Troops & Trade Unions, 1919
Attempts by returning First World War servicemen to unionise were portrayed in intelligence reports as part of a sinister Bolshevik prelude to revolution in Britain.
The abrogation of the right of association at General Command Headquarters (GCHQ), Cheltenham, in 1984 and the bitter struggles provoked by Mrs Thatcher's unilateral decision strikingly reveal the precariousness of the civil liberties enjoyed by public service workers in Britain today. Or rather, in some sectors of the public service. Among the state's most powerful servants freedom of association has never been an issue – except once, sixty-six years ago, when at the close of the First World War the Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmens' Union (SSAU) sought to organise the armed forces. Its short-lived efforts to secure a right of representation and improved conditions for the fighting man have not, however, received recognition. A want of success and the want of documentation have conspired to erase its experience from the historical record. Fortunately, though, the SSAU aroused the curiosity of the security services who monitored its activities and engineered its downfall. The following reconstruction is based upon their records.
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