journal in its earliest years.

The logo's and slogan "All For One and One For All" at the bottom of the banner are from the original National Asylum Workers Union est 1910.

In the centre of the banner is the main building at Springfield hospital built in 1840. Surrey County Lunatic Asylum (later known as Wandsworth Asylum) opened on 14th June 1841, catering for 350 bed. Note the red flag flying from its rooftop.

At the bottom of the banner, left side - the cat represents Syndicalism and at the bottom right side a Rat (the bosses - as used on the Friern Barnet banner).

NAWU badge 1914

Is There Any Demand for a Union Badge ?

For two years or so the question of a union badge has graced the agendas of successive Executive Council meetings and Annual conferences; and time after time the subject has been left “to lie on the table”, which in other words means that it is not considered to be of such pressing importance that time need be wasted in discussing it.

Now there must of necessity, be either demand for a badge, or no demand for one, and in the latter case the matter might just as well be dropped straight away and have done with it.

On the other hand, judging by the correspondence received at headquarters from time to time, there does appear to be a a genuine demand from many quarters. And it has been suggested to us that if the Union does not soon adopt an official badge the London County Council section of the Union will obtain one of their own!

This, of course, would be an undesirable (and we might add, unauthorised) proceeding, and it would be a ridiculous state of affair, for different " Circles" of the Union to have different kinds of badges. We must have unity on the badges' question as on any other.

We believe we are right in stating that as a Union without a badge we are somewhat unique in the trade union world, and our own opinion is that thew N.A.W.U (National Asylum Workers Union) will eventually find, as apparently all other Trade Unions have found, that a distinctive emblem of the Society is not only a valuable organising agent, but has a great moral effect upon the loyalty of existing (but " shaky ") members.

The accompanying draft badge (specially designed in colour, for us by Messrs Fattorini, of Bradford, who also kindly supplied the block) is reproduced in order

that members may have an opportunity of judging for themselves whether an artistic badge would be invaluable asset to the NAWU Union or a wasteful extravagance.

The badge would, of course, be enameled-faced in beautiful colours, and could be made in the form of pendants or studs for men, and brooches for the ladies The design reproduced on this page is the actual site of the suggested badge.

The few objections we have heard to the badge idea are herewith disposed of;—

1. The authorities would not allow them to be worn Answer: Some would; some wouldn’t. In any case the authorities could not prevent the wearing of a pendant on a watch-chain while on duty. decent badge could be worn when off duty

2: Members who lapsed, having paid for the badges could still wear them, even though no longer members of the union

Answer: They could , but they wouldn’t if they were pilloried in the Magazine for wearing a union badge when no longer members, In this case, of course, the local Branches should be empowered to buy back the badges from lapsed members.

Are there any other objections ?

We shall be glad to hear from ALL Branches on the subject, favorably or otherwise.

National Asylum Workers Union Magazine 1914

NAWU badges 9d each, silver badges 4s 6d and gold badges £1 each